SCRIPT CHECK · 60 SECONDS
Five quick questions show how often it appears, how believable it feels, and what it makes you avoid. You’ll get one private next step.
This is not a diagnosis and there is no pass or fail. It measures the current frequency, credibility, and behavioral cost of “The diff stats feel like a scoreboard I'm already losing”, including the private rule underneath it: If my diff stat shows a high line count, that number is already scoring me before review even starts, so a small diff means I'm ahead and a large one means I've already lost.
QUIET
“The diff stats feel like a scoreboard I'm already losing” appears, but it rarely gets the final say. Keep this line available for higher-pressure moments: “The plus-minus count measures lines moved, not how this review is going to go.”
PRESENT
“The diff stats feel like a scoreboard I'm already losing” wins some small decisions before you catch it. Your useful interruption is: “A big diff isn't a losing score, it's just more surface for someone to check.”
ACTIVE
“The diff stats feel like a scoreboard I'm already losing” is shaping action often enough to deserve a deliberate counterexample. Start privately and concretely: Open a pull request you merged months ago with a diff stat you remember dreading, and count how many comments mentioned size versus what the code actually did.
DOMINANT
Right now, “The diff stats feel like a scoreboard I'm already losing” is steering many of the moments you measured. That is a pattern reading, not a diagnosis or character verdict. Begin with one reversible receipt: Open a pull request you merged months ago with a diff stat you remember dreading, and count how many comments mentioned size versus what the code actually did.