Concepts
The irreducible epistemic atoms underlying the curriculum. 4,828 atoms across 8 types
Practice daily sovereignty audits by identifying one belief…
Practice daily sovereignty audits by identifying one belief you acted on, tracing its origin, and evaluating whether you would choose it independently, converting self-authority from occasional act to dispositional tendency.
Detect self-authority decay by monitoring for stopped…
Detect self-authority decay by monitoring for stopped disagreement, adopted positions without reasoning trails, automatic deference, and boring sovereignty journal entries, treating absence of epistemic friction as warning signal not achievement.
Examine past peak experiences, emotional responses…
Examine past peak experiences, emotional responses, and imagined futures (counterfactual scenarios) as three independent evidence streams that triangulate toward your actual values with greater reliability than introspection alone.
Decompose each peak experience into specific conditions…
Decompose each peak experience into specific conditions (role, challenge level, autonomy, social context, stakes) rather than accepting surface-level activity labels, because values reside in the conditions of engagement rather than the activity itself.
When resentment persists beyond the immediate moment…
When resentment persists beyond the immediate moment, extract the violated value through a four-step protocol (notice, identify trigger, name violated standard, record) before either suppressing or indulging the emotion.
Pre-commit to decisions during moments of clarity…
Pre-commit to decisions during moments of clarity to eliminate choice points during moments of vulnerability when hyperbolic discounting predictably reverses preferences.
When stated values diverge from revealed values, treat…
When stated values diverge from revealed values, treat the gap as a design problem requiring infrastructure changes rather than a character problem requiring willpower, since willpower without redesign merely patches symptoms.
Distinguish peak experiences (moments of deep engagement…
Distinguish peak experiences (moments of deep engagement regardless of external validation) from peak achievements (impressive outcomes) when analyzing values, since achievements reveal what your culture rewards while experiences reveal what you intrinsically value.
Use the 'five whys' technique on any significant energy…
Use the 'five whys' technique on any significant energy investment to trace instrumental values back to terminal values, stopping only when the answer is 'that's what a good life means to me' rather than pointing to something beyond itself.
Test whether a value is truly terminal by imagining…
Test whether a value is truly terminal by imagining its primary instrumental path disappeared—if you would find alternative paths to the same end, the value you named is instrumental; if the loss feels like loss of meaning itself, you've confused the instrument with the destination.
Run continuous alignment checks asking
(1) Can I trace this activity to a core value in 2-3 steps? (2) Has this instrumental value become my identity? (3) Would I choose differently if this instrument disappeared?
Accept that honoring one value often requires sacrificing…
Accept that honoring one value often requires sacrificing another, and interpret the emotional discomfort of that sacrifice as accurate information about real cost rather than evidence you chose wrong.
Use pairwise comparison between values rather than top-down…
Use pairwise comparison between values rather than top-down ranking to reveal your authentic hierarchy, because comparing two at a time bypasses the desire to rank values in socially desirable order.
When articulating values, include a disqualification test…
When articulating values, include a disqualification test—a specific condition that would prove the value is aspirational rather than operative—to distinguish values you hold from values you wish you held.
Test stated values through escalating hypothetical…
Test stated values through escalating hypothetical trade-offs that increase the cost until the answer becomes genuinely uncertain, because only trade-offs that produce discomfort reveal operative hierarchy.
Use values to eliminate unviable options rather…
Use values to eliminate unviable options rather than to identify a single correct choice — a functional values system should narrow your decision space without collapsing it to one option.
Set a single prioritized intention the evening before work…
Set a single prioritized intention the evening before work begins to eliminate cognitive startup cost and decision overhead when attentional competition is highest.
Treat moral injury—sustained violation of deeply held…
Treat moral injury—sustained violation of deeply held values—as a distinct diagnostic category requiring values realignment rather than stress management or increased willpower.
Distinguish eudaimonic well-being (coherence between values…
Distinguish eudaimonic well-being (coherence between values and action) from hedonic well-being (pleasant experience), recognizing that values-aligned choices may produce the former without guaranteeing the latter.
Use resentment as a diagnostic signal pointing to violated…
Use resentment as a diagnostic signal pointing to violated values rather than treating it as a negative emotion to be suppressed or managed.
Set boundaries to enable sustained connection rather…
Set boundaries to enable sustained connection rather than viewing them as obstacles to it, because resentment from absent boundaries eventually destroys relationships.
Specify behavioral limits, their triggers, and enforcement…
Specify behavioral limits, their triggers, and enforcement consequences explicitly to create functional boundaries rather than mere preferences.
Maintain selective permeability in boundaries by filtering…
Maintain selective permeability in boundaries by filtering inputs based on explicit criteria rather than blocking all inputs or accepting all inputs.
Communicate boundaries explicitly because limits that exist…
Communicate boundaries explicitly because limits that exist only internally cannot be respected by others and therefore do not function as boundaries.