What is pattern interrupt technique?

Pattern interrupt technique is a concept in personal epistemology: Deliberately breaking a pattern at the trigger point creates space for new behavior.

Example: Every time your manager gives critical feedback, you go quiet, withdraw, and spend the next hour replaying the conversation. You've done this for years. The pattern runs: criticism -> emotional spike -> withdrawal -> rumination. One day you catch the trigger — criticism arrives — and instead of withdrawing, you say 'I want to make sure I understand — can you walk me through the specific concern?' The entire behavioral chain collapses. Not because you resolved the emotion, but because you inserted a different action at the trigger point.

This concept is part of Phase 6 (Pattern Recognition) in the How to Think curriculum, which builds the epistemic infrastructure for pattern recognition.