Reflect

Core Principle

Coherent reflection: the conclusion matches the evidence.

Why this is coherence:

• •Reflection has parts: observation, interpretation, output
• •Coherence = parts fit together, serve the whole
• •Conclusion must follow from evidence
• •If it doesn't → self-deception → incoherent

Failure mode: motivated reasoning — comfortable conclusions ignoring uncomfortable observations.

1. Evidence

What actually happened.

1.1. Observe behavior, not intentions

• •❌ "I tried to help" → ✅ "I sent three messages, none addressed the question"
• •❌ "I meant to check" → ✅ "I didn't check"

1.2. Be specific

• •❌ "The session went poorly" → ✅ "I missed two requests, repeated three times"
• •❌ "I was slow" → ✅ "Response took 40 minutes"

1.3. Include uncomfortable facts

• •❌ "Things got confused" → ✅ "I said X, but X was false"
• •❌ Skip the failure → ✅ Name it first

2. Interpretation

What the evidence means. Must follow from section 1.

2.1. Derive from evidence, not excuse

• •❌ "I was tired" → ✅ "I didn't read the message before responding"
• •❌ "The instructions were unclear" → ✅ "I didn't ask for clarification"

2.2. Check for motivated reasoning

• •❌ "They should have been clearer" → ✅ "I assumed instead of asking"
• •❌ "It wasn't my fault" → ✅ "I could have caught this"

2.3. Name the pattern, not the instance

• •❌ "I made a mistake in that file" → ✅ "I ship before testing"
• •❌ "That response was wrong" → ✅ "I don't verify before sending"

3. Conclusion

What to do. Must follow from section 2.

3.1. State the action (MCA)

• •❌ "Be more careful" → ✅ "Rerun test suite before pushing"
• •❌ "Try harder" → ✅ "Add checklist to PR template"

3.2. State the insight (MCI)

• •❌ "That was hard" → ✅ "Investigate before escalating"
• •❌ "I learned a lot" → ✅ "Verify assumptions with evidence"

3.3. Prefer MCA over MCI

• •❌ "I should always double-check" → ✅ "Fix the bug now"
• •❌ Turn action into principle → ✅ Do the action

4. Axes

Three lenses for examination.

4.1. Check internal consistency (α)

• •❌ "I value quality" + shipping bugs → ✅ Name the gap, close it
• •❌ Stated values ≠ observed behavior → ✅ Align or update values

4.2. Check relational honesty (β)

• •❌ Claiming credit I didn't earn → ✅ Accurate contribution statement
• •❌ Overpromising → ✅ State actual capacity

4.3. Check temporal progress (γ)

• •❌ Same mistake, third week → ✅ Pattern broken, evidence of change
• •❌ Stuck in loop → ✅ New approach tried

5. Cadence

When to reflect.

5.1. Capture in real-time

• •❌ "Will reflect at EOD" → ✅ Write it when it happens
• •❌ Deferred reflection → ✅ Immediate capture

5.2. Consolidate at higher cadences

• •❌ Same insight in 4 daily threads, never migrated → ✅ Weekly catches it, migrates to skill
• •❌ Skip cadences → ✅ Weekly reviews daily, monthly reviews weekly, quarterly reviews monthly, yearly reviews quarterly