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 “Rewriting it properly would mean admitting I can't just fix what's there”, including the private rule underneath it: If I ever say this needs a rewrite instead of a fix, I'm confessing I couldn't handle what I inherited, so I owe it one more patch before I'm allowed to say that out loud.
QUIET
“Rewriting it properly would mean admitting I can't just fix what's there” appears, but it rarely gets the final say. Keep this line available for higher-pressure moments: “A rewrite isn't a confession. It's one option among several for code I didn't design.”
PRESENT
“Rewriting it properly would mean admitting I can't just fix what's there” wins some small decisions before you catch it. Your useful interruption is: “Patching and rewriting are both maintenance. Neither one is a verdict on me.”
ACTIVE
“Rewriting it properly would mean admitting I can't just fix what's there” is shaping action often enough to deserve a deliberate counterexample. Start privately and concretely: Write the private two-column list, repairable now versus needs rewriting, and save it somewhere only you can see it.
DOMINANT
Right now, “Rewriting it properly would mean admitting I can't just fix what's there” is steering many of the moments you measured. That is a pattern reading, not a diagnosis or character verdict. Begin with one reversible receipt: Write the private two-column list, repairable now versus needs rewriting, and save it somewhere only you can see it.