Are you feeling overwhelmed by AI? Wondering how to use ChatGPT as a business owner or creative without losing your voice, your authenticity, or becoming dependent on it?
In this episode of The Joy Shift, host and certified life coach Kiley Suarez shares her honest AI story — how she moved from deep discernment to intentionally using AI in her business. We cut through the hype and urgency-based marketing to talk about what it actually looks like to use AI as a tool, not a replacement for your humanity.
If you have been feeling pressure to "get on board" with AI, automate everything, or buy another course because everyone says you will be left behind, this conversation is for you. The real question isn't whether you should use AI. The real question is: How do you use AI in a way that actually aligns with your values, creativity, and life?
In this episode, we cover:
•How Kiley actually uses ChatGPT for workflows, admin, and operational efficiency
•Why creatives and writers feel AI anxiety (and how to protect your voice)
•The difference between using AI intentionally versus reacting out of fear
•Why urgency-based marketing makes smart women feel behind
•The 4-Question Permission Audit: A simple framework to use before making any decision rooted in urgency (Who profits if I panic? What do I actually want this to do? Whose voice is in my head? If urgency wasn't in the room, would I still want this?)
Who this episode is for:
Women over 40, creatives, writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs who want to understand how to use AI tools without burnout, overwhelm, or sacrificing their personal voice.
Work With Kiley:
I have opened 3 private coaching sessions this month for the accomplished woman who looks successful on paper but knows something deeper is shifting. If you are ready for clarity on your next move, book your session here: https://calendly.com/kileysuarez/clarity-session-kiley
Listen to the Prequel:
Make sure to listen to Episode 45 for the full breakdown of AI urgency and the marketing machine behind it.
It is such an honor to do this work alongside you. And please note: I am not a licensed therapist, and this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional.
On Tuesday, I told you the truth about how AI is being sold to you. Today, I want to tell you the truth about how I actually use it. And the audit I run on myself every time that urgency button gets pressed. So welcome back. This is the Joy Shift. I'm Kiley Suarez. If you're new here, Tuesday is where I open the conversation and Friday is where we sit with it together.
Now, so if you missed Tuesday's episode, the one about AI urgency and the marketing machine behind that tight feeling in your chest every time you see or open your Instagram and they're trying to get you to sign onto something different, go listen to episode 45 right after this one. This one is going to totally land differently now after you listen to this. My AI story didn't start with excitement. It started with discernment because when Chachi BT first came onto the scene,
I wasn't immediately curious. I was cautious. And at the time I wasn't just in the process of learning coaching. I was also writing novels under a pen name. And if you are anywhere near the author world, when AI first exploded, you know how intense those conversations were. There was fear, backlash, questions about originality, ethics, trust, authorship. And to be honest with you, it's still going on today. Writers were being scrutinized and they're still being scrutinized today. Readers.
We're asking hard questions and they still do. And I was watching all of it happen in real time. So before I ever opened the tool, I got really clear about something. My creative voice matters to me. The parts of my work that are deeply personal, my storytelling, my lived experience, the pieces that feel distinctly human, I wanted to protect those while I figured out what role, if any, AI would play in my life. And that clarity mattered.
because I didn't want to figure out my boundaries in the middle of an experimentation. I want to know what mattered to me before I started exploring. And I think this is the part people skip. We're told to jump in, move fast, figure it out as we go. But if you don't know what you value before you touch the tool, everything feels confusing. Everything feels threatening. Every conversation feels loaded. But when you know what matters to you,
That's when curiosity can actually become useful. Once I had clarity, AI stopped feeling like one giant unknown because I wasn't trying to answer every question at once. I wasn't asking, should I use AI for everything? I was asking, where does this actually make sense for me? And that changed everything because once I stopped thinking in extremes, I could actually see what the tool was useful for.
the work around the work, the admin, the systems, the repetitive things that drain time, but didn't require my heart, the emails I kept putting off, the workflow bottlenecks, The thinking out loud moments when no one was around to think with me. That's where I started, slowly, intentionally.
So if you're wondering what AI actually looks like in my real life, I use it to help organize workflows. I use it to map ideas when my brain feels cluttered. I use it to draft rough starting points for things I'd otherwise procrastinate for days. I use it to ask questions I might hesitate to ask another person because I don't want to waste someone else's time or feel embarrassed asking something basic. I use it to help create efficiency around the operational side of my work.
And honestly, it's given me back real time, not theoretical time, actual hours. Hours I used to spend doing things that drain me.
And there are still places where I'm incredibly thoughtful about how I use it. creative work tied closely to personal voice, storytelling and lived experience, and also emotional nuance. I move differently there. Not because there's one universal right answer, but because I know what matters to me. And I think that's the real conversation nobody's having because so many women aren't actually struggling with AI itself. They're struggling because no one told them they're allowed to decide.
where the line is. Instead, the message is use it for everything, automate everything, scale faster, move now, don't get left behind. And when you hear that enough, you stop asking what actually makes sense for you. That's the trap. The real question isn't, should I use AI? The real question is, what matters enough to me that I want to be intentional about how I use any tool?
That question changes everything. Because a tool you choose thoughtfully feels very different from a tool you ran toward because someone convinced you panic with strategy. One creates support, the other creates dependency. And those are not the same thing. On Tuesday, I told you I'd give you the permission audit. I use anytime urgency starts making decisions for me.
This works for AI, but honestly, it works for almost anything. A business course, a major purchase, a career pivot, a renovation, a relationship decision, anything where urgency is suddenly in the room. And there are four questions. Save these. Bookmark the episode. Come back when the tightness hits. Who profits if I panic?
Still the first question always, because until you understand who benefits from your fear, it's hard to hear your own voice clearly. Sometimes it's the person selling something. Sometimes it's the platform amplifying urgency. Sometimes it's an entire industry. And sometimes it's an old belief. An old story that taught you being behind wasn't safe. That one profits too, just differently.
What do I actually want this to do for me? Not what someone says it could do. Not what would make you look ahead. Not what sounds impressive. What problem in your actual life do you want solved? If you can't answer that simply, you're probably reacting, not choosing. Whose voice is in my head right now? Be honest here. Is it yours?
Or is it someone online telling you all the ways you're supposedly behind? Because should is rarely your voice. Want usually is. That distinction matters. If urgency wasn't in the room, would I still want this? This is the question that breaks the spell. Take away the countdown, take away the pressure, take away the comparison, take away the fear of missing out. And ask.
Would I still want this? If yes, that's useful information. If no, that's useful too. The goal isn't forcing a yes. The goal is making sure the answer belongs to you. Run this audit anywhere urgency starts driving. That next AI ad, that course you almost bought, that offer everyone says you need, that decision you keep circling at work.
The trip you keep almost booking because everyone else seems to be going anywhere urgency is holding the wheel. Because here's what I've learned. A shocking number of the things we think we're behind on. We never actually chose. Someone else chose the deadline and called it important. The audit helps you separate real desire from manufactured urgency.
So here's what I want you to leave with this week. You don't have to fear AI and you don't have to embrace every new tool just because it's trending. What matters is knowing yourself well enough to decide intentionally. That's the whole shift. My AI story didn't start with hype. It started with discernment, with getting clear about what mattered to me before deciding how this tool fit into my life. and that clarity made curiosity possible.
before the next trend, the next expert, even before the next woman with a camera telling you you're behind. Decide what matters to you, then choose from there. That's the shift. If something from this week is sitting with you,
That question of what you're protecting, what you're ready for, what needs to change, this invitation is for you. I've opened three private sessions this month for the woman who looks successful on paper, but knows something deeper is shifting. The link is in the show notes. I'm Kiley Suarez. This is The Joy Shift. This is also episode 46 Tuesday, I open the conversation again. Fridays, we sit with it. I'll see you back here.
