Today, as in previous days, I used my spreadsheet journal to name the traits, habits, and internal voices that define who I’ve been—and who I could be. The contrast between the two was where the real magic happened. I still haven’t done any drawing or doodling on this go-around.
The most powerful insight didn’t come from a list I wrote. It came from ChatGPT, actually. As has been my practice with this exercise, I have been feeding my outputs into ChatGPT and asking it to point out any internal inconsistencies or potential omissions based on my outputs on previous days.
The insight came from one specific habit I identified: withholding my feedback and meetings when I think my ideas will be rejected. The opposite behavior that I initially identified on my own was the behavior of crafting strategic proposals. But the AI pointed out something deeper and more foundational: I needed to establish the habit of identifying as someone whose feedback is worth hearing. ChatGPT really knocks it out of the park sometimes, and this was one of those moments that made me say “Daaammmn!”
The insight really hit home. I realized I could pour energy into the perfect proposal, only to have it disregarded—not because it wasn’t smart, but because it came from a place of trying to earn my right to be heard. But when I start from a place of quiet strength—of already belonging—something shifts. I don’t just become a more effective advocate or come up with better ideas; I create space for others to bring forward proposals I would never have thought of. And sometimes, their ideas are better than mine, because they see things I don’t.
So the real question that remains today is this:
Now that I’ve had this insight, how do I increase the likelihood that I’ll actually behave differently today?
I think on future cycles of this experiment, we might want to consider some kind of bookending, where the writing exercise is followed up with some form of action or feedback.