Character forming through gaming

I think I already did this once, but I feel the need to do so again. So here goes. 

Games have always had negative media attention for a long time now. But I would like to focus on the positive aspects of gaming. The parts that I feel help me through life so far, so it goes a bit beyond improved hand-eye coordination.  

English
Not being a native english speaker, playing lots and lots of roleplaying games has taught me to understand english on a above average level when compared to my friends of the same generation.  

Skill-building
Games have also taught me that in order to get good at something, you need to take your time and get to know it's inner workings. If it's a roleplaying game, you need to make your characters stronger in anticipation of that one hard fight. If it's a racing game, you need to get to know how the cars handle and memorise the tracks. If it's a fighting game, you need to get to know the moves and combos of your character and how to counter the moves and combos of your opponent. You need to try stuff out, analayse, try it again, get better at the timing, the anticipation, at "feeling" the game. Same goes for life. If you think you can't do beter at work/hobby/sport, you can. It just takes time, dedication, practice and a good amount of healthy reasoning.......skill-building. If you fail the first time....The old and cliche saying: If you fail the first time, try try again. In the old days you would get stuck trying to do this one boss for days at a time. The first time he/she seems impossible. The second time, you start to see holes in their defense or a weakness to a certain attack. Then when you understand what you need to do, you still need to get over the mental blockade. Meaning, you need to learn to stay calm and focus on the task at hand. A great lesson if any. After you beat the boss about 3 times, you will be able to do it almost automatically any time you play the game again.  

Don't judge a book by it's cover
Just because you are good at a certain type of game, doesn't mean that your good at any game of that genre. You could be awesome at Quake, but suck at Unreal Tournament or Halo. You could be godlike at Final Fantasy, but suck at Grandia or Jade Empire. You could rock at Project Gotham Racing, but suck at Burnout. Don't judge a book by it's cover. First try them out, because every game(-franchise) is unique. Just because one game (person) of a certain type (race) is like that, it doesn't mean they all are.