What are you willing to do for almost $40 million USD?
If you haven't heard already, a new Battle Royale-like movie was released about a month ago on Netflix called Squid Game. Squid Game is a Korean TV series revolving around 456 contestants participating in a series of games where the winner goes home with 45.6 billion South Korean won (around $38.7 million USD) while everyone else loses their life.
I won't share any spoilers, but in the series, you'll see what people are willing to do for that kind of money. People lie, cheat, and even hurt others to win the grand prize.
Fictional stories like Squid Game pop up in the media every once in a while and always become a major hit!
Why?
Because we see what people may be willing to do for money or power. We typically tell ourselves that these are "extreme cases" and that we'd never do what these characters did.
That's why other movies like Hunger Games and Breaking Bad are so entertaining! We get to see a side of humanity we rarely see in real life.
In Squid Game, the participants are struggling financially, and of course, are willing to do anything to survive. And I'm not here to make a stance on the actions that the characters take or what should've been done politically in this fictional world to help ease financial burdens.
But as I completed the show, I asked myself whether we're playing our own version of Squid Game.
What we don't realize is that we're living in a world that also values money, power, and status over other things… just like in Squid Game!
We take jobs that we hate because it pays more. We may be pushing ourselves too far mentally for those extra "likes" on social media. Even worse, some people take advantage of others to reach what has been defined as success.
It's safe to assume our lives are not even close to being as intense as in the show, but there are still some lessons that can be learned and applied to our lives.
Below are some thoughts & prompts that I came up with after watching Squid Game that may help you see life in a different perspective:
If you value more things in life outside of money/power, what can you do to fulfill your other priorities such as your health (physical/mental), relationships, and personal growth?
Are you in an environment where people will step on you for their own gains? It may be time to reconsider your relationship with them.
If you want to go far, surround yourself with a mutually-supportive and trustworthy group of people
We can't judge how people's lives are based on how much money they have. Those who you think are "successful in life" are not necessarily happy. Be kind, be open, and be supportive to others.
We're living in abundance, so why are we acting like we don't have enough for ourselves and bringing down others in the process?
Have you watched *Squid Game* yet? Do you agree with these lessons? Did you learn a lesson that I may have missed from above?