When Real Life Feels Like a Spy Thriller
I recently watched a Netflix show about two neighbors who turned their suburban lives into a full-blown spy thriller. Each believed they were the smarter one—both secretly plotting to outsmart, outplay, and outlast the other.
Player A was wanted by the federal police for murdering the president, a crime committed for a hefty sum. They were curious about what Player B knew but was sure their cover was intact.
Player B suspected something but needed proof to claim the reward for turning them in.
So, naturally, they pretended to be best friends. Shared coffee. Smiled over the fence. Swapped neighborly gossip while each gathered intel to destroy the other.
Player A knew that letting anyone in could blow their cover, but curiosity overrode caution. Player B knew befriending a potential murderer was a death wish, but greed is a louder voice than reason.
And as expected, both lost.
Their “genius” strategies led to exposure, chaos, and death.
No winners—just fools fooling fools.
The Psychology of Playing Games
Right after that little masterclass in human stupidity, I scrolled past a tweet from a Stanford-trained psychologist. It said we should all learn to play office politics—“strategically,” of course.
Really? We’ve now intellectualized manipulation?
Sure, strategy has always existed. Machiavelli wrote it into politics. Sun Tzu turned it into warfare. Even scripture warned about wolves in sheep’s clothing.
But at what point do we stop calling it “strategy” and admit it’s just nonsense in designer clothes?
The Office Politics Trap
Let’s not pretend we don’t know the game.
I’ve worked in corporate for nearly two decades, and trust me, the office politics game is real. You learn to impress the powerful, soothe the insecure, flatter the loudest talkers, and survive the most “connected.”
You network with people you don’t like, compliment those you can’t stand, and sit through meetings that could’ve been emails—all for the sake of visibility.
The prizes? Promotions. Travel perks. Corner offices. Prestige.
The cost? Often your peace, your authenticity, sometimes even your sanity.
It’s thrilling at first, like leveling up in a real-life strategy game, but eventually, the players start to fall. Some lose their balance and others lose themselves entirely.
When the Game Follows You Into Retirement
A few years ago, while volunteering at a high-end senior home for dementia patients, I met a woman I’ll never forget.
Elegant, poised, and fierce. Even as her memory faded, her language carried sharp edges. She’d accuse staff of stealing, lash out at nurses, and drop corporate jargon like she was still in the boardroom.
Sometimes, her paranoia would spiral, she’d shout and swing her fists at invisible enemies. The nurses had to sedate her when she became too agitated.
Later, her family told me she’d been a senior executive at a Fortune 100 company. Brilliant. Accomplished. Decorated. But beneath the pearls and perfume was someone still fighting invisible wars decades later.
Each night, I’d go home and wonder:
Is this where the game leads?
You win the titles, the status, the luxury and end up furious, alone, and sedated, trapped in an endless rerun of boardroom betrayals.
That thought haunted me.
What These Games Really Cost Us
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve played my share of games too. I’ve chased power, craved validation, and learned to survive the politics. The thrill can be intoxicating when you’ve been taught that life is a chessboard.
But eventually, I started asking: Why are we all still playing?
I’ve watched people win everything—then lose it all. Some die peacefully. Others die in pieces.
Almost everyone believes they’re the exception… until they aren’t.
We know when we’re crossing lines, gossiping, manipulating, chasing rewards that corrode our integrity. Yet we do it anyway, convincing ourselves it’s “strategy.”
We forget that winning doesn’t always mean we’ve succeeded; it only means we’ve survived another round.
Maybe we get the condo, the title, the applause. But at what cost?
- An angry, lonely retiree medicated into silence?
- A spouse who gambled love for ego?
- A friend who lost trust for clout?
The Bible said it best:
“What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul?”
The Real Prize: Peace Over Power
From Netflix thrillers to corporate corridors to quiet suburban battles—it’s the same script. Everyone’s playing, everyone’s pretending, and everyone thinks they’re too smart to lose.
But the truth? Nobody wins.
The so-called prizes often reveal themselves as curses:
Fame without fulfillment.
Success without peace.
Victory without joy.
By the time we realize it, the game’s already over.
So maybe it’s time to stop playing altogether. Maybe peace, kindness, and honesty are the real power moves.
Because every time we play stupid games, we sign up for stupid prizes, and sometimes, the biggest fools are the ones who think they’re not playing at all.
Your Turn
Before you make your next strategic move—at work, in love, or in life—pause.
Ask yourself:
Am I making a move… or just playing another stupid game?
Because not every battle is worth winning, and not every prize is worth the pain.
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