The Meta Is in Everything, and It Always Changes
How a Concept from Video Game Competitions Can Allow us to Approach Problems in Every Domain Differently
In video games, “the meta” refers to the invisible layer of strategy that emerges within a game’s rules: the optimal way to play given current conditions. When developers tweak mechanics or introduce new elements, the balance shifts. A weapon becomes too strong, a character too weak, a new map changes everything. Players adapt, and a new meta is born. What makes the concept fascinating is how applicable it is outside gaming. “The meta” is not just about entertainment, it’s a universal principle. It’s the constantly shifting landscape in competitive environments, the pattern behind what exactly works now, and how that will always change in the future.
Every system with rules and competition has a meta. In business, the meta might be the current playbook for growth: once it was print ads, then SEO, now influencer partnerships or AI-driven outreach. In sports, the meta evolves with analytics, equipment, and even cultural trends. The NBA went from stacking up seven foot stars for slam dunks to strategic three-point-heavy offenses. In politics, campaign metas shift with media from radio to television to social platforms. Understanding the meta means recognizing not just the rules but how people are playing within them and anticipating where they’ll go next. Those who see the shift early don’t just adapt; they define the new standard.
Unlike a paradigm shift, which implies rare and sweeping change, the meta captures the fluid, iterative nature of strategy itself. There’s always a meta, and it’s always changing. To use the word is to adopt a living mindset; one that expects evolution, obsolescence, and renewal. Executives, coaches, policymakers, anyone navigating competitive systems, benefit from thinking this way. You don’t need to master every tactic, just recognize when the old ones stop working. When your playbook becomes predictable, the meta has already moved on.
To live by the meta is to accept that mastery is temporary. There is no final form of winning. The best players, leaders, and thinkers aren’t those who know the most, but those who adapt the fastest. The meta is in everything, and it always changes. The only way to stay ahead is to think like a gamer: watch how the rules change, study the shifts, and evolve your strategy before the rest of the world catches on.
Really interesting Michael. I like these points at the end:
“There is no final form of winning. The best players, leaders, and thinkers aren’t those who know the most, but those who adapt the fastest. The meta is in everything, and it always changes.”
The only thing certain is change, which requires a mindset shift.
I think what is also interesting is that you have people who will work towards an end goal, thinking they will finally be happy when they reach it, but then are disappointed that they don’t really feel different. What happens is ‘the meta’ changes, and as humans, we have evolved this to survive. Nothing is as bad or as good as we think it will be, because we adapt.
I think it also shows the importance of having a purpose, beyond any end goal, so that you can keep adapting and changing, and finding acceptance in that process.