26 Oct 20262 min read
Nine Blockages, and Why They Repeat
A blockage is an overextended strength, not a defect
The list
The nine blockages in this method are: going it alone, clinging, rushing, holding fast, drifting, controlling, over-thinking, carrying too much, and scattering.
They are not nine kinds of defect. Each one is a strength that lost its counterweight — the same force, pointed the wrong way.
What they look like in an ordinary week
| Blockage | The strength behind it | What it looks like on a Tuesday |
|---|---|---|
| Going it alone | self-reliance | you redo someone else's work instead of asking |
| Clinging | loyalty | you cannot end a conversation that already ended |
| Rushing | initiative | you start three things and finish none |
| Holding fast | consistency | you defend a plan that stopped working |
| Drifting | openness | you agree to everything and mean half of it |
| Controlling | care | you plan other people's steps for them |
| Over-thinking | care with detail | you rehearse a message you never send |
| Carrying too much | responsibility | you are the only one who cannot say no |
| Scattering | range | you open ten tabs and close none |
Why they repeat
Because most attempts treat a blockage as a behaviour to stop. Behaviour is the last link in a chain: situation, reflex, story, move. Suppress the move and the reflex simply waits for a better moment.
Repetition is not evidence that you failed. It is evidence that you intervened at the wrong end of the chain.
Where to intervene instead
At the trigger, and one notch smaller. Name the situation precisely, without adjectives; change one condition around it; shrink the response by a step. The strength stays, the damage drops.
This is the same logic as kintsugi: you do not sand the crack down, you work it until it holds.
FAQ
Is a blockage the same as a weakness?
No. It is a strength without a counterweight, which is why removing it usually removes the strength as well.
How do I know which blockage is mine?
Watch which move arrives first under pressure, not which description sounds most flattering. The one you would rather not admit is usually the one to check first.
Why does the same pattern keep coming back?
Because it is being treated as a behaviour to stop rather than a reflex to recognise. Intervening earlier in the chain — at the trigger — is what changes the loop.
Do the nine blockages map one-to-one to the nine core hues?
They are read together rather than as a fixed lookup table. A core hue tells you the texture; the blockage tells you where that texture catches.
Not sure about a term? See the Glossary.