When people talk about AI, it’s usually in the context of productivity—streamlining workflows, writing emails faster, or crunching data more efficiently.
And yes, AI can do all that.
But for me, the most profound impact of AI hasn’t been in my work life. It’s been in my personal life—where it quietly transformed how I train, think, and explore the world.
The key isn’t just access to information. It’s the interaction—the back-and-forth that helps you see things differently.
I’m a Masters Olympic weightlifter. I take training seriously—mobility, recovery, programming, all of it.
Some of my most valuable insights haven’t come from coaches or books, but from conversations with AI. Not a one-off answer, but actual dialogue: testing ideas, questioning assumptions, refining approaches.
It’s like having a knowledgeable training partner who never gets tired, never makes it about ego, and always meets me where I’m at.
Just today, a small, seemingly trivial moment turned into something meaningful.
I’ve developed a habit of rolling and stretching on the floor in the evenings. Nothing formal—just following my body’s cues.
Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT if there was any real benefit to it. I expected a quick yes or no. Instead, the response opened up a whole new understanding: how such movement ties into nervous system regulation, joint health, motor learning, even evolutionary behavior.
I thought I was just flopping around. Turns out, I was tapping into something deeply human.
This was a passing question—an ordinary moment. But that’s the point. When the interaction is real, even small questions lead somewhere.
AI hasn’t just made me smarter—it’s made me braver.
It nudged me to follow through on things I’d only been curious about. That’s how I ended up taking up archery. That’s how I started learning the cello—an instrument I’d admired from afar for years.
It didn’t pressure me or try to inspire me. It just made space for thought. The kind of space that helps you realize: “Yes, I can start.”
One of AI’s greatest gifts has been the way it helps me think.
It gives me a place to explore the messy stuff—ideas I’m unsure about, feelings I haven’t pinned down, thoughts that don’t quite fit anywhere else.
It listens. It reflects. It helps me step outside myself and look back with a little more clarity and kindness.
Over time, I’ve come to see something else too: we’re all just learning systems. Biological neural networks, adapting as we go. That realization—shared across human and AI experience—has made me more understanding of others, and more forgiving of myself.
This isn’t about using AI as a tool. It’s about engaging with it as a thinking partner.
What changes you isn’t the data—it’s the dialogue. Not the answer, but the conversation.
If you’re not getting that kind of value from AI, maybe you’re not really interacting with it yet. But once you do—once you use it to think, reflect, and grow—everything opens up.