Embracing AI but protecting skills

10 things I’m doing to protect my creativity, humanity and growth in an AI world.

I love AI. I use it almost every day, and I often catch myself in awe of how much it can expand my thinking.

But here’s my caution to myself: if I lean on it too heavily, I risk losing the skills that matter most: patience, resilience, original thought, and the ability to sit with discomfort until clarity comes.

If AI had been around when I started my career, I might never have built the resilience to push through tough meetings, the patience to rewrite a terrible draft, or the courage to trust my own voice.

And I wouldn’t trade those lessons for anything.
That’s why I’m intentional about how I use it now.

Here are 10 things to consider doing, while still embracing AI:

1️⃣ Never use AI for a first draft.
First drafts are where your voice takes shape. They’re uncomfortable, but that discomfort builds originality.

2️⃣ Don’t let it dominate social conversations.
Over dinner, I’d rather hear about someone’s ideas, struggles, or inspiration than the latest prompt they tried.

3️⃣ Seek out the hard things.
Learn a language. Play an instrument. Train for a race. Struggle on purpose. Ease is seductive but it erodes resilience.

4️⃣ Allow yourself to slow down and get bored.
AI makes things fast, but life isn’t supposed to be all fast. In stillness and boredom, imagination sparks.

5️⃣ Keep consuming primary sources.
Books. Research. Long podcasts. Conversations with real experts. Secondary summaries are convenient, but wisdom lives at the source.

6️⃣ Double down on your listening skills.
AI doesn’t need me to pause and truly hear someone, but humans do. Leaders who can listen deeply will always rise above the ones who can only prompt.

7️⃣ Keep human connection human.
If you want to talk to a friend, call a friend. If you need a therapist, see a therapist. AI can supplement beautifully, but it should never replace the spoken conversations and live experiences that shape us.

8️⃣ Practice long-form thinking.
Not everything fits in a 2-sentence prompt. Big ideas need messy outlines, half-formed arguments, and iteration. Strategy grows when you wrestle with complexity.

9️⃣ Don’t outsource your original ideas.
Ideas that come through me matter most. AI is for refining, not replacing, my creativity.

🔟 Set boundaries on how much time you spend in AI.
It’s easy to get pulled in for hours and, even then, feel like you’re falling behind. But AI should be one tool among many, not the only one. Use it strategically, and don't let it crowd out the activities that grow you in other ways.

AI is a tool, not a teacher.
The responsibility to stay sharp, curious, and human is ours.

If we outsource our thinking to AI, we risk losing the very things that make us beautiful, unique, and valuable.

👉 What’s one thing you’re doing to protect yourself in the age of AI?