Change is not initiated by effort alone. It emerges when multiple causal conditions align. Failure to change is not evidence of laziness; it is evidence of constraint dominance. What follows is a directed, interacting system—not a hierarchy. --- 1. Initial Conditions (Starting State) No agent chooses their starting state. Biology, temperament, neurochemistry Early environment, trauma, education, wealth Cultural narratives about effort, success, and failure These initial conditions determine: Which tools are available Which outcomes are imaginable How costly effort feels relative to reward Key constraint: You cannot desire what you cannot yet conceptualize. --- 2. Toolset (Capacity, Awareness, and Access) Tools are not just skills. They are anything that expands the reachable possibility space. Categories of tools Cognitive tools: language, models, frameworks, introspection Emotional tools: regulation, tolerance for discomfort, self-trust Informational tools: books, websites, people, th...