The Faust Baseline™Purchasing Page – Intelligent People Assume Nothing
micvicfaust@intelligent-people.org
Most stress doesn’t come from big events.
It comes from small moments that go unanswered.
A comment at work.
A dismissive remark.
A power play wrapped in a joke.
A line meant to put you in your place.
You feel it land.
You say nothing.
You move on.
Except you don’t.
You carry it home.
You replay it in the shower.
You argue with it at night.
You wake up tighter than you went to bed.
That’s not weakness.
That’s physics.
Unreleased pressure looks like anxiety.
What people are rarely taught is that you don’t need confrontation to release it.
You need placement.
There is a class of responses that stop the moment cleanly—
without insults, without escalation, without apology.
They work because they redirect consequence, not emotion.
The Fan Principle
When someone once told me, “shit rolls downhill,” it wasn’t information.
It was a declaration of authority.
The statement wasn’t about reality.
It was about who carries the burden.
So the response wasn’t anger.
It was this:
“Just remember—there’s always someone who turns on a fan.”
No raised voice.
No threat.
No drama.
The moment stopped.
Why?
Because the door they opened—inevitability—was the same door that closed on them.
That’s the principle.
You don’t deny their frame.
You complete it.
And when you do it calmly, you rob them of the authority moment they were trying to take.
What These Responses Actually Do
A proper verbal redirection does three things at once:
- It halts the dominance exchange
The conversation cannot continue without them escalating openly. - It releases the emotional load immediately
Nothing gets stored. Nothing gets carried. - It restores internal control
You leave the moment intact instead of depleted.
This is not winning an argument.
This is protecting your nervous system.
Examples of Clean Redirects
These aren’t insults.
They’re verbal full stops.
When someone says:
“You don’t really have a choice here.”
Response:
“Choices still exist. Compliance is just one of them.”
—
When someone says:
“That’s just how it works.”
Response:
“That’s how it’s been allowed to work.”
—
When someone says:
“Be realistic.”
Response:
“I am. That’s why I’m paying attention.”
—
When someone says:
“You’re overthinking this.”
Response:
“No. I’m just not skipping steps.”
—
When someone says:
“It’s above your pay grade.”
Response:
“Authority doesn’t eliminate responsibility.”
—
When someone says:
“Nothing you do will change it.”
Response:
“Then it wouldn’t need defending.”
Each one does the same thing:
It accepts reality—then places consequence back where it belongs.
No argument required.
Why This Reduces Anger and Anxiety
Anger isn’t the problem.
Unfinished moments are.
When you don’t respond, your body stays in alert.
It keeps scanning for resolution that never came.
A clean redirect tells the system:
The moment is complete.
That’s why people feel calmer afterward—even if nothing “changed.”
They didn’t submit.
They didn’t explode.
They closed the loop.
That’s stress relief at the source, not later through coping.
This Is Not About Being Clever
It’s about being contained.
You don’t need perfect wording.
You need a posture that says:
“I heard you.
I understand you.
And I’m not carrying what isn’t mine.”
That posture alone changes how people speak to you over time.
Not because you’re aggressive.
But because you’re no longer absorbent.
Why This Tool Matters Right Now
When the air is heavy—
when people feel pressure from systems, authority, or chaos—
the greatest damage isn’t external.
It’s internal accumulation.
People who don’t know how to respond verbally
carry the weight physically.
Teach someone how to redirect cleanly,
and you don’t just give them words—
you give them relief.
Small tool.
Immediate effect.
No violence.
No chaos.
Just fewer people walking around carrying pressure that never belonged to them in the first place.
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