humour The Tanker's Column, Episode 1: Expectations vs. Reality

[Person_Random 4,991]

Container openings. A simple task, but it brings along suspense and excitement, as well as anger, frustration, and jealousy with the unsatisfactory rewards the Tanki Gods bring. With a few quick stories however, you'll find that your viewpoint will slowly shift from disgruntled to grateful tanker.
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Ah, containers. I was quite interested in these strange items in the garage once I got my hands on them. The first time I opened a container, all I wanted were a few easy crystals, and I was thankful enough for a small handful of Gold boxes. Nowadays, even 10 000 or 25 000 crystals upfront doesn't seem to cut it anymore. I didn't understand why.

How did I change from pleased to hungering for more each time? It simply didn't make sense. But after lunch, I took a quick walk around my house, and it was just a few minutes down the age-old memory lane that I found the answer: I had skewed my expectations so high that it was almost impossible to satisfy me. To understand this, let's get into expectations.

Oh, I almost forgot, welcome to the Tanker's Column. In each episode, I'll be covering some everyday tanker dilemmas and using real life stories to illustrate how I found solutions through them!

 

Expectations

Let's get this bre... aw come on, 3 500 crystals again?

An expectation is basically something that you want to happen. Say if I rolled two six-faced dice (with numbers from one to six) in a board game, then I would expect to roll a sum between two and twelve. At first, that was how I started out, but as the game progressed, I started to think "Oh, I wouldn't want to roll a 7 or smaller, I need those large numbers". Because of this, I started to restrict the expected outcomes in my brain to a different set of numbers, which frustrated me.

That's exactly what is happening right now. When you open a container, you're already searching for something, like an XT skin or a Hull Augment. When you get a shot effect, this bothers you since you've been looking for the Augment and not the effect. But that's just a small piece of the puzzle we need to solve. This next factor was the one that brought my container expectations to an unbeatably high bar I could never clear. It keeps me (and many other tankers in the same trap) in perpetual jealousy.

 

The Neighbour Theory

Theirs:

Mine:

Basically: "If my friend can get a new MacBook for his birthday, why can't I?" This theory is often applied in many situations, and it leaves those who believe they are short-changed by this philosophy angry.

Take this example. I was probably twelve years old and had joined the elite ranks of a friend group. Since many of my friends' birthdays fell into the spring months, I remember seeing many of them celebrate at our lunch group with lavish gifts and enough to feed our group of nearly 100 people. As I enjoyed the festivities, I thought, "Well, I'm also an elite in this group, perhaps I'll get a celebration like this next year". I expected to have a similar celebration just because several other people had amazing parties, including my friend Preston, whom half the group disliked for his pompous attitude.

But enough about pompous Preston, it's time to get back to the story. By the time the next year, and my birthday, rolled around, I got a fat load of nothing from most of my friends, with the exception of a 75-cent cupcake from the lunch counters. You could just say that they all forgot my birthday. I was infuriated.

Ah, my favorite paint. I've finally got it now.

A few years later, I was chilling with my friends back at MoF, the parkour club I used to be part of, and we were talking about containers. My friends had opened containers to find awesome special paints (including the E236 I so desperately wanted, as it was the unofficial club paint), and an XT. I proceeded to open my fifteen containers, and the most I got was... a 100 supply pack. Seriously? Again, I was beyond angry.

But over time, my attitude changed, though my container luck did not. Looking back, it's all about mindset.

 

In Retrospect

Several months ago, I celebrated my birthday again. That day, I was supposed to take a four-hour exam and then trudge through my first three classes, which were boring torture. I received two birthday wishes and a couple of small presents, but instead of feeling short-changed, I was grateful. Though I had no expensive gifts and no large celebration, I was thankful enough that some people had chosen to spend some time with me.

I realized that during that day, I had stopped comparing what I had to what others had and accepted whatever I got with an open mind. Whereas I had nearly lost my mind earlier with the birthday celebration and the 100 supply pack, I now decided to let it alone. Who cares what type of celebration others have on their birthday? Who cares if there are four friends who each get 100 000 crystals from their containers? I didn't. Not anymore.

 

Solution

Method 1: Become a Youtuber and get lucky on video.

So how can you achieve this peace of mind? Simply follow these steps:

1. Have an open mind: Don't shut yourself into an unreachable tower of expectations, especially if its something you can't change. Instead just go through this as if it were opening a gift from a distant relative: unknowing, but ready to accept whatever is inside the packaging.
2. Focus on yourself: Thinking about what others receive will just trap you deeper into a world of expectations you'll have trouble living up to. They might get the XT you wanted or the PC you've been begging your parents for. But that's them, and you're you. Don't worry about them.
3. Avoid Temptations: For many, social media is a form of temptation. Multi-talented people make you feel slow, stupid, and unlucky. If it's getting to you, unplug.

Following these steps will greatly benefit you and start to change your mindset. It's either that or doing it the hard way: having life disappoint you so much that you've been sucked of all hope.

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And that's about it! Remember, this is the Tanker's Column where we'll solve Tanki problems with everyday life lessons. Good luck in Tanki and life! If you have any questions you would like answered, PM me.

[kaisdf 3,320]

Are you weighed down by your container luck? Annoyed that everyone else gets the exotics while you're stuck with 3500 crystals? Well, Person_Random is here with the first episode of the Tanker's Column, reminding you to temper your expectations!

[fghjkl54 1,520]

39 minutes ago, At_Shin said:

 

it happend to me in july or june i wished 125 DD i got 10 days of premuim!

Edited August 15, 2020 by fghjkl54

[Sacrifice 2,278]

1 hour ago, At_Shin said:

Today i opened a normal container. I had expected something from the common tier but got 3 days of premium. Now i have 4 days of premium! I got one extra from the token of apology, Looks like i am getting a good head start into the next challenge. Probably gonna rank up too!

 

35 minutes ago, fghjkl54 said:

it happend to me in july or june i wished 125 DD i got 10 days of premuim!

Weeekkk

125 double armors remain elite. 

 

[daepicpadu 1]

I can agree with being happy with container drops, with one exception: getting shot colors for a turret that you never use. You might try it out for the cool effects, but that feeling will fade and the turret will likely be forgotten for a while.

[l-l.e.a.t_Seeker 48]

In short : Containers drop rates are way worse than you think , And please dont bring a dice and try to test your luck and compare it to tanki   containers dont work this way , And also thats why devs won't ever tell the players about the drop rates because that might lead to something which isn't good for tanki after players get shocked by how awful their overall luck is.

[akash96 5]

I had just 2hrs of premium..so i did not attend my tution class on sunday and started playing .... then i say this newsletter in the news .. so i decided to go through it...

after reading i started playing and got an container... never expected i got 3days of premium so happy..

 

[Venem 615]

The article may be humorous, but it has a deep meaning too... 

Have very little expectations and you will fully enjoy life! 

Very nice article, Random!

[dawoodandsohail_PRO 0]

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i idint get any ultra container

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gauss-Hornet 489]

This article reminds me of a quote by Jeff Kinney:

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If there's one thing I learned from Rodrick Tanki, it's to set people's expectations real low so you end up surprising them by practically doing nothing at all.

 

[yasgfgfffgf 282]

great work.

it is true. when u watch facebook u will only see pictures of people having a great time without any background that makes you think they always have a happy life but the truth is differant. sad i cant be here more. i have a bussy life.