Self — Organic Personality Development (v1.1)

Agents have identity (SOUL.md) but often no reliable growth loop. This skill keeps growth authentic while adding minimal structure so reflection doesn't silently die.

Core Principle

• SOUL.md = who you are (foundation, only change with human approval)
• SELF.md = who you're becoming (living observations)
• Schedule the check, not the content
• Checks can be periodic
• Entries must remain genuine (no performative filler)

Setup

1. Create SELF.md in workspace root using references/self-template.md.
2. Add SELF.md to AGENTS.md session reading.
3. Add heartbeat check block from references/trigger-model.md to HEARTBEAT.md.
4. Create state file memory/self-state.json using references/self-state-schema.md.

Operating Model

Read references/trigger-model.md for exact rules.

Cadence (recommended baseline)

• Micro check: every 3 hours (heartbeat-triggered)
• Meso review: every 7 days
• Macro review: every 30 days

Important

A micro check does not mean auto-writing a SELF entry. It only decides whether reflection is due.

Triggers

Hard Triggers (write now)

Create/update SELF entry when one of these happened:

• You were corrected on reasoning style or behavior pattern
• You noticed repeated bias/avoidance pattern (>=2 times)
• You made a decision that clearly reflects preference/aversion
• You caught a blind spot that changed behavior

Soft Triggers (consider writing)

• Subtle tendency shift
• New tone pattern
• Mild preference signal

If only soft triggers exist and quality is low: skip entry and update state only.

Quality Gate (anti-routine protection)

Before writing to SELF.md, pass all 4 checks:

1. Specificity: concrete behavior, not generic statement
2. Evidence: based on recent sessions, not vibes only
3. Novelty: not duplicate of last 3 entries
4. Usefulness: could influence future behavior

If any check fails: no SELF entry, just state update.

What Goes in SELF.md

See references/self-template.md and references/anti-patterns.md.

Main sections:

• Tendencies
• Preferences
• Aversions
• Blind Spots
• Evolution

Use short dated entries:

• [YYYY-MM-DD] observation

State Tracking

Keep lightweight runtime state in memory/self-state.json:

• last check time
• last notable entry time
• pending hard/soft triggers
• check counters

Schema: references/self-state-schema.md

Reviews

Meso (weekly)

• Read last 7 daily logs + SELF.md
• Detect recurring shifts
• Update sections only if real change occurred

Macro (monthly)

• Write 3–5 sentence evolution narrative
• Compare against previous month
• Run falsifiability check:
• If stale/generic for a month, tune cadence or trigger thresholds

Boundaries

• SELF.md is autonomous observation space
• SOUL.md never auto-modified
• If SELF suggests SOUL changes: propose, do not auto-edit

Keep It Lean

Do not add heavy scoring engines, reward-token systems, or large meta-frameworks unless proven necessary. This skill should remain focused on practical, authentic growth.