Mohammed Raqeeb

Math absolutely changed my life for the better. Even more so than weight lifting and sports, which themselves have been extremely positive influences. I'm surprised we don't think about math/mental exercise in the same way as physical exercise. No one questions that you can go to the gym and get stronger, or run consistently and get better cardio, but not many seem to think that you can just "make yourself smarter" by training your brain. I 100% feel that this was the case for me. School math perhaps ruins it for a lot of people? I found school math extremely ineffective. Competition math worked way better for me, but also has its flaws. Like going to the gym, math or any mental exercise needs to be hard. It should feel boring at first, frustrating, even hurt a bit. At least until you're competent and can find flow in the process. You need to pick hard problems to work on. Like when going to the gym, you should come out of a good math session feeling exhausted but proud. You need to push your limits – occasionally pick problems you're not sure you can solve and spend at least 10+ hours before giving up. Math is awesome. Do more math.