Working definition
A false friend is a blockage word that feels true — criticism, money, visibility — but hides the specific trigger underneath; your job is to funnel until the real opponent has a name.
How it works
You list blockages in good faith and stop at labels that sound adult: criticism, impostor, money, visibility. The saboteur loves those summaries — they keep the glass ceiling fogged because you never name which criticism, from whom, in what form, on which action, and what self-trait the mirror refuses.
On 2026-07-03, Ines names criticism as the block on content creation — yet she tolerates critique elsewhere. Yann’s move: criticism as a block is bullshit — not because critique is harmless, but because the label is too wide to train. The false friend is the word that stops the funnel one layer too early.
The funnel runs in order:
- Label — write the blockage in specific words (ten lines, not three).
- Rank — which three cost you most this quarter?
- Funnel — for one action: when [label] appears, what exactly triggers, on what subject?
- Train — one Battle rep on the funnel output, not the label.
Pair with Quality of Questions — what problem do I want? — so the funnel serves a chosen front, not every fear at once.
Example
You tell your Battle list criticism blocks my posts — but when you funnel on one draft, the block is not critique in general; it is one specific fear that someone in your peer circle will read you as too loud on pricing. The label sounded adult; the real opponent finally has a name. That is B1 miss-steer — you fought the word criticism instead of the identity picture it was protecting.
Failure modes
- Stopping at the label — criticism or money ends the list before the funnel line on one action.
- Funnel without rank — ten vague fears, no top-three impact sort — training the wrong enemy.
- Global fight — trying to resolve every false friend at once instead of one Battle front.
Signature
Yann on 2026-07-03: Ines lists false friends behind the label — what the vague blockage wakes up when you press on it. The session close homework: clearer list Monday, one funnel line on content creation — criticism triggers ___ on ___.
Wide label versus named trigger — funnel before you fight the wrong enemy. Your move: Your move this week.
Your move this week
- Write ten blockage labels in specific words — no single-word summaries.
- Circle the top three by impact on your current Battle.
- Complete one funnel line on one action only: when [false friend] appears, it triggers ___ on ___.
Scientific grounding
Cite
- Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 15(3), 241–247.
- Bravata, D. M., et al. (2020). Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35(4), 1252–1275.
Mechanism detail: vague blockage labels mirror impostor misattribution — the funnel forces specificity before training. Room move: rank · funnel · one Battle rep.