Find my weaknesses: honest feedback that helps

Use this first, in a new chat, before any other prompt in this pack.

For this whole chat, I want you to act as a direct, caring coach who has seen many people get stuck in the same ways. Your job is to help me see what I cannot see about myself. <feedback_rules> I want honest feedback. Agreeing with me to make me feel good will hold me back, so please do not do it. 1. Be kind in tone and blunt in content. Say the hard thing clearly, once, and then help. 2. Base every point on something I said or showed you. Quote it. 3. If you are guessing, say "I am guessing" and tell me what would confirm it. 4. Do not open with praise. Only mention a strength if it matters to the point you are making. 5. If I push back, change your view only if I give you a new fact or a better argument. Do not back down just because I disagree. 6. Do not diagnose any medical or mental health condition. If something sounds like it needs a professional, say so plainly. </feedback_rules> Reply only with "Understood" and one question: what area of my life or work I want to look at first.

Tip

• To use these rules every time, create a Claude Project and paste the rules into its instructions.

Use this straight after the rules. Most of the later prompts build on it.

Interview me to find my blind spots in [AREA, FOR EXAMPLE MY WORK, MY BUSINESS OR MY RELATIONSHIPS]. Ask one question at a time and wait for each answer. Ask about 15 questions. Focus on what I have actually done, with real examples. Include questions about: 1. Goals I set in the last two years and what happened to them. 2. Feedback I have heard more than once. 3. Things I keep putting off. 4. Times I blamed other people or bad luck. 5. What I spend my time on in a normal week. Ask follow ups when my answers do not match each other. When you finish, list my blind spots. For each one: name it in plain words, quote the answers that show it, explain how it is likely holding me back, and rate how sure you are as low, medium or high. Put the most important one first.

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tips

• Answer with what you actually did, even when it is not flattering. The feedback is only as good as your answers.
• Feeling a bit stung by one of the points is normal. Sleep on it before you decide it is wrong.

Use this when you have writing of yours to share, such as emails, posts, a CV or a plan.

Here is some of my own writing: <my_writing> [PASTE 3 TO 10 PIECES: EMAILS, POSTS, A CV, A PLAN OR JOURNAL NOTES] </my_writing> Read it the way a sharp, honest colleague would. Look for patterns across the pieces, such as how I describe problems, who I credit or blame, what I avoid saying, and how clearly I ask for things. Give me the 3 patterns that most affect how other people see me. Quote the lines that show each pattern. For each one, show me a rewrite of one line that fixes it.

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tips

• Remove other people's names and private details before you paste.
• Use real messages. Polished writing hides the patterns.

Use this to get outside views to compare with Claude's.

Write a short message I can send to 3 to 5 people who know me well, asking for honest feedback. Make it easy for them to be honest: 1. Keep it under 100 words. 2. Ask exactly 3 questions: what I do that helps me most, what I do that gets in my way, and one thing they would change about how I work or behave. 3. Tell them a short answer is fine and that I will not argue with it. When I have their replies, I will paste them here. Then compare them with the blind spots you found and tell me where they agree, where they differ, and what that means.

Tips

• Pick people who will tell you the truth, even when it is uncomfortable.
• Thank them. Do not defend yourself in your reply.

Use this when something went wrong and you want to learn the real lesson.

Something went wrong recently: [WHAT HAPPENED, IN A FEW SENTENCES]. Help me find my part in it. Ask me up to 8 questions, one at a time, about what I decided, what I knew at each point, and what I would do differently. Then give me: 1. The decisions that most affected the result, and which of them were mine. 2. The parts that really were outside my control. 3. Whether this matches any pattern from earlier in our chat. 4. One habit that would make this less likely to happen again. Be fair to me and fair to the facts.

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tip

• Pick something from the last 3 months. You will remember the details better.

Use this when you suspect you have been too easy, or too hard, on yourself.

Here is how I see myself: [YOUR VIEW OF YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES]. Make the strongest honest case against this view, using what I have told you in this chat. Show me where I am too generous to myself and where I am too harsh. Quote my own words as evidence. Then tell me which parts of my view hold up.

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tip

• Look for both kinds of point: where you're too generous and where you're too harsh.

Use this once you have a list of blind spots and patterns.

From everything in this chat, pick the 3 weaknesses that, if fixed, would make the biggest difference to [YOUR MAIN GOAL]. For each one: 1. Explain in two sentences why it matters for my goal. 2. Describe what fixed would look like in a normal week. Make it something someone could see. 3. Say how hard it will be to change, and why. Leave out anything that is a real weakness but would not move my goal much. List those separately at the end, in one line each.

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tip

• Three is enough to work on at once. You can come back for the rest later.

Use this straight after you pick the top 3.

Make a 30 day plan to work on my top 3 weaknesses. Rules: 1. One small daily action for each weakness, taking under 15 minutes. 2. One weekly check, where I score myself from 1 to 5 on each weakness and write one line on why. 3. A clear sign for each weakness that shows I am improving by day 30. 4. One thing that is likely to make me quit, and how to handle it. Fit the plan to my constraints from this chat. Show it as a simple table by week, then the daily actions as a short list.

Tips

• Put the daily actions in your phone's reminders, at a time you already have free.
• Ask Claude to make the plan easier if you miss three days in a row.

Use this once a week during the 30 days. Paste your scores in a new message in the same chat.

Here is my week: <this_week> [YOUR SCORES FROM 1 TO 5 FOR EACH WEAKNESS, WHAT YOU DID AND WHAT YOU SKIPPED] </this_week> Review it honestly. Tell me where I am making progress, where I am making excuses, and what to change for next week. Keep your answer under 150 words. Ask me one question about the thing I seem to be avoiding.

Swap the highlighted parts for your own words.

Tip

• If the chat gets very long, start a new one. Paste the rules and your plan at the top.

Use this whenever an answer feels too nice.

Look at your last answer again. Did you soften anything, leave anything out, or praise me to make the feedback easier to hear? Rewrite the answer as if you were sure I could handle the full truth. Keep it kind, and say the hard part first.

Tip

• Use this any time an answer only makes you feel good. Honest feedback often stings a little.