potions

Not because I'm some masochist speed‑runner. I was just a broke kid thinking, "Better save these in case shit gets rough." Twenty‑plus hours later: credits roll, every Pokémon at full health, 123 Potions still sparkling in the bag.

Why the hell did I do that?

Fast‑forward to Elden Ring. Internet warriors everywhere:

— "Magic is cheating."

— "Dex‑bleed is cheap."

— "Real players go pure strength."

Pull the camera back two steps and somebody has already one‑shot the final boss naked, level 1, no heals, DDR pad.

There's always a purer, harder run.

That's when it clicked: the thing has a name. It's called a challenge run. And apparently I've been doing them my whole life without noticing.

I grew up poor, so the hoarding habit stuck around. In business I'm playing Bootstrap‑Only, Hire‑Nobody, Spend‑Nothing mode—telling myself it's morally better.

Here's the thing about challenge runs:

1. They're awesome if you pick them on purpose.

2. They're miserable if some old scarcity script picks them for you.

Most of us don't pause to check. We look up at 50 and realize we speed‑ran life on hard mode: no potions used.

So maybe take a second now, open the menu, and ask:

• What invisible rules am I obeying?

• Who decided them?

• Do I still want this particular brand of constraint?

Because the potions are already in your bag. The designers put them there. They disappear when the credits roll anyway, and nobody is handing out extra points for finishing with a full stack.

Use the damn potions.