When a baby reaches for a shiny glass on a table, it’s not because it knows anything. It doesn’t know danger. It doesn’t know manners. It doesn’t even know what a “cup” is. It’s reaching because there’s a void—a mystery it’s compelled to fill.
Then a hand smacks its own.
That sting isn’t just physical. It’s the collapse of an equation before it could even form. And when that happens enough times—when curiosity is punished, when ambition is interrupted, when instincts are invalidated—we stop solving for meaning. We start solving for permission.
We don't grow up with trauma; we grow up with bad math.
The Void Isn’t Emotional—It’s Mathematical
Emotions get all the blame. But in reality, they’re just signals. Signals that a system is either running smoothly or malfunctioning.
The mistake society makes—the mistake self-help makes—is telling you to heal, when what you really need to do is calculate.
You don’t need to “go back to your inner child.” You need to reprogram your adult operating system.
Let’s say it straight: Childhood might’ve been the playground, but adulthood is the calculator.
You Are Running Equations Right Now
Here’s what no one tells you:
Your current results are the logical output of invisible equations you never consciously wrote.
- You procrastinate because:
Task Value < Discomfort of Starting - You stay in a toxic relationship because:
Fear of Change × Familiarity > Perceived Alternative - You scroll instead of creating because:
Instant Dopamine > Delayed Mastery Reward - You stop doing the push up because the reasons to stop have outweighed the reasons to continue
You didn’t choose these formulas. But they’re still computing your future.
The Math Isn’t Perfect. But It’s Yours to Change
Now, I know this sounds oversimplified. And maybe it is. Maybe this whole idea—that your life is just a collection of buggy scripts that need refactoring—maybe that’s naïve. But here’s what’s more naïve:
Thinking your emotions are “who you are” rather than what your system is outputting.
Let's debug your equations.
Most of us are taught that life is mysterious, vague, and driven by emotion. But what if that's just bad math? What if every outcome in your life, both desired and undesired, could be understood—even predicted—with the right formulas and variables?
That's the promise of Metamathematics: to transform life into a series of solvable equations.
Part 1: Redefyne – Building Your Operational Foundation
Have you ever asked someone a question like, "How are you so confident?" only to get a response like, "It just happens, you just get confident, you know?" 🤷
But clearly, they don’t know what they’re talking about. They might be confident unconsciously, but unable to break down how they got there.
Here’s the truth: Confidence is a skill, just like any other trait you admire. Whether it’s patience, resilience, or success, these are all skills you can learn. And just being told "Be like James" isn't exactly useful advice.
Instead, ask yourself: “What does James do that makes him patient?” List the behaviors. If you don’t know, reverse it—list the things that make you impatient and do the opposite. This approach works for almost anything. Instead of trying to be "successful" (a vague idea), avoid the behaviors that lead to failure, and success will follow.
Why I Created Redefyne
Dictionary definitions can be tricky—they don’t always tell us how to apply words in real life. That's why I created Redefyne, a platform where we redefine words based on action—what to do.
Instead of arguing over the dictionary definitions of success, freedom, or discipline; it's about defining them through actionable equations. You can access and contribute to 120+ definitions for free here: redefyne.onrender.com, I've been updating it since last year.
Few Examples:
Redefyne is about converting vague terms into tools. It's not "what does success mean?" but "what variables does it depend on?" It's not "how do I stay disciplined?" but "what inputs does my willpower system require?"
Now you know how to properly define variables and see the world clearly which is fundamental, because you've got to understand what motion is before you start calculating projectiles. Let's get to calculating projectiles.
Part 2: The Only Two Ways To Increase Your Intelligence
The Only True test of Intelligence is if you get what you want out of life ~ Naval
So if you want to become “smarter,” you don’t necessarily need brain-boosting supplements or gimmicks—you need to master the mechanics of behaviour change.
This requires:
- Clarity of input
- Understanding of system constraints
- Ability to measure effort-to-outcome ratios
- Fast iterative recalculation
The smarter you are, the more emotionally neutral your problem-solving becomes—not because you don't feel, but because you trust math more than mood. When something goes wrong, you ask: "What variable changed? " When something works, you reverse-engineer the equation that produced it.
Intelligence Defined
Forget IQ tests and trivia memorization. Intelligence is the speed at which you learn, adapt, and apply new knowledge in real-world situations. It's not about what you know; it's about wanting the right things, and how quickly you upgrade what you know IN ORDER TO GET WHAT YOU WANT. And that ability can be developed.
The true measure of intelligence is not your ability to solve for 'x' on a standardized test—it's how well you navigate life's volatility. Can you predict which ideas will matter before they become obvious? Can you avoid getting scammed, played, or sidelined? Can you build something that lasts?
Step A For Increasing Intelligence: Do More!
The Power of Iteration
Raw talent is overrated. The first attempt is always the worst. The human brain is designed for learning through cycles, not instant mastery. Each iteration:
- Exposes what doesn't work
- Reveals hidden variables
- Strengthens the mental pathways needed for true intelligence
Instead of just repeating mistakes, use an iterative loop:
- Take action (make the first attempt).
- Get feedback (what went wrong? What felt right?).
- Adjust and reattempt (change one variable and try again).
- Repeat until mastery.
The people you admire aren't geniuses—they're the ones willing to look foolish in public more times than you are.
"Greatness rejects all first-time applicants." ~ Alex Hormozi
If it takes someone 10 tries before they figure out something (because they're smarter), and it takes you 100 tries before you figure out what they figure out (cause you're dumber). You can outsmart them with sheer effort, by doing 1000 iterations before they can do 2.
But this alone can be insane. So I started thinking of improving the other step so that I could combine them and become superhuman.
Step B For Increasing Intelligence: Think Like a Grandmaster
This is something that bothered me. I wanted to know how to think.
Let me tell you a story. When I was in high school, I was disconnected from everything, didn't feel like I belonged, couldn't impress the girls, couldn't impress the boys either, and couldn't impress the teachers. I wanted to be smarter.
I read every physics book I could find on the internet, even though I didn't understand them. I came across IQ tests and took one. I got 140, It increased my ego from the low-self-esteem crybaby I was, but it was not enough, my life didn't look like I was that smart. Plus I took a free test and didn't trust the result was legit, so I joined some High IQ societies and connected with some folks, a friend of mine recommended a friend and then the friend suggested a book.
Below is the screenshot of our conversation on facebook:
I read the book and trained my memory hard and used tests until I scored 160+, but later gave up because I understood something. I realized I didn’t care about fast math or pattern-matching. Computers can do that well. What I really wanted was to boost my creativity. Being more creative gives a bigger return. If I’m creative enough, I can build machines to do the hard calculations for me.
The only benefit of improving my IQ number would have been to impress people. But having a high IQ didn’t help me get dates. The authors of the books wrote the books by being creative. That’s the real superpower IQ tests can’t measure.
Geniuses aren't really special, they just have different thinking behaviours, and if you change your thinking behaviour to achieve your goals, you can get the equation right.
Nobody taught you how to think, Here's a summary from a section of my book:
How Smart People Get Stuck
Example 1: Chess:
You're deep in a game. Should you move the rook? Hmm… maybe the knight? No—back to the rook. Wait, what about the bishop?!
30 minutes later, you panic and make a move you barely thought about. All that mental gymnastics for an impulsive choice. Oof.
Example 2: Restaurants:
You're at a restaurant. Steak? Too pricey. Pasta? Too heavy. Salad? Too light.
Waiter shows up. You blurt: “Burger.” You spent 10 minutes overthinking, only to cave under pressure.
Moral of the story? Smart analysis becomes dumb paralysis if you don’t know how to think well.
The Real Issue: Most People Don't Know How to Think
Not facts. Not IQ. Not how many tabs your brain can juggle. True intelligence is structured thinking. Some people think about a lot of pieces on the board but too shallow, some others think very deep, but only a few pieces. The key to building your thinking is to find the golden mean. To think about what is worth thinking about.
How to Think Like a Grandmaster
- Count Your Pieces First Before making a move, assess your assets. In chess = your pieces. In life = your skills, tools, allies, resources. I keep a notebook of all my resources: ideas, contacts, even the contents of my wallet.
- Trace the Path: How did you get here? What actions (or inactions) led to this point? Don’t just fight fires—find where the spark came from.
- Recall Past Battles: Seen this before? Learn once, remember forever. Smart thinkers don’t reinvent the wheel—they roll with it. The reason you can calculate 10 × 10 fast is not because you're actually calculating it right now, you just remembered that 10 × 10 always equals 100 from the last time.
- Write It Down: Thinking in your head is like lifting weights with one finger. Writing = brain push-ups. Writing is how you trace your thoughts. You might have great ideas, but if you never write them down, you might never remember them or use them.
“Never trust a thought that’s still in your head.” – George Mack
5. Visualize Outcomes: Mentally run the tape forward. Play out the move before you make it.
- List All the Moves First: Don’t pounce on the first idea. It’s rarely the best. Force yourself to list at least five. Quantity creates quality.
- Prune Mental Weeds: Self-doubt, irrelevant worries, imaginary critics? Trash.
Avoid These 2 Classic Thinking Traps
- Going too deep into just a few options
- Going too wide, barely analyzing many
🧠 The Solution
Find The Golden Mean—just enough thinking to make a quality move without spiraling.
You’re not playing chess on a timer... but you are on the clock in life.
How to Find Your Golden Mean
- Don’t over-assess. Don’t blindfold yourself. Know when to stop counting and start moving.
- Learn from the past. Don’t get stuck there. Patterns help—but ruminating hurts.
- Use your memory. Don’t become a fossil. Experience helps until it stops you from adapting.
- Write. Then act. Insight is step one. Execution is step two.
- Simulate. But eventually, test it in reality. Theory doesn’t pay the bills. Action does.
- Brainstorm. But don’t drown in possibilities. Five options is better than one. Fifty is paralysis.
- Cut noise. Keep sharp doubt. Kill the inner critic—but keep the editor.
You’re not just playing the game of life—you’re designing the playbook. Train your mind, refine your moves, and step boldly. Because mastery isn’t about knowing more. It’s about thinking better—and moving smarter.
Part 3: Level Up IRL: Why Life Should Be a Video Game
Think of the world as a strategy game: There are quests (repeatable actions that build XP), levers (actions that move big results), bosses (mental models to conquer), and calculation errors (beliefs, habits, or systems to debug).
Principles to internalize:
- You don't rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems
- Goals are for direction, not identity. Don’t let them define who you are.
- Sacrifice is non-negotiable
- Always measure to manage what you want to improve
"The laziest person I knew once played 16 hours of video games a day… and outworked every 'productive' person I'd ever met."— George Mack
That sentence is your red pill. Swallow it slowly.
Most people aren’t lazy. They’re just stuck inside a terribly designed reality.
🚧 Life on Level 100 Sucks
Imagine loading into a game that starts you at Level 100.
No mini-quests. No XP. No dopamine drip. Just "Build a website" Nope. Try again.
Real gamers know: you start at Level 1. That means dump your thoughts, sketch ideas, name the damn site.
Boom. Achievement unlocked. Momentum begins. Dopamine flows. You’re hooked. That’s how games work. That’s how your life should work.
🎯 Input-Based Dopamine > Outcome-Based Misery
The secret: fall in love with the inputs. Not the trophy at the end, but the tiny progress bars you fill along the way.
Write 500 words/day = 2 books/year. Do that for 50 years = 100 books. Break down the app into steps, etc. Now you’re a legend — not because you were special, but because you played the game better.
🔥 Pleasure and Pain Are Just Game Mechanics
Stack your incentives like a game designer on Adderall:
- Pleasure: No coffee until Level 3 is cleared.
- Pain: Snooze your alarm? Pay your friend $20
This is operant conditioning, but make it elite. Gamify your streaks so your body wants to win, even when your mind doesn’t.
📈 Life XP Toolkit: Game Designer Mode
Here's your reality mod kit:
- Micro-levels: Break everything down. No "write a book." Start with “write 100 words.”
- Progress Bars: Visualize your wins. Track inputs, not outcomes.
- Pain/Pleasure Hooks: Make the right thing easy and rewarding. The wrong thing annoying or costly.
- Public Accountability: Sanderson puts his progress bar online. You can do the same. Make it social.
- Streaks + Momentum: Keep chains alive. Nothing hurts like breaking your 27-day streak of wins.
Great games stack these loops. So should your life.
💡 Bonus Round: Escape the Competition. Build Your Own Game.
If the game you're playing has 10,000 players…You're not going to win without some freak advantage. Instead, design your own game.
Don’t compete — create. Combine the 3 weirdest, strongest, most you skills you have.
Maybe you’re:
- Top 10% in animation
- Top 20% in psychology
- Top 5% in storytelling
Cool. Now you’re the world’s top expert in Narrative Animation Therapy. No one else even knows the game exists — and you invented it.
“Become the best at what you do. Then keep redefining what you do until this is true.”— Naval
You don’t need more motivation. You need better mechanics.
You don’t need more discipline. You need a more addictive system.
Life’s already a game — the problem is, most people are playing it blindfolded.
Design your life like a good game……and suddenly, you’re not forcing productivity — it’s chasing you.
TL;DR – Life Is Calculable: Run the Math
- Don't chase success. Define what success equals, then solve for it.
- Don't trust motivation. Measure and engineer your systems.
- Don't wait for clarity. Ask better questions, define your variables, run the numbers.
Your emotions are valid. But your outcomes are mathematical. You don't need more hustle; you need better equations.
The winners in life aren't the ones who get it right the first time. They're the ones who relentlessly iterate toward better approximations. That's math. That's evolution. That's compounding.
By understanding and applying metamathematics, you transform your life from a chaotic mystery into a series of solvable equations, leading to predictable and desirable outcomes.
You'd like The Strategic Manager Prompt
An AI prompt you can use to:
- Identify your internal equations
- Run daily experiments to update them
- Create levers that multiply your wins
- Master mental reps like an athlete masters physical drills
Grab it here for free: https://selar.com/strategyprompt
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Talk soon,
Praise J.J.