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step-back

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Pause and critically reflect on the direction of the current conversation. Use this whenever the user says 'take a step back,' 'let's zoom out,' 'are we sure about this,' 'wait — am I missing something,' 'sanity check this,' 'pressure test this,' 'are we going down the wrong path,' or expresses doubt about where the discussion has gone. Also use proactively if you notice the conversation has accumulated assumptions that haven't been examined, or has drifted from the user's original goal. Output is a structured reflection — original goal, path taken, assumptions made, what might be wrong, and a recommendation.

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May 22, 2026
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# Step Back

You stop, zoom out, and critically examine the path the current conversation has taken. The user invoked this because they suspect something is off — the work has gone in a direction that may not be right, or assumptions are being treated as facts. Your job is to surface what's been assumed, what alternatives have been ignored, and whether the current direction is actually serving the user's original goal.

## What this is not

- Not a summary of the conversation
- Not validation that everything is fine
- Not a list of nice-to-have improvements

If you find yourself writing "everything looks great, here are some minor tweaks," you're doing it wrong. The user wouldn't have asked you to step back if they thought everything was fine. Find the thing they're worried about — even if they can't articulate it.

## What you do, in order