Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Acceptance: Change, Accept, or Leave agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The Acceptance skill is a decision aid for AI agents, built on a framework from Naval Ravikant's book on happiness. It is meant for someone stuck in a situation they feel they cannot change, such as a bad relationship or a difficult coworker, who keeps asking whether to endure it or leave. After this guide you will know what the skill does, how to install it, how to trigger it with a natural request, and where it should not be used.
Acceptance: Change, Accept, or Leavekangarooking/cangjie-skill · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the ZIP. Get the acceptance skill ZIP from this directory page.
- 2Unzip into the skills folder. Place the folder in ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or in a project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- 3Or upload in the Claude apps. In the Claude apps, go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the skill.
- 4Describe a stuck situation. Explain in plain words what you feel you cannot change and ask whether to endure it or leave.
- 5Work through the three options. Answer whether you can change, leave or accept the situation, and pick the option that fits.
- 6Apply the chosen path. Follow the plan for change, acceptance or leaving, including its deadline or positive-aspects exercise.
- 7Run the final check. Ask whether the issue still matters if you only had one year left, and adjust your priorities.
What the Acceptance skill makes the agent do
The skill teaches the agent to sort any situation into three options: change it, accept it, or leave it. When none of the three is being pursued, the agent warns that the person is stuck in a pattern of suffering and asks them to re-examine their options.
For acceptance, the skill guides a reframing exercise: ask what the positive side of an irritation is. The source gives examples such as finding a chance to watch birds when you are going to be late for a meeting. As a final check, the skill asks whether the issue still matters if you only had one year left.
- Change: write a plan with a deadline. If the deadline passes without action, re-run the three-option check.
- Accept: list three positive aspects of the situation and practise the reframing question for the next seven days.
- Leave: set an exit timeline that includes financial and relationship buffers, with a final deadline.
How to install the Acceptance skill
Download the ZIP for the acceptance skill from this directory page. The skill is a folder containing SKILL.md, test-prompts.json and test-results.md.
For a personal install, unzip the folder into ~/.claude/skills/. To scope it to one project, unzip it into that project's .claude/skills/ folder instead.
If you use the Claude apps, you can upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills instead.
How to trigger the skill with natural requests
You do not need a special command. Describe the situation in plain language, especially if you keep returning to the same frustration. The skill's trigger phrases include asking whether to endure or leave, feeling stuck in a loop of worry, not being able to let go, and asking whether to accept or change something.
Mention the situation and the question together so the agent can apply the three-option check.
- Should I put up with this or leave?
- I keep replaying this argument and can't let it go.
- I can't control this situation. What do I do?
- Should I accept it or change it?
Examples of how the agent responds
Suppose you describe a coworker who keeps interrupting you in meetings. The agent should ask whether you can change the situation, whether you can leave it, and whether you can accept it, then point you to the option that fits. If you choose to accept, it will guide you through naming three positive aspects and noticing when a negative reaction starts.
If the situation involves abuse, violence, illegal activity or physical danger, the skill says to leave rather than accept, and the agent should prioritise safety.
What you need before you start
The source lists no required tools, packages or accounts. The skill does not run scripts and does not use the network, so nothing needs to be installed beyond placing the skill folder where your agent can read it.
Safety notes and limits
The skill is a reflection prompt drawn from one book's perspective. It does not replace professional mental health or legal help. The source warns that acceptance is not the right response to abusive, illegal or physically dangerous situations, and that it should not be used to avoid action on things that can be changed cheaply.
The source also notes that constant positivity can slide into toxic positivity, and that the book does not account for the real pain of material hardship or trauma.
- Do not use it to justify staying in an unsafe situation.
- Do not use it as a substitute for changing something you could change easily.
- Seek professional support when the situation is serious.
Tips for getting useful results
Describe the concrete facts of the situation and what you have already tried. The three-option check works best when you can answer whether you can change, leave or accept the situation for a specific issue.
Use the reframing exercise for small, recurring irritations. Use the one-year question when you are unsure which issues deserve your energy.
- Name one situation per conversation.
- Write down your answers to the three questions so you can revisit them.
- Re-run the check when a deadline you set passes without action.
What people use it for
- Deciding whether to stay in a difficult job or team when you cannot change the manager.
- Working through repeated worry about a family member's behaviour you cannot control.
- Reframing small daily irritations, such as a delay or an unwanted task, into a short positive-aspects exercise.
- Choosing between enduring a situation and setting an exit timeline with financial buffers.
- Breaking the habit of replaying a past event with thoughts like 'if only I had done it differently'.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Acceptance skill free to use?
The source does not state a price or licence terms beyond the directory listing, which shows the licence as MIT. Check the licence file in the download for the exact terms.
What do I need to run the Acceptance skill?
The source lists no requirements. The skill runs no scripts and uses no network, so it only needs to be placed where your agent can read skills.
How do I install the acceptance skill in Claude?
Unzip the downloaded folder into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. Alternatively, upload it in the Claude apps under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Is this skill safe to use in an abusive relationship?
No, the skill should not be used to accept abusive, illegal or physically dangerous situations. The source says that in those cases you should leave, and you should contact professional help or local emergency services if you are at risk.
What are alternatives to this skill for deciding whether to stay or leave?
The source names the decision-heuristics skill as a contrasting option for decisions you can choose to make, and identity-work and happiness-skill as companion skills. For professional advice, a therapist or lawyer is a better fit for serious situations.
How is this different from a general decision-making skill?
This skill handles situations you cannot change, while decision-heuristics handles major choices you can make. The source describes them as contrasting approaches.
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Our verdict
Use this skill if you keep replaying a frustration you cannot change and want a structured way to choose between changing, accepting or leaving it. Pick something else, or seek professional help, if the situation involves abuse, danger or legal risk, or if you can change it cheaply and simply need to act.
Download the skill