STRATEGY 01
Weaken the Saboteurs
Learn their names, their lines and their lies, so you can label one the moment it speaks. Named, it loses much of its grip.
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SHIRZAD CHAMINE · 2012 · GREENLEAF BOOK GROUP
Positive Intelligence
Your mind is the opponent and your mind is the coach. Chamine's book is about catching the first one fast enough to hand the controller to the second.
1Judge, the master Saboteur everyone has
9accomplice Saboteurs, each selling a lie
5Sage powers to answer them with
10sfor one PQ rep of physical attention
> The core idea
Most stress is friendly fire.
Chamine, a Stanford lecturer and former CEO of the Coaches Training Institute, argues that much of our stress and underperformance is self-inflicted, by voices in our own head that pose as helpers.
He calls them Saboteurs. Each formed early to help you survive, and each now runs on a lie: that it is still helping. The Judge, which everyone has, finds fault with you, with others and with your circumstances. Nine accomplices back it up, and most people have a few strong ones.
Against them stands the Sage: the part of you that meets a challenge with curiosity, calm and clear action. Your Positive Intelligence Quotient, or PQ, is the share of the time your mind is serving you rather than sabotaging you. The work is mental fitness, and like physical fitness it comes from reps.
PQ: SERVING ÷ SABOTAGING
TIPPING POINT ~75
Below the lineThe Saboteurs' pull wins more of the day than the Sage's.
Above ~75Chamine's tipping point, where the Sage's pull starts to outweigh them.
- CatchNotice the stress or the voice.
- Label"That's my Controller."
- ShiftOne rep, then a Sage power.
STRATEGY 02
Strengthen the Sage
Practise its five powers on purpose, and choose to see a bad outcome as something you can turn into a gift or an opportunity.
STRATEGY 03
Build the self-command muscle
PQ reps: ten seconds of full attention on a physical sensation. Each one quiets the Saboteurs and gives the Sage the floor.
> Character select
Know the opponents.
Mark the two or three that sound most like your own inner voice. Your picks go on your pocket cards and your fighter card below.
YOUR SABOTEURS: none picked
MASTER SABOTEUR · EVERYONE HAS ONE
The Judge
Finds fault, constantly. It is behind most of the anxiety, stress, anger, disappointment and guilt we feel, and it sells the lie that without it you would go soft and stop improving.
YOUOTHER PEOPLECIRCUMSTANCES
Stickler
ACCOMPLICE
Perfection and order, taken too far. Anxious, rigid, quick to spot the flaw.
It says"There's a right way to do this, and anything less reflects on you."
The liePerfection is responsible. Someone has to hold the standard.
Pleaser
ACCOMPLICE
Earns acceptance by helping, rescuing and flattering, and loses its own needs on the way.
It says"Of course you'll say yes. They need you."
The lieI'm being good. Putting others first is what kind people do.
Hyper-Achiever
ACCOMPLICE
Self-respect that depends on constant performance and how it looks to others.
It says"Enjoy it later. You're only as good as your last result."
The lieMy worth is what I achieve. Slow down and I'm nothing.
Victim
ACCOMPLICE
Dwells on painful feelings, with a martyr streak, as a way to win attention and care.
It says"Why does this always happen to you?"
The lieIf I suffer visibly, someone will finally notice and care.
Hyper-Rational
ACCOMPLICE
Processes everything, people included, through logic, and can come across as cold or superior.
It says"Their feelings aren't logical. Point out the flaw."
The lieReason is the only thing that counts. Feelings are noise.
Hyper-Vigilant
ACCOMPLICE
Constant, intense anxiety about everything that could go wrong. Never off duty.
It says"Something's wrong. Check again."
The lieDanger is everywhere, and my worry is what keeps us safe.
Restless
ACCOMPLICE
Always after the next thing or more busyness, rarely at peace with this one.
It says"This is boring. Start something new."
The lieLife's too short to sit still. Busy means really living.
Controller
ACCOMPLICE
An anxious need to take charge and bend people and situations to its will.
It says"If you don't take over, this fails."
The lieWithout me in charge, it all falls apart. I'm helping.
Avoider
ACCOMPLICE
Stays on the pleasant and positive to an extreme, dodging hard tasks and conflict.
It says"Leave it. It might sort itself out."
The lieI'm keeping the peace. Why spoil a good mood?
> Player two
The Sage's five powers
Each has a "game" in the book: a short exercise that switches it on when a Saboteur is loud.
Empathize
Compassion for yourself and others, the power the Judge resists most.
Visualize the child: picture yourself as a young child when the Judge attacks.
Explore
Curiosity about what is really going on, without needing to judge it.
Fascinated anthropologist: observe the situation as if you were studying it.
Innovate
Fresh options, generated before any are shot down.
Yes… and: build on every idea before criticising any of them.
Navigate
Choosing by what matters most, not what shouts loudest.
Flash forward: look back on this choice from the end of your life.
Activate
Decisive action, free of the Saboteurs' fear and noise.
Preempt the Saboteur: name which one will show up, and plan for it.
> Interactive
Saboteur Intercept
Twelve everyday moments, twelve voices. Name who is talking, then pick the reply the Sage would give. Two of the three replies sound helpful and are another Saboteur in disguise.
SAGE100
01/12INTERCEPTS 0
???100
Press start
Every Saboteur appears once, and the Judge three times, one for each target. After rounds 4 and 8 there is a bonus stage: a ten-second PQ rep. No score here is a real PQ measurement; it is practice at noticing.
Bonus stage: PQ rep
10
Ten seconds of full attention on one sensation. When your mind wanders, bring it back. That return is the rep.
Stage clear
A practice score, not a PQ measurement. The book's real exercise is catching these in your own day, which is harder than catching them here.
> Take it with you
Your loadout
Three things to carry out of here: a card that names your opponents, pocket cards to keep by the desk, and reminders that turn reps into a habit.
SLOT 1 · PNG
Fighter card
Your name, your Saboteurs and your last run. Phone-wallpaper shaped.
SLOT 2 · PRINT / PDF
Pocket cards
One card per Saboteur you marked (the Judge always comes along) with what it says, the lie, and the Sage move to answer it. Print and cut, or save as PDF.
PRINTS: Judge + all nine (none marked)
SLOT 3 · CALENDAR
Rep reminders
Tie a ten-second rep to three things you already do. Each becomes a daily reminder for the next 30 days.
Reps today: 0. Chamine suggests building toward a hundred a day. Do one now: rub two fingertips together slowly and feel the ridges.
10
> Community insights
High-score lines
The ideas readers vote back up most often.
The Judge is the master Saboteur, and it finds fault with you, with other people, and with your circumstances.
Everyone has a Judge; it is the one Saboteur Chamine treats as universal. Notice which of its three targets it prefers in you. The voice that says "you blew it" and the one that says "they always do this" are the same voice.
Every Saboteur sells a lie: that it is there to help you.
The Stickler says perfection is responsible, the Pleaser says it is being kind, the Hyper-Vigilant says it is keeping you safe. That is why they last. Write down the lie your strongest Saboteur tells, and next to it the cost of believing it.
Your PQ is the share of time your mind is serving you rather than sabotaging you.
Positive Intelligence Quotient is a ratio, not a talent. Chamine puts the tipping point at a PQ of about 75, where the pull of the Sage starts to outweigh the Saboteurs. You raise it by catching Saboteurs sooner and spending longer in the Sage.
A PQ rep is ten seconds of full attention on a physical sensation.
Rub two fingers together, feel your breath, listen to the farthest sound: ten seconds of that is one rep. It quiets the Saboteurs and exercises the part of the brain the Sage runs on. Hang reps on things you already do, like washing your hands.
The Sage sees every outcome as something that can be turned into a gift or an opportunity.
This is the Sage perspective, and it is a choice, not a denial that things went wrong. After a setback, ask what this makes possible that was not possible before, and write down three answers.
Labelling a Saboteur as it speaks takes away much of its power.
"That's my Controller" puts a little distance between you and the thought. You stop arguing with it as if it were the truth and start treating it as a habit of mind. Say the name, then do a rep.
Empathize first, with yourself as much as anyone else.
Empathize is the first of the five Sage powers, and the Judge hates it most. One of Chamine's exercises is to picture yourself as a child when your Judge attacks. Kindness toward yourself is not softness; it is what makes the next clear step possible.
Navigate by what matters most to you, not by what feels most urgent.
The Navigate power asks you to look at a choice from the end: when you look back on this, what will you wish you had chosen? Use that flash-forward when the Restless or Hyper-Achiever Saboteur is pushing you to just do something.
> Action steps
Clear the setup levels. Then the daily quests.
The first world takes an evening. The second is the training, and it never quite ends.
World 1 · Set up once5 levels
Find your top Saboteurs
Read the descriptions of all nine accomplices and mark the two or three that sound most like your inner voice. Ask someone close to you which they see.
Name your Judge
Give your Judge a name or a character so you can call it out quickly. A silly name works better than a serious one.
Write down the lie
For your strongest Saboteur, write the lie it tells you and the real cost of believing it, on one card you keep with you.
Pick three rep cues
Choose three things you do every day, such as making coffee, washing your hands or opening your laptop, and tie a ten-second PQ rep to each one.
Match a power to your hardest moment
Name the situation that sets off your Saboteurs most often and choose which Sage power you will try there next time.
World 2 · Daily quests3 habits
Do PQ reps all day
Ten seconds of attention to one physical sensation, as often as you can remember. Build toward a hundred reps across the day.
Catch, label, shift
When you notice stress, say which Saboteur is speaking, do one rep, then ask which Sage power fits.
Close the day as the Sage
Each evening, take the hardest moment of the day and write how it could become a gift or an opportunity.
The Saboteur always speaks first. You get to decide who speaks second.HourLife note after Shirzad Chamine Back to the library
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Frequently asked
What is Positive Intelligence about?
Shirzad Chamine, a Stanford lecturer and former CEO of the Coaches Training Institute, argues that most of our stress and underperformance comes from our own mind working against us. He names the culprits, the Judge and its nine accomplice Saboteurs, and sets against them the Sage, with five powers: Empathize, Explore, Innovate, Navigate and Activate. The method is mental fitness: catch the Saboteur, shift to the...
What are the key takeaways from Positive Intelligence?
Readers on HourLife most often highlight ideas such as: “The Judge is the master Saboteur, and it finds fault with you, with other people, and with your circumstances.” “Every Saboteur sells a lie: that it is there to help you.” “Your PQ is the share of time your mind is serving you rather than sabotaging you.”
Who should read Positive Intelligence?
It's a strong pick for readers exploring Build A Mind That Does Not Spiral, High Performance, and Resilience & Mental Strength. HourLife distills its core idea into community-voted insights and one practical action worth trying.
What's one thing I can do after reading Positive Intelligence?
Find your top Saboteurs — Read the descriptions of all nine accomplices and mark the two or three that sound most like your inner voice. Ask someone close to you which they see.
How long does it take to read the Positive Intelligence summary?
About five minutes. The HourLife summary distills Positive Intelligence into its core idea, 8 community insights, and 8 practical actions you can apply right away.
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