These prompts are designed to help you reflect deeply—not just on what happened to the author, but on what’s happening within you.
Part 1: Your Body’s Alarm System
Think back to a time when your body knew something was wrong before you were willing to admit it.
What signals did it give me—fatigue, pain, anxiety, restlessness?
Did I listen or override those signals? What did it cost me?
Part 2: The Grit-Grief Threshold
Where in my life has “pushing through” become my default strategy, even when it’s no longer working?
Is there an area of my life right now where grit is actually covering grief?
Part 3: When Strength Becomes Pretending
Have I ever been praised for my strength when, inside, I was struggling to hold it all together?
What part of my story have I been managing instead of healing?
What would change if I stopped pretending?
What stories have I told myself about how life should work—like if I work hard, stay strong, and do the right things, everything will turn out okay?
When those formulas stop delivering, can I tell the truth… or do I still try to make the equation fit?
Part 4: The Cost of the Hustle Equation
What formulas have I lived by that promised success—like “work hard and everything will turn out”?
Have I ever felt betrayed when that equation didn’t hold?
What did that moment teach me about control, trust, or worth?
Have I ever followed the “right steps” and still ended up broken, lost, or disappointed?
What if the failure wasn’t in me—but in the formula I was taught to trust?
Part 5: Unexpected Doors
Can I recall a time when a detour—something I didn’t ask for—led to unexpected alignment?
What “small” invitation or open door have I been tempted to overlook because it didn’t match my original dream?
Have I ever found myself standing in a place I didn’t plan to be—wounded, uncertain, off-script—but strangely… more grounded?
What if purpose isn’t about chasing the perfect story, but noticing the door that’s quietly opened right in front of me?
Part 6: Labels and Loss
Have I ever received a label or result (medical, professional, relational) that made me question my value?
What part of my identity felt threatened in that moment?
What truth did I need to remember?
Part 7: The Wrestle Before the Change
The wrestle often begins not when we fall—but when the story we built can no longer hold us.
What parts of my identity are shifting right now?
What am I still holding on to that may no longer be mine to carry?
You’re not failing—you’re just at the breaking point where truth starts speaking louder than the formula.
The formula said: work hard, stay strong, do everything right—and life will go as planned. But that’s the illusion of linearity. Real growth doesn’t follow straight lines.
It moves through cracks, curves, and unexpected turns.
That’s where the real story begins.