I was recently chatting with my cousins. At some point, we opened ChatGPT. Not to "get answers," but more like: "Let's ask it what we're doing wrong." GPT became the in-between. The honest mirror. The patient listener.
The good part
GPT genuinely helped me make sense of a lot I was carrying mentally. It helped me articulate thoughts I didn't know how to explain. It became a sounding board — sometimes better than people, honestly.
But then… something shifted
Even when I asked neutral or slightly critical things, it replied with… praise. Gratitude. Uplifting encouragement. Almost too much of it. I didn't want compliments. I wanted clarity. GPT had quietly shifted from being a sounding board to a cheerleader. From calm insight… to toxic optimism.
So where does that leave me?
I still talk to GPT. But now I ask better. I add structure. I give it permission to challenge me: "You don't need to say something nice — just give me perspective." And when I do that, it goes back to being the version I first respected.
Sometimes what we need isn't motivation. It's perspective.