This Article Was Written By a Human.
I was writing something recently and caught myself thinking, I could just throw this into ChatGPT and let it do the work for me. And honestly, I do sometimes. There are moments when I need help finding words, shaping ideas, or moving faster. But, I’m learning that instant answers rarely lead to lasting wisdom. Speed doesn’t equal meaning.
Instant answers are easily forgotten.
For years, I have been a writer. I’ve written books, emails and blog posts. Speeches for myself and for others. Scripts for videos. Concepts for event themes. Pages meant to inspire, challenge and explain or persuade. Writing has been one of the main ways I’ve tried to make sense of the world and my role within it.
When I look back at what actually resonated, what people responded to, I don’t think anyone has ever connected or commented on writings that just gave answers. Answers don’t connect. Stories do. Tension does it well. We connect with the problems that feel unresolved, with the questions that don’t wrap up neatly, and with narratives that end in failure or discomfort.
We yearn for resolution but we connect with the slow realities of the problems and recognize ourselves in the struggle to find a real answer.
We may have access to answers instantly, but we can’t learn without struggle.
Learning takes time to process and understand.
For me, writing forces me to slow down and consider what life is teaching me. It makes me ask questions of myself and to ask those questions to others. It causes me to wonder why I am going through this life moment? It forces me to determine how situations are changing who I am or how I want to live differently.
As automation continues to move all of us faster it is important to have moments in our life that cause us to think and understand. Walking to a location is slower. Making something by hand is slower. Writing on paper is slower. Baking bread is slower. It's amazing how the integration of any slower process in your life will cause you to process everything with greater meaning.
In an age of instant answers, I am learning that lasting wisdom begins by slowing down and thinking again.
EXPERIMENT
If you want to practice slowing down and thinking, here is an idea. Go to a coffee shop. Leave your phone in the car or at home. Take a journal and pen. Ask yourself a simple question: What is one thing that I have been learning lately and why? Write about it.
