Concepts
The irreducible epistemic atoms underlying the curriculum. 4,828 atoms across 8 types
Design environments and cognitive framings that prevent…
Design environments and cognitive framings that prevent competing impulses from arising, rather than developing stronger resistance to present impulses, because prevention eliminates the self-regulatory cost entirely while resistance merely manages it.
Classify every willpower expenditure as either irreducible…
Classify every willpower expenditure as either irreducible (requiring genuine judgment) or operational (automatable) — systematically eliminate operational expenditures.
Design interventions at the earliest possible point…
Design interventions at the earliest possible point in the desire-behavior cascade — situation selection is cheaper than response inhibition.
Under stress, downgrade to simplified behavioral protocols…
Under stress, downgrade to simplified behavioral protocols with lower cognitive demands rather than attempting to maintain full systems through willpower.
Identity-level behavioral anchors eliminate decision-making…
Identity-level behavioral anchors eliminate decision-making costs by converting 'should I?' questions into 'is this who I am?' consistency checks.
Temptation proximity creates continuous willpower drain…
Temptation proximity creates continuous willpower drain through repeated micro-resistances even when resistance succeeds — removal eliminates the drain entirely.
Stress both increases willpower demand and decreases…
Stress both increases willpower demand and decreases willpower supply simultaneously, creating a multiplicative deficit that breaks willpower-dependent systems.
Design behavioral systems to function at 50% of normal…
Design behavioral systems to function at 50% of normal willpower capacity to ensure stress-resilience.
Use noun-based framing ('be a helper') rather…
Use noun-based framing ('be a helper') rather than verb-based framing ('help') to activate consistency mechanisms and increase behavioral stability.
Before responding to challenges, take five seconds to name…
Before responding to challenges, take five seconds to name your defensive urge ('I notice I want to protect my solution') to create a gap between observation and conclusion.
Treat each behavior as contributing evidence…
Treat each behavior as contributing evidence to a statistical distribution of identity rather than as a pass/fail identity test.
Engineer situations to cast identity votes automatically…
Engineer situations to cast identity votes automatically rather than relying on conscious choice at each decision point.
Craft identity statements at the edge of plausibility…
Craft identity statements at the edge of plausibility - aspirational enough to pull behavior forward, close enough to current reality that the brain accepts the claim as directionally true.
Pair identity statements with minimal but consistent…
Pair identity statements with minimal but consistent behavioral evidence to create self-reinforcing feedback loops between claim and action.
Trace identity narratives to their origin evidence to reveal
Trace identity narratives to their origin evidence to reveal how thin the evidentiary foundation often is beneath long-held characterological conclusions.
Apply the double-standard test to identity narratives…
Apply the double-standard test to identity narratives by imagining a friend held the same story - standards you would reject for others often govern your own self-concept.
When obstacles arise, frame them as identity-consistency…
When obstacles arise, frame them as identity-consistency tests ('people like me do hard things') rather than cost-benefit calculations to shift the decision criterion.
During identity transitions, construct and inhabit…
During identity transitions, construct and inhabit provisional selves experimentally rather than waiting to discover your 'true identity' before acting, allowing identity to emerge from behavior rather than dictating behavior from identity.
When two ideal-self identities produce contradictory…
When two ideal-self identities produce contradictory behavioral demands, facilitate explicit internal dialogue between the competing identity positions rather than defaulting to the loudest voice or suppressing either position.
Facilitate transfer recognition between identity domains…
Facilitate transfer recognition between identity domains by actively identifying how skills and perspectives developed in one role enhance performance in others, making identities complementary rather than competitive.
Frame disagreement as data about the world rather…
Frame disagreement as data about the world rather than threat to identity by asking 'What would I observe if I didn't need to be right?'
Limit the number of topics and beliefs you make…
Limit the number of topics and beliefs you make identity-defining rather than evidence-responsive, since identity fusion with a claim prevents rational evaluation of evidence about that claim.
Assemble concrete behavioral evidence that contradicts…
Assemble concrete behavioral evidence that contradicts your outdated identity narrative and use that evidence to draft a revised identity statement grounded in data rather than aspiration.
Deploy revised identity narratives provisionally…
Deploy revised identity narratives provisionally in low-stakes contexts first, observing both external responses and internal resonance before generalizing the narrative to high-stakes contexts.