The LEGO MOC process, winning NBA championships and politics

“Perhaps, play would be more respected if we called it “self-motivated practice of life skills” but that would remove the lightheartedness from it…” – Dr. Peter Gray

Most everyone knows what LEGO means. LEGO is a line of plastic construction toys which consists basically of variously colored interlocking plastic bricks that can be put together into almost anything you can imagine. Normally, Lego enthusiasts follow a printed instruction on how to put disparate Lego pieces together and build various kinds of buildings, vehicles, machines and background sets. Most enthusiasts start out as kids or teens. There are adults like me, however, who continue to build LEGO sets and are known as Adult Fans of Lego or AFOL.

Some LEGO builders take it a step further and engage in LEGO My Own Creation or MOC. In LEGO MOC, the builders make their own original creations out of basic LEGO bricks. Some of these LEGO original constructs are so massive and complicated that it takes months or years to build.

Most practitioners of LEGO MOC follow a similar process. We start by practicing on sets with specific instructions. We then learn certain techniques that can be used in various permutations. Thereafter, we imagine what we want to create and determine what parts we need for the creation. We picture the step by step process in our mind to build that Lego structure. With the end result firmly etched in our mind, we scour the community looking for these parts. Once the parts are in place, we then go about following the plan. Sometimes, we find glitches in the plan. We can’t find a part or the part actually does not fit into the design. We, thus, adapt and change the parts or adjust the plan. Once the original creation is finished, we take a moment to enjoy it, then go on to the next creation.

Most builders who regularly engage in LEGO MOC, develop an adherence to certain tenets that are often applicable in other situations where one seeks to successfully achieve a goal. In two things where Filipinos are most passionate -- basketball and politics, we can note the presence of these tenets in successful runs in both fields and cite them as examples.

First, in most things, there are no shortcuts to successfully achieving an end goal.

LEGO MOC requires hundreds of hours of conceptualizing, picking the parts, and building the creation brick by brick. There is no other way to produce the LEGO MOC and as such, the LEGO MOC practitioner understands the importance of patience and the long burn.

Recently, the NBA crowned its new champion, the Denver Nuggets, whose road to success was a long and arduous process that took almost a decade to achieve. In basketball, putting together star players even for a short while is often a default mode of trying to win a championship. The Denver Nuggets took pains to methodically build their team and support structure from the ground up. They looked for players with potential and developed them. Their star player, Jokic, was drafted 41st overall. Once Jokic developed, they looked for the players that would complement him. It was a long and arduous process that required patience from the front office and the fans.

In politics, the successful candidates recently are the ones who start early building their brand and organization. In local elections, it takes at least 18 months to seed brand messages and train the campaign staff and workers to achieve political success.

Second, though we start from the basics, our creation or end goal must be unique and original. In LEGO MOC, the basic build techniques are combined and tweaked to create a sum or whole greater than its parts.

The newly crowned NBA champions started with basics and developed their own unique twist to their players and tactics such as, the first point center who can bring the ball and pass it from the top of the key among other things. In politics, the candidates must always bring something unique to the table whether in their narrative or message.

Third, you need to find the right parts and be ready to change the parts or work around the challenges with the parts you have. The Denver Nuggets experimented with other players filling in the parts of their planned team before finding the core team for their run. When they found the core of Jokic, Murray, Porter and Gordon, injuries prevented them from playing together for a long time but, they stuck with them and added more pieces. In politics, finding the right parts in the core message and finding the right members for the staff is a pivotal key to success.

In the end, it is evident that some of the games we play as kids or adults teach us more skills than we realize. As such, purposeful play must always be promoted as an additional means of learning about life skills.

This is my oblique observation.

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in the foregoing article are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the Philippine News Agency (PNA) or any other office under the Presidential Communications Office.