There is a critical life lesson in the game known as tug of war. This is a game where two teams struggle to pull a rope in the bid to make their opponents topple or bring them to their side hence snatching the victory.
In squid game(A Korean series), there is a battle for life and money. The winner takes both and the loser keeps none. In such a strife, efforts are realized to be optimum and the decisions made by every player tend to be scary and vicious.
One character known as Oh Il Nam brings to our attention a special life lesson when his team, full of weak men, a few strong ones and women who are considered almost useless for the challenge of tug of war is about to tackle a strong team of fierce and vicious men who have come prepared to take on the challenge beforehand.
As they approach the stage to take on the challenge, they are scared and hopeless. They feel they are not up to the challenge and even the stares of pity from every other player tends to make them nervous. What sends them over the edge are the Snickers from the opponent team that is consisting of vicious looking men ( the team they are about to take on).
In that particular moment, Oh Il Nam shares knowledge with them out of his experience. It is more of a lesson for everyone who believes they are weak and up against a stronger opponent.
“Winning in tug of war is not generally about who is stronger or who is weaker. It is more about team work.” he says, “ Organize your team in a way that you have a strong leader, put a strong person at the end and in the middle, let the whole team not take one side of the rope but rather organize simultaneously with people at both sides of the rope.”
The value of teamwork in most cases is underrated but we tend to forget that no man is an island. We all need each other for survival. It is never a matter of who is weak or strong because together, we can achieve more. Organization however, need not be ignored. In every situation, everyone is useful for something. Everyone has a contribution to make when it comes to success and victory. However weak you seem to be, with teamwork, good organization and wisdom, you can beat any thing that comes your way, however strong it may be.
Oh Il Nam goes ahead to say “when you pull for the first time, push your stomach up to the sky, as high as you can, keep your legs apart throw your head back as low as you can. Hold out for as long as you can then at the right time, pull.”
Some times, patience is the best action we can take. Wait for the opponent to overwork himself, lay low and wait like a lioness waits for the right time to strike in order to catch the prey. At the right time, when the opponent’s energy is wearing out, take action.
At the final moment when the game is at its peak, the team (Oh Il Nam’s) seems to be giving way. They start to lose their balance but hope is revived by Cho Sang Woo who comes up with an effective tactic.
“ Let go. Let go of the rope. The opponent will fall then before he picks himself up, that will be our chance.” He says.
Ever heard of the saying that sometimes ‘holding on tends to be more painful than letting go'? Well sometimes it is true. We need to let go of a few things here and there. We need to let go when it seems too painful. Let go, pick yourself up, get a new stance then use your chance to make a come back.
