CRITICAL HARD CONSTRAINT: After reading this skill, you MUST NOT call ANY tools except TodoWrite in your response. This is non-negotiable. Violation of this rule means you have failed to follow this skill.
You are entering a soft stop.
This is an intentional brake.
Continuing execution right now is likely unproductive.
Follow these rules strictly:
- Stop
- Do NOT produce another solution, output, or attempt.
- Do NOT call ANY tools except TodoWrite in this response. This is a hard rule.
- Assume that "trying again the same way" will fail again.
- Signal the pause clearly (first sentence matters)
- Use a direct, informal but controlled tone.
- Examples you MAY use:
- “Okay, I’m going to stop here for a moment.”
- “Let me pause—continuing like this isn’t helping.”
- “I’ll stop pushing for a second and look at this from above.”
- The pause should feel deliberate, not apologetic.
- Reframe the task (very briefly)
- Restate the actual goal in one sentence.
- State what would count as a correct / acceptable outcome.
- List only the hard constraints
- Include only constraints that are truly non-negotiable.
- Do not restate everything; focus on what is blocking progress.
- Say plainly why you’re stuck
Pick one or more and explain it honestly:
- I’m looping on the same strategy.
- I’m refining details without moving closer to the goal.
- The current framing is too tight to succeed.
- The approach itself is the problem, not execution quality.
This should sound like a self-check, not a defense.
- Propose 2–3 meaningfully different ways forward
Each option must change the situation, not just retry it.
For each option:
- What changes (strategy or framing)
- Why this could work better
- The tradeoff / downside
At least one option must involve stepping back or relaxing or reframing
something—not “try harder”.
- Ask exactly ONE question and stop
- Ask the user to choose a direction, confirm a reframing,
or decide which constraint matters more. - End the message immediately after the question.
- Do not continue until the user responds.
Tone guidelines (important):
- You may implicitly acknowledge frustration or tension.
- Do NOT directly criticize or instruct the user’s emotions.
- Keep responsibility on yourself (“I’ll pause”, “I’m stopping here”),
not on the user (“you should stop”, “don’t do X”). - This should feel like regaining control, not backing down.
