The Cost of Functioning

The Cost of Functioning

The Ghost Rules Audit

Find the rules still firing after the threat is gone.

Lauren Tobey's avatar
Lauren Tobey
Oct 28, 2026
∙ Paid
The Ghost Rules Audit: a 7-page printable self audit for paid members.

Some of your rules were written during the hardest stretch of your life, and nobody ever told them it’s over.

A ghost rule is a rule your nervous system wrote during a hard stretch and never got around to retiring. You’ll know one by the jolt: a small task brings a wave of dread that’s bigger than the task.

This audit walks you through catching them for a week, tracing where each one came from, and sorting the ghosts from the rules still doing real work. It’s noticing work. Nothing on these pages asks you to make big decisions, and one rule counts.

Print it and use a pencil. Ghosts move.

Download your audit:

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