Anthony Garone
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The Issue Under the Issue

For when your explanation is accurate but still not useful.

The exercise

When your explanation is accurate but still not useful, the real issue may be underneath it.

Answer these in plain language. Do not perform. Do not make the situation sound more sophisticated than it is.

  1. What do you say the problem is?
  2. How long has this been going on?
  3. What have you already tried?
  4. What keeps happening anyway?
  5. What do you wish were true that is probably not true?
  6. What are you tired of explaining?
  7. What part of the situation feels embarrassing to admit?
  8. If this were simpler than you are making it, what would be obvious?
  9. What decision, conversation, or action would become necessary if you stopped explaining the problem?
  10. What do you want someone honest to tell you?
Completion promptThe issue may not be ________. The issue may be ________.
Use this with AI

If you use ChatGPT, Claude, or another AI tool, paste your completed answers below this prompt to help organize your thinking.

I completed The Issue Under the Issue exercise. Help me separate the presenting problem from the deeper issue.

Look for:
1. The surface issue I keep talking about.
2. The deeper tension, fear, contradiction, or decision underneath it.
3. What I may be using complexity to avoid.
4. The question that would make the real issue harder to dodge.

Do not make this abstract. Keep it grounded in what I wrote. Be direct, practical, and concise.

Here are my answers:

If this creates clarity but not movement

That is useful information. Sometimes the problem is not that you need more analysis. It is that the next step requires pressure, counsel, and a conversation with someone outside the situation.

If you want to inquire about a Clarity Session, send a short note with the completed exercise and a few sentences about why this matters now.

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