Squid Game Will Teach You More Life Lessons than Your School Ever Did. Here Are 10 of Them.
Hello Aluxers and welcome back.
Squid Game is still on the rise and going strong, gaining global recognition like no other tv show, with its original premise and lethal children’s games.
With a twisted plot and compelling characters, each episode of Squid Game contains several life lessons that we found valuable – so of course we gotta share them with you!
But – heads up! There are definitely a few spoilers coming, so if you haven’t watched it yet – but you plan on it – don’t say we didn’t warn you!
Living life efficiently requires productive use of time, and we recommend you save some by switching over to the simpler video version of this article:
With that done, here are 10 life lessons from Squid Games – Let’s go!
1
When Rich People Have Too Much Money, They Get Bored.
Larry Ellison once said in an interview that he’s kinda bored and there’s nothing left for him to buy. He’s splurged on jets, yachts, sports teams, thousands of art pieces, plenty of real estate all over the world, including houses, buildings, palaces, doomsday bunkers, even entire islands.
In this show, when you combine money, affluence and total disregard for human lives you get a life-threatening survival competition. The Squid Game!
Here, a bunch of rich people decided to kill their boredom by taking it to the next level and play God with the lives of thousands of people without any shred of accountability for their actions.
It’s all an allegory for modern capitalist society… Thankfully the real thing isn’t as violent.
2
The Choices We Make in Life Determine Our Future.
Red light: Stop, Greenlight: Go.
Mechanic: Blue Collar, CEO: White collar.
Single life: freedom and independence, Relationship life: love and commitment. x
Every single day we make life-altering choices whether we are aware of it or not, and all the squid game participants make one such choice the moment they agree to play the Ddjaki game with the mysterious handsome stranger.
Red tile guard, Blue tile player!
None of them knew what they were getting themselves into, but they would soon find out that their greed and desperation sentenced them to a life-threatening game.
Every choice is important – never forget that.
3
Slow Down
We can all agree on one thing; constantly rushing through life isn’t an effective way to live.
In the Squid Game this analogy is made crushingly clear as player after player pays the ultimate price for rushing ahead.
The first game of red-light green-light proved this right from the start. Proceed with caution if you want to outlast, and most importantly, don’t panic.
As soon as the first player missteps and experiences the consequence, players begin to panic and even more lives are lost in the chaos.
Slowing down and keeping your cool can get you further than you think.
4
Kindness Comes Back to You
Within the show is a strong focus on the importance of being kind to each other – no matter what state you are in – or what status they may-or-may-not have.
Gi-hun treats the old man, Il-nam, with kindness including him in the games and acknowledging him.
Even though he didn’t seem to like Sae-byeok at first, Gi-hun still offered her kindness when it mattered.
His outlook of seeing these characters as friends first – before competition – is a light of hope in an otherwise dark drama they’re all trapped in.
The kindness pays off – like kindness always does -and it finds a way to bless the giver even more.
Although, we understand that sometimes kindness doesn’t come naturally. Check out 15 Small Acts of Kindness That Make the World a Better Place for inspiration.
5
Brains Can Be a Better Asset than Brawns When It’s Put To Good Use
Physical strength is nothing without strategy.
In the tug-of-war game, Gi-hun’s team is unequally paired with a team of strong young men.
Despite being out matched, his team manages to work out two ways to trip up their opponents during the game.
Strategy and teamwork won them the game, not just strength.
6
Be Careful Who You Trust
Ali was proof that only being nice won’t get you very far in life; that’s the way human nature works.
Of all the treachery and betrayal that happens in squid game, disgraced banker Cho Sang Woo’s betrayal of Ali, the Pakistani worker, was the most gut wrenching.
We have to remember that some people will exploit your kindness for their own selfish reasons just because they can.
Unfortunately the world is full of people like this – that’s why it’s so important to be a source of good in the world – and the best way to do that is to strive for personal growth.
Learn what’s holding you back, by checking out one of our videos next:
7
The Yin Yang Factor
In ancient Chinese philosophy the yin yang is a concept of dualism, of how opposite forces are interconnected and interdependent. In the natural world and in us humans.
As you guessed it we have this dualism in the show as well:
We have the balance! Seong Gi-hun
We have the bad in the good! Cho Sang-woo
We have the good in the bad! Oh Il-Nam
We have the good! Ali
And the bad! Jang Deok-su
And if annoying was a human, you have Han Mi-nyeo
8
Greed and Desperation Brings Out the Worst in People
The slow burn of Sang-woo’s vicious side shows the worst side of us; the side that greed and desperation reveal.
He pushes fellow players to their death in the penultimate game. Before the final game begins he murders the injured and defenceless Sae-byeok.
Even Gi-hun is tempted to set aside his morals in his desperation. He makes use of Il Nam’s unfortunate memory loss to trick him to win their game of marbles.
It’s easy to think that you will never have to compromise your morals like this. But the only way to avoid it is to ensure you don’t expose yourself to such a desperate situation by ensuring your wealth and health.
9
Don’t Lose Hope in Humanity
Overall the inhumanity on display in the series is hard to stomach and still walk away feeling hopeful for anything – but if you think about it, the final confrontation between Il-nam and Gi-hun can inspire some hope for humankind.
The two make one last wager: will someone come to save a homeless man freezing on the street before midnight.
Hope is restored when people do come to help the man, showing Gi-hun that there is good left in the world.
In turn, this inspires him to fulfil his promise to look after his friend’s families and take down the game.
Life can seem really harsh, but there is always reason for hope; sometimes, it just requires a shift in perspective if you can’t see the light.
10
After You Win Your Current Game in Life, You Can Alter Your Future and Choose a New Path
If you guys remember, Seong Gi-hun dyed his hair red at the end of the season making a statement that his eyes were open and he was ready to take responsibility for his life and choices.
Red is a power play in Korea, a masculine, dominant color and if you’re associated with this color it sends out a message that you mean business and you’re one badass SoB.
Whether you signal loud and proud about your new path – or keep your cards close to the chest – YOU’RE the one calling the shots; always pick your path wisely.
And that’s a wrap on Squid Game’s most valuable life lessons – but there are definitely more and we were hoping YOU could help us out with that.
Question:
What valuable life lessons did you pick up from the show? Did anything really make you think long and hard about life?
