The Hunger Games

Imagine you are put into an arena, where you have to fight to death with the other 23 people. Only one survivor is allowed. Not only that, you also have to find a way to survive in the nature; finding your own source of water, food, and a safe place to rest. This is the story of “The Hunger Games” written by Suzanne Collins. You might not think that you would ever encounter something like this in the real life. However, some of the strategies used in the games might be helpful in the workplace.

Know Your Strengths

In the arena, Katniss, the main character, knew well that she was excellent at archery. The tributes that survived after the first day in the arena have some special talents to keep them alive. Similar to the workplace, you need to know "what are you particularly good at?" "What is something that you do much better than others?" "What makes you stand out?" If your strength does not land on physics or mathematics, then why go for engineering?  

"Surviving Skills"

During the games, not only does Katniss needed to protect herself by using the bow, she constantly needed to hunt in order to feed herself, and she needed the knowledge to treat her wounds. It's not enough, if you only get strengths in the workplace. You need to constantly learn new skills that would help you to thrive in your career. For instance, you can always make an effort to learn leadership, social media, technologies, or even a second language. You might not need to use those skills yet, but if you know how it can be an asset.

Tactics 

After Katniss found the source of her food and water, a place to hide, and a weapon to protect herself, she began to form plans and schemes. She had a good understanding of the Career Tributes, who are trained to be killers, only has the strength of killing, but they didn't know how to find source of food on their own. Katniss formed a tactic of destroying their food, and then they would starve to death. When you think of it as applying to the workplace, you probably don't want to destroy your colleagues, but you should form your own strategies upon the environment. Think of it as "What can I do to bring most profit to the company?" I met a girl from Douglas Toastmasters. Their target members are generally students. So, they organized meetings for students to practice interview skills, and that meets their needs.  

Turn Adversity into Advantage

One time, Katniss was trapped on the tree with a pack of Career Tributes waiting on the ground to kill her, and she found a tracker jacker nest above her head. She managed to drop the nest and all the venomous bees all flew out to attack her enemies. She successfully turned an adversity into her advantage!

Get the Right Ally 

During the games, one of the tributes, Rue, warned Katniss a beehive was above her head. They formed an alliance soon after that. Rue cured Katniss's swelling, and Katniss shared her food with Rue. In the workplace, people often care only about themselves. You need to be careful when making friends with others. It's hard to say that if they truly want to help you, or they will stab you from behind someday. However, if you happen to find genuine friends, they can be an asset as to help you in your career.

The Hunger Games is a fantastic read that I enjoyed very much. Furthermore, I realized I learned so many lessons from the book that I can certainly apply to my life, even though I don't have to hunt to survive.