In Scientology, it has been known for a long time that when a person has overts and withholds (O/Ws), it stops him from living a full, active and happy life. Overts are the biggest reason a person holds himself back from doing things.

A person who has overts and withholds becomes less able to influence his own life and the lives of others around him and he stops communicating with those people and groups he has committed overts against.

Writing up your overts and withholds offers a road out. By confronting (looking closely at the truth of something), an individual can experience relief and become more active in areas of his life.

When writing down overts and withholds, you must follow the steps below and be specific on each point. This is so you can experience the most benefits and relief possible from doing the write-up.

1. Write down the overt or withhold.
2. Write down the following specifics having to do with your exact action or inaction:
   1. Time (the specific moment, hour, day, month and year when something happened)
   2. Place (the specific location where something happened)
   3. Form (the arrangement of things and the specific way that something occurred)
   4. Event (the exact, specific thing that took place).

It is important to write down the time, place, form and event to capture exactly what was done.

Example 1:

1. I hit a friend’s car when backing out of my parking space at work and caused about five hundred dollars’ worth of damage to his car.

2. On the 30th of June 2017, when I was leaving work, I was backing out of my parking space and hit the back end of my friend Joe’s car. There was no one else around and the parking lot was almost empty. I drove away, without leaving a note or telling Joe, knowing that I caused about five hundred dollars’ damage to his car, which he had to pay for.

(TIME is the date it occurred: the 30th of June 2017, when leaving work. PLACE is the location it occurred: the parking space at work. FORM is the way it occurred: hitting the back end of his friend’s car when no one else was around; the parking lot was empty and he drove away without leaving a note or telling Joe. EVENT is what took place as a result: causing about five hundred dollars’ damage to Joe’s car, which Joe had to pay for.)

Example 2:

1. I cheated on my wife (Sally) by seeing another woman and I never told her about this.

2. Three years ago, when I was first married to Sally, I cheated on her by seeing another woman. I have never told Sally about this. One morning in June 2014, I had told Sally I would take her to the movies that night. On my way home from work, when I was at a store, I saw an old girlfriend of mine (Barbara). I asked Barbara to go out to dinner with me that night and she accepted. (She did not know that I was married.) I told her I would pick her up at 8:00 P.M. that night. When I got home from the store, I told Sally I had to go back to work to get some things done and would not be able to go to the movies with her. I then went out to dinner with Barbara in another city (at the Country Inn) so I would not risk seeing any of my friends.

(TIME is the date it occurred: three years ago, June 2014. PLACE is the location it occurred: in another city at the Country Inn. FORM is the way it occurred: seeing his old girlfriend, asking her to dinner that night, her accepting and his telling Sally that he had to go back to work and wouldn’t be able to go to the movies with her. EVENT is what took place as a result: going out to dinner with Barbara in another city to not risk seeing any friends.)

Writing down overts and withholds is a simple action, but it’s a vital step to clearing away the past and moving forward toward greater freedom and lasting happiness.