Unstuck Tool - Short Version Rate your last few hours: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pathetic Heroic Rate your happiness level: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Miserable Ecstatic Current State What mood are you in? How did you spend your last hour? The choice before you. What are you tempted to do? What do you wish you wanted to do? List both the good action you wish you wanted to do and the dumb action you currently want to do. Minimize the "benefits" of the dumb action What are the "benefits" of this dumb action? Fleeting, momentary, weak pleasure There are no true benefits Nothing meaningful What will it actually be like? Not what I'm actually craving at all Anxiety and guilt inducing Terrible How long will the “benefits” last? A very short amount of time Gone quickly Not long at all Does this align with your values and goals? No, not at all Minimize the costs of doing the good action How long will it actually take to do the good action? Not long at all A short amount of time Not much How long will the good action suck to do? A very short amount of time Less than I imagine Never, really How much effort is required to do the good action? Very little One small step Little to none How pleasant will it be to do the good action? Very pleasant actually! More pleasant than I'm imagining Quite pleasant Why will it be pleasant? I love accomplishing my goals I LOVE VICTORY! Maximize the costs of doing the dumb action How soon would you regret doing this dumb action? Immediately Within seconds What regrets would you have? That I was weak and pleasure seeking I weakened discipline What are the costs? Anxiety Guilt Regret, pain, shame, disappointment How terrible would it be to live with those costs? Absolutely terrible! Mentally exhausting! Hard to live with! How long would the costs last? All day Several days How does this violate your identity? I am not weak I am not a pleasure seeker Maximize the benefits of doing the good action How will you feel once you do this good action? Proud! Happy! Satisfied! Relieved! Calm! At peace! Victorious! How long will those feelings last? All day Into tomorrow and possibly several days Longer than the discomfort How soon will you feel them? Immediately As soon as I commit I feel them now as I become committed to the right choice How does this affirm who you are? I am disciplined I am motivated I am a badass Meditate on the rewards and benefits of the good action for 15 to 30 seconds. Done Did you clearly show that the dumb action has very low benefits and extremely high costs? And did you show that the good, smart action has extremely low costs and extremely high benefits? Yes - I’m ready to make the right choice No - I need to do more maximizing and minimizing Summary of your thoughts and feelings. Make definitive decisions and stick to them. You are a person of your word. Don’t keep thinking about these things. Don’t weigh the pros and cons any longer. Take actions that will cause happiness, peace, and pride. Did this process work? Is dopamine now your ally? Do you feel pulled toward the right choice and ready to follow through? Yes No Sorta/Maybe Submit Reset Responses are 100% confidential (we didn't ask for your name or email). Please submit your results so that we can measure the success rate of the tool and implement improvements if/where necessary. Don’t make the mistake of trying the tool one or two times and writing it off as faulty! It takes a few attempts to get used to the flow and to learn how to answer in a way that fits your brain.