I’m sure everyone has their own takeaways from Squid Game. Our takeaways are largely depends on our upbringing, our past life experiences and our aspirations.
As someone who’s debt-free, not living paycheck to paycheck, and fighting to F.I.R.E, here are my takeaways from Squid Game.
Caution: The following contains spoilers, and it’s a bit dark at the end, do not proceed if you are not comfortable.
The importance of insurance
Gi-hun’s mom is unable to get treatment for complications arising from her diabetes because Gi-hun had terminated her insurance years ago (presumably to pay off his loans). As a result, his mom now has to face the possibility of being disabled or even death.
Insurance is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Yes it may be an additional expense but it is one worth paying.
Do not bet what you can’t afford to lose
Cho Sang-woo went into the debt because he put everything he had as collateral to borrow money, including his mom’s shop and house.
This reinforces my principle not to make high-risk bets and not to trade on margin. When I trade stocks or options, I must be fully aware of the possible losses and I must ensure I have stop-loss and risk management in place such that the amount of loss doesn’t get too big.
I personally will not risk my loved ones’ assets. If I got into a bad debt for whatever reason and I can’t get out, I’d rather declare bank****cy than participating in the Squid Game. The Game has too high risk (only 1 in 456 chance of winning), and the loss size is too big (your life).
Money is important
All the players are in huge debt. Without money, they can’t get out of their miserable life. They dare to risk their lives because they feel that being alive in their situation is not much different being dead.
It is a scary situation and I do not wish to put myself in such situation. Money is important. Having an emergency fund and insurance are important.
But money is not the answer
The players decided to play the game because they think money is the answer. But, the winner didn’t find happiness after winning. And the creator didn’t find happiness from possessing a large amount of money.
Money is not the answer to your suffering. Changing your mindset, attitude and behavior is.
Life may throw you difficult challenges. The only way is through.
In the honeycomb challenge, some players are blessed with easy challenge while others are cursed with difficult challenge.
Life’s like that, it’s not fair. You can’t choose your circumstances. But you can do your best and not quit. Keep working hard, keep visualizing your dreams, keep believing that the answers to your obstacles will come to you. As the saying goes, “The only way is through.” The only way you’ll get out of the obstacles in your life is to fight through it.
You can take a break, but don’t give up.
Experience is the best teacher. Success doesn’t happen overnight.
In the tug of war, it’s expected that the team with stronger muscles win against the team with weaker muscles. But, the truth is, the correct strategy plays a bigger role than muscle.
Having years of experience playing the game, Il-ham is able to formulate a strategy to win the game even when the odds are stacked against his team.
Success requires years of hard work and perseverance. If you are currently chasing your dreams and you still can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, be patient, perhaps you have not accumulated enough experience. Success doesn’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you keep working hard and not give up.
You get to where you are because of the sacrifice someone else made
In the marbles game, some players have to fight hard to win, but some players win because their opponent made the sacrifice, like how Ji-yeong sacrificed her own life in order to let Sae-Byeok win.
You may think that whatever you have achieved in your life is because of your own hard work and luck. Well, not quite. You are where you are now because of someone else’s sacrifice, it might be your parents, your siblings and/or your spouse. Do not take them for granted.
Be kind
Ask yourself, have you been squeezing everything you can from other people, for take sake of your own gain, like Deok-su the bully? Did you pay the lowest possible salary to your employee to minimize your cost, even though that salary is not a livable salary?
Kind people may get being taken advantaged of. Be kind anyway. Kindness is free give and has the potential to change someone’s life.
Today might be your last day on earth
Almost all players (except the winner and those who went out and never came back) had their last day in the game. What would’ve they done differently if they knew it was their last day on earth? And what would you do differently if today is your last day on earth?
Have you made sure your family is well taken care of after you’re gone? Or will they take on more responsibility because of your early departure?
Are you proud of who you are and what you’ve done? Have you been living your best life or have you been living on autopilot?
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Great!!! Insights Thank you!