WAH MEK / LEARN / DIAGNOSES
12 Working Diagnoses
WAH MEK uses 12 provisional Working Diagnoses to separate different execution mechanisms that can produce similar surface-level problems.
WORKING DEFINITION
A WAH MEK Working Diagnosis is a provisional explanation of the mechanism currently most likely to be breaking execution. It is not a permanent label and it is not a medical or mental-health diagnosis. Evidence from correction, Proof, and comparable Retest can strengthen, weaken, or reopen it.
HOW TO USE THE LIBRARY
The same complaint can point to different mechanisms.
“I procrastinate,” “I keep stopping,” or “I cannot finish” describes what a person notices. It does not, by itself, establish why execution is breaking. WAH MEK separates competing explanations before selecting a targeted correction.
Read: What is execution breakdown? →Read the diagnostic methodology →
WORKING DIAGNOSIS 01 · ACTIVATION
Initiation Resistance
Working definition: The next action is sufficiently understood, but execution does not reliably begin.
Path Uncertainty, Preparation Drift
Whether the action is truly clear and ready before treating the problem as initiation.
How execution breakdown is separated →Diagnostic methodology →
WORKING DIAGNOSIS 02 · CONTEXT
Context Mismatch
Working definition: The environment, timing, available resources, or current conditions do not adequately support the required action.
Control-Path Breakdown, Preparation Drift
Whether changing conditions changes performance without changing the action itself.
How execution breakdown is separated →Diagnostic methodology →
WORKING DIAGNOSIS 03 · DEFINITION
Goal/Object Ambiguity
Working definition: The exact result, object, or completion target is not defined well enough to execute against.
Path Uncertainty, Closure Breakdown
Whether the person can state what must exist or be true when the current target is complete.
How execution breakdown is separated →Diagnostic methodology →
WORKING DIAGNOSIS 04 · PATH
Path Uncertainty
Working definition: The desired result is understood, but the next executable route is not sufficiently clear.
Goal/Object Ambiguity, Preparation Drift
Whether a concrete next action can be selected without first resolving the goal itself.
How execution breakdown is separated →Diagnostic methodology →
WORKING DIAGNOSIS 05 · CONTINUITY
Continuity Breakdown
Working definition: Execution begins, but the person does not reliably maintain action long enough to reach the next meaningful stopping point.
Friction Response Breakdown, Recovery Breakdown
Whether stopping occurs during ordinary continuation, at friction, or only after interruption.
How execution breakdown is separated →Diagnostic methodology →
WORKING DIAGNOSIS 06 · CONTINUITY
Friction Response Breakdown
Working definition: Execution disproportionately stops when difficulty, uncertainty, inconvenience, or resistance appears.
Continuity Breakdown, Context Mismatch
Whether the drop in execution is specifically tied to friction rather than general loss of continuity.
How execution breakdown is separated →Diagnostic methodology →
WORKING DIAGNOSIS 07 · RECOVERY
Recovery Breakdown
Working definition: After interruption, failure, or a break in continuity, execution does not reliably resume.
Continuity Breakdown, Priority Protection Breakdown
Whether the primary failure occurs after the interruption rather than before it.
How execution breakdown is separated →Diagnostic methodology →
WORKING DIAGNOSIS 08 · CLOSURE
Closure Breakdown
Working definition: Required work remains unfinished or the action lacks a reliable transition into a completed state.
Proof Closure Breakdown, Goal/Object Ambiguity
Whether the work itself is unfinished versus finished but not validly evidenced.
How execution breakdown is separated →Diagnostic methodology →
WORKING DIAGNOSIS 09 · CLOSURE
Proof Closure Breakdown
Working definition: Work may have occurred, but there is not yet sufficient observable evidence to establish valid completion.
Closure Breakdown
Whether an observable result exists that can support the completion claim.
How execution breakdown is separated →Diagnostic methodology →
WORKING DIAGNOSIS 10 · PROTECTION
Priority Protection Breakdown
Working definition: Competing demands repeatedly displace the intended execution despite the target remaining important.
Control-Path Breakdown, Context Mismatch
Whether the target loses protected time or position when competing demands appear.
How execution breakdown is separated →Diagnostic methodology →
WORKING DIAGNOSIS 11 · CONTROL
Control-Path Breakdown
Working definition: The plan depends materially on actions, permissions, resources, or outcomes outside the person’s effective control.
Context Mismatch, Priority Protection Breakdown
Whether the next valid move can be made independently or requires an uncontrolled dependency.
How execution breakdown is separated →Diagnostic methodology →
WORKING DIAGNOSIS 12 · ACTIVATION
Preparation Drift
Working definition: Preparation expands, repeats, or substitutes for the action that would actually advance execution.
Initiation Resistance, Path Uncertainty
Whether additional preparation changes readiness or merely delays direct action.
How execution breakdown is separated →Diagnostic methodology →
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
A Working Diagnosis should earn confidence through response evidence.
- SeparateCompare the leading mechanisms against the observed execution pattern.
- PrescribeChoose one targeted correction aimed at the suspected mechanism.
- ObserveRecord what was actually done and what observable result followed.
- RetestRepeat under sufficiently comparable conditions before treating the response as stable.
- Revise when neededRepeat, switch treatment, or reopen Diagnostic Separation when the evidence does not support the current explanation.
USE THE SYSTEM
Do not self-select a label from a list.
The purpose of the library is to explain the categories. WAH MEK uses Diagnostic Separation to identify the current Working Diagnosis from the evidence available.
Find What’s Breaking My Execution → Back to Learn →