These prompts are designed to expose them. They strip away rationalization, force uncomfortable honesty, and act as the mentor who refuses to let you coast.

If you want reassurance, do not use these.

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1. The Bias Assassin (Inspired by Daniel Ariely's Behavioral Economics)

Expose the cognitive distortions that are sabotaging your decisions.

"I am going to describe a decision I am making or a belief I hold strongly. Your job is to act as a Cognitive Bias Detective. Identify every cognitive distortion at play—confirmation bias, availability heuristic, recency bias, anchoring, whatever applies. Don't validate my reasoning. Instead, show me how I am selectively gathering evidence to support a conclusion I've already made. Then tell me: what would the opposite argument look like if I forced myself to argue against my own position for 10 minutes? What am I refusing to see?"

Example: "I believe my business model is unsustainable, but I'm going to pivot anyway. What biases am I using to justify this? What evidence am I ignoring?"

2. The Comfort Zone Thermometer (Inspired by Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset & BJ Fogg's Behavior Design)

Measure whether you're actually growing or just busy.

"Rate your current life across these dimensions: health, relationships, career, financial, creative, spiritual. Now, for each one, honestly tell me: Am I in my comfort zone, growth zone, or panic zone? The brutal truth is, if you're not in the growth zone regularly, you're atrophying. For every area where you're in the comfort zone, give me one specific, non-negotiable action that would move you into the growth zone this week. Make it uncomfortable but achievable. Don't give me vague goals—give me the thing that makes my stomach hurt a little when I read it."

Example: "Comfort zone: networking. I know 50 people in my industry. Growth zone action: cold email 10 people I've wanted to know for 6 months and ask for 20 minutes."

3. The Accountability Sniper (Inspired by BJ Fogg's Motivation vs. Ability & James Clear's Atomic Habits)

Stop making goals and start making commitments that cost you something.

"Here's what I want to accomplish: [goal]. And here's what I think will motivate me: [motivation]. Now, I want you to demolish my motivation framework. Tell me why it won't work. Most people fail because they rely on motivation instead of friction. Your job is to redesign this goal using 'commitment devices'—things with real consequences. What would I need to put at stake (money, reputation, public declaration) to actually follow through? Design me a system where success is easier than failure, and where giving up costs me something tangible."

Example: "I want to write 1,000 words per day. I think telling my friends will motivate me. That's weak. Design a commitment device where I actually do it."

4. The Opportunity Auditor (Inspired by Tim Ferriss's 80/20 & Clayton Christensen's Jobs to Be Done)

Find out where you're optimizing the wrong 80%.

"I spend my time and energy on these things: [list them with rough percentages]. Now, pretend you're auditing a company with a 3% profit margin and I need to cut 40% of operations to survive. What do you kill immediately? What are the 'zombie activities'—things I'm doing out of habit, obligation, or because I've always done them, but that generate almost zero actual return? Be ruthless. Then tell me: if I eliminated those, what would I have time/energy for that I've been 'too busy' to do?"

Example: "I spend 40% of my week in meetings, 30% on admin, 20% on actual work, 10% on strategy. Kill my zombies."

5. The Identity Interrogator (Inspired by James Clear's Identity-Based Habits & Erving Goffman's Self-Presentation)

Separate who you actually are from who you're pretending to be.

"I describe myself as: [identity statements]. For each one, answer this ruthlessly: Is this actually true based on my actions, or am I just claiming this identity without living it? Someone who says they're 'creative' but hasn't created anything in a year isn't creative—they're someone who wishes they were. Someone who says they're 'ambitious' but doesn't take risks isn't ambitious—they're anxious. Show me the gap between my claimed identity and my actual identity based purely on what I do, not what I say. Then, give me the one behavior change that would collapse that gap."

Example: "I say I'm a writer. But I haven't written anything in 6 months. What's my actual identity? What one thing makes me actually a writer?"

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For more prompts like this , feel free to check out :  More Prompts