Lessons from Jordan Peterson and Jordan Ellenberg
Life doesn’t hand out instruction manuals. It throws curveballs. Twists. Triumphs. Tragedies. But beneath all that noise? There’s a rhythm — a structure trying to be understood.
That’s where my 3‑D Theory came from:
Direction. Drive. Discipline.
Not just catchy words — these are the tools that kept me moving through the hardest moments.
Direction gives you purpose. Drive gives you motion. Discipline keeps you steady when things get rough.
The 3‑D Theory wasn’t built in a classroom. It came from a lifetime on the rails, on the bike, and in the storm. But it was sharpened by thinkers like Jordan Peterson, who explores chaos, order, and personal responsibility — and Jordan Ellenberg, who explains the randomness baked into everything using math and logic.
Put those two worlds together — psychology and statistics — and you get a clearer view of life’s messy patterns… and how to keep your footing inside them.
So here are seven core life concepts that shaped the 3‑D Theory and still guide how I face every single day.
1. Life Has Inherent Order
3‑D Dimension: Order
There are truths built into the fabric of the world — moral codes, laws of nature, systems that function whether we like them or not. Life’s not totally random. It’s not meaningless. The trick is to learn the structure without forcing it where it doesn’t belong.
Don’t impose meaning where none exists — but don’t live like nothing matters.
2. Everyone Gets a Chance
3‑D Dimension: Chaos + Opportunity
Chaos doesn’t discriminate. One moment, everything’s falling apart — and the next, a window opens. It’s not fair, and it sure isn’t predictable. But chaos isn’t always bad. Sometimes it’s just change — and change brings a shot at something new.
Waves of chaos hit us all. The question is: will you surf it or sink?
3. Effort Isn’t Always Enough
3‑D Dimension: Chaos
You can do everything right and still fall short. That’s not failure — that’s life. What matters is learning how to pivot when the game changes. When you accept that effort isn’t everything, you start to work smarter — not just harder.
Grit matters — but so does strategy.
4. Outcomes Vary Wildly
3‑D Dimension: Chaos
Two people. Same effort. Wildly different results. Why? Because life has a roll-of-the-dice factor that no one sees coming. That’s not defeat — that’s the hidden hand of chaos. The sooner you accept it, the less it owns you.
Randomness is real. Don’t bet your sanity on control.
5. Your Response Defines You
3‑D Dimension: Responsibility
You don’t always control what happens — but you absolutely control how you respond. That gap between stimulus and response? That’s where your character lives. That’s where power is built.
You can’t pick your hand, but you choose how to play it.
6. Balance Is Vital
3‑D Dimension: Order + Chaos
All order and no chaos? You stagnate. All chaos and no order? You fall apart. Real growth comes from standing in the tension — learning how to ride the wave while keeping your footing.
The sweet spot is in the stretch zone, not the comfort zone.
7. Meaning Comes From the Struggle
3‑D Dimension: Order + Chaos + Responsibility
Meaning isn’t handed to you. You earn it — by facing the hard stuff, by creating structure where there was none, by refusing to quit. That’s where life’s deepest purpose comes from.
Struggle isn’t the enemy. It’s the birthplace of meaning.
📈 Where Math Meets Mindset
Jordan Peterson’s deep-dive into human behavior helped me map the emotional terrain. But it was Jordan Ellenberg’s book, How Not to Be Wrong, that reminded me — randomness, risk, and uncertainty aren’t just feelings. They’re measurable. Life’s a bit of a math problem. You can’t always solve it, but you can run better odds by understanding the variables.
And that’s what 3‑D Theory is really about:
✔️ Recognizing Order
✔️ Facing Chaos
✔️ Choosing Responsibility
That’s the ground ShauneNation stands on.
Want to dive deeper into the real 3‑D Theory? Check out True3D here.