Gratitude, AI, and the Cost of Comfort
#55 How a simple question reminded me to stop living on autopilot and start paying attention again.
Hey! I am so grateful to have you back at my blog. Your subscription means the world to me. ❤️ In order to get to know you better, here is a question for you: Have you ever lived on auto-pilot?
A Question I Used to Ask Everyone Else
“Hey Thomas, what are you grateful for today?” — the most senior teacher on our team asked.
Caught a bit off guard, I thought about it and shared my thoughts with a smile.
This happened twice within a week, and I realized — five years ago, it used to be my routine to ask everyone else at Deutsch Campus — team and even students — What are you grateful for?
My intention behind it?
Well, a bit more kindness and positivity is never a bad thing. Living by my mantra: keep spreading #kindness and help others see the beauty in life.
But after reflecting on this for the past couple of days, I realized that I haven’t been as expressive with my emotions and thoughts lately. I still practice gratitude on a daily basis, but mostly for myself.
So why is it that I forgot one of the most important mantras in my life?
The Wake-Up Call Over Coffee
This morning had another surprise in store for me.
I told my wife I was about to head to a café to write my blog — but truth is, I was worried. I wasn’t quite sure what to write about.
My wife shared, “Well, you had food poisoning and were knocked out for two days. So not much has happened.”
Immediately, I realized something again:
“I’ve been living more passively than I thought.”
While trying not to be too hard on myself, I had to admit: five years ago, I was able to pull a #mydailylearning — on a daily basis.
At the end of the day, I would reflect and find something I was grateful for, something I messed up, or something I learned — always with the intention of keeping myself in check.
Besides becoming more self-aware, this habit helped me feel more optimistic and intentional. Even on the boring, lame, or literally sh*t days, I trained my brain to be positive and focus on the kind things.
So by not practicing those healthy habits now… does that mean I’ve become less disciplined? Less self-aware? Or — even worse — less kind?
When AI Became My Shortcut
Instead of reading through a bunch of scientific articles that might explain this phenomenon (because I hate that), I simply sat down, got real with myself, and asked:
What caused this shift in behavior?
What happened that I don’t ask others about their day as often?
When did I start living more on autopilot?
It didn’t take long for a quiet answer to bubble up inside me:
“All the good habits started with the intention to make the world a better place. And you — Thomas — you’ve slowly but surely traded that habit for the power of AI.”
Instead of going through the mud daily — facing challenges, working through them, and asking my inner child for his opinion — I delegated a lot of that to ChatGPT.
Instead of understanding what was wrong and working my way through it intentionally, I chose the correct and easy answer.
Naturally, my tiny stupid brain got used to a more comfortable way of living — less intention, less understanding of the journey, and solutions delivered on demand.
The Real Cost of Not Reflecting
As I’m writing this blog, I realize how blessed I am that
put me back on track by simply asking me:“What are you grateful for?”
#mydailylearning
So #mydailylearning for today is this:
AI is powerful — so powerful that it can quietly change your habits without you even realizing it.
To use this modern technology wisely, I have to pay a high price — a daily fee of intention, self-awareness, and self-management.
And the biggest downside?
If I forget to pay that fee for even one day, I accumulate mental debt — and the interest is 250%.
Thanks supporting Son of a Viet Kieu. If you want to check out other blogs, here are my favorites!
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Keep staying awesome! #yeudoi