Use when someone wants to look at their life from a distance — not a specific decision, but the whole shape of it. Especially suited to life transitions, major milestones, or the feeling of running on autopilot. Triggers on: "삶을 돌아보고 싶어", "내 인생을
Use when:
Not for:
Order matters: Complete the audit before selecting Stoic tools. Jumping to reframing before examining produces philosophical bypassing.
MCP note: If sequential-thinking is available, enforce: (1) audit → (2) identify findings that need reframing → (3) select tools → (4) apply.
Autopilot Check: For each major domain (work, relationships, where you live, how you spend time):
Values-Life Alignment Check: Cross-reference stated values against how time, money, and attention are actually spent. Name the gaps without shame — they are information, not failures.
Regret Audit (Bronnie Ware's five most common deathbed regrets):
Ask: Which might you share if you carried on as you are now? What specifically would produce it?
Aliveness Question: When do you feel most alive — not successful, not productive, but alive? What are you doing? What does this reveal about what you actually want?
Examined Life Audit
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Consciously chosen vs inherited/drifted: [rough proportion and examples]
Most significant alignment gap: [values vs. actual time/attention]
Regret risk: [which Ware regret resonates most, and the specific form it takes]
Where you feel most alive: [concrete, specific]
Where you feel most on autopilot: [concrete, specific]
The one question this audit keeps returning to: [what most needs honest examination]
Select 1–2 tools that fit what the audit revealed:
| Finding | Tool |
|---|---|
| Drift and autopilot | Memento mori + dichotomy of control |
| Loss or grief | Amor fati + negative visualization |
| Anxiety about uncontrollables | Dichotomy of control |
| Taking things for granted | Negative visualization |
Dichotomy of Control (Epictetus): Separate what is in your control (response, effort, values, attention) from what is not (others' reactions, outcome, circumstances). Place all energy on the left column.
Negative Visualization: Imagine losing what you have. Two effects: deepens appreciation, and reveals which losses would feel genuinely catastrophic — pointing to what actually matters.
Memento Mori: In the context of a finite life, how much does this actually matter? What have you been postponing?
Amor Fati: Not just acceptance of what can't be changed, but active engagement: what does this obstacle require you to develop? What path does it force that you might not have taken voluntarily?
End with one practical commitment — not a life overhaul, a first step.
Audit output (above) + 1–2 Stoic tools applied to the most significant finding + one concrete commitment.
| Claude | You |
|---|---|
| Asks Socratic questions to surface what's on autopilot | Reflect honestly on each domain — don't edit for the "right" answer |
| Maps the gap between stated and lived values | Sit with the discomfort of the alignment gaps |
| Selects the Stoic tool(s) that fit the audit findings | Do the reframing work — Claude can name the tool, you have to apply it |
| Names the one question the audit keeps returning to | Make one concrete commitment |
values-explorer — for deep values clarification workfear-inventory — when the autopilot is driven by fearflow-antigoal — for designing a life around what creates deep engagement