What Your AI Prompts Say About Your Brain
Ever start typing something to ChatGPT… delete it… rewrite it… then delete that? Or spend 10 minutes trying to craft the “perfect” prompt, only to get a meh response?
Yeah. Been there. Repeatedly.
At some point, I realized something weirdly useful: the way we prompt AI? It says a lot about the way we think.
It’s not just giving you answers. It’s reflecting you back to yourself.
When You’re Afraid to Just Say What You Mean
“Hi there! Could you maybe help me with a tiny thing if it’s not too much trouble…?”
Sound familiar? That little dance we do to avoid sounding too direct? We bring it into AI too.
Here’s the thing: ChatGPT doesn’t need softeners. It doesn’t get offended. It just needs clear instructions.
So when your prompt starts spiraling into a full-blown paragraph of maybes and kindas, it might not just be an AI problem. It might be a you problem. (Gently.)
Prompts are a weirdly safe place to practice being direct. Try it. It’s weirdly freeing.
You Don’t Know What You Want Until You See What You Don’t
You ask ChatGPT, “How should I start a blog post?”
It gives you five options. None of them feel right.
So you follow up: “Make it more casual.”
Then: “More professional, but still friendly.”
Then: “Actually… can you make it sound like me?”
Fifteen minutes later, you’re still stuck. That’s not failure. That’s process.
AI makes it really clear that we often figure out what we want by eliminating what we don’t. That back-and-forth? That’s not wasted time - it’s how we sharpen our taste, tone, and clarity.
Vague in, Vague out
A while back, I asked ChatGPT for help writing “something about productivity that’s kind of inspiring but also practical and maybe has some science but not too much and should be good for beginners but not boring for experts.”
What I got back was chaos. And honestly? Fair. The prompt was vague because my thinking was vague.
That’s the thing: unclear thoughts = unclear prompts = unclear results.
Fuzzy thinking → Fuzzy input → Fuzzy output
The AI didn’t mess up. I just hadn’t figured out what I actually wanted.
When You’re Thinking in Circles, So Is AI
One of the strangest (and most annoying) realizations I’ve had is that when I’m stuck in a loop, AI loops right along with me.
It’s not because the tool is broken. It’s because my brain is spinning and I’m dragging it along for the ride.
I once spent a full hour trying to get ChatGPT to help me with a presentation outline. Nothing it gave me felt right. The problem wasn’t the tool - it was me, overcomplicating everything. The moment I saw my own circular logic mirrored in the output, it hit me: oh. I’m the one in the loop.
That experience is what led me to create a quick little prompt tool I now use whenever I feel stuck. It’s nothing fancy - just a short sequence of questions that helps me get clear, fast. Kind of like a mental reset button.
If you’re constantly tweaking your prompt but still getting nowhere, it might help you too. You can check it out here:
It’s a single, structured prompt to help reset your brain when you’re overthinking everything.
It’s not magic. But it is shockingly effective.
Why Beginners Sometimes Get Better AI Results
Ever notice how people new to AI ask simple stuff and get amazing responses?
“Write me a chocolate chip cookie recipe.”
Meanwhile, the overthinkers (hi, hello) are out here like:
“Give me a brown butter cookie with a hint of sea salt and the perfect chew-to-crunch ratio, ideally something that could go viral on Pinterest but still be approachable for beginners.”
And then we wonder why the results are weird.
Simple prompts work better because simple thinking gets better output.
AI Is the Best Place to Practice Clarity
You can’t hurt AI’s feelings. You can’t offend it. It won’t think you’re too blunt.
So go ahead to - the ask clearly.
“Write me a kind but direct email saying I can’t make the meeting.”
Not:
“Okay so I was wondering if you could maybe help me write this email… it’s kind of awkward because I don’t want to sound rude but I need to say no to this meeting…”
Prompting is a low-stakes way to build high-impact communication skills. And once you start asking for what you want directly in AI? You might just find it’s easier to do in real life too.
AI Won’t Think for You—but It Will Help You
See Your Thinking
If you’re hoping AI will take over the heavy thinking for you, I’ve got bad news. It won’t.
But what it will do is show you where your thoughts are muddy, where you’re unclear, and where you’re repeating the same stuck patterns on loop.
Every time you turn a vague prompt into a clear one, you’re sharpening your own mind.
It’s like therapy, but with a faster response time.
Final Thought: AI as a Thinking Mirror
ChatGPT isn’t just a tool - it’s a mirror. And sometimes, what it reflects back is exactly what we need to see:
Do you dodge being direct?
Do you figure things out through elimination?
Do you spiral when things aren’t clear?
Do you overcomplicate what could be simple?
If so, congratulations. You’re a normal human being.
But next time your AI convo goes sideways, try looking inward instead of blaming the tool.
You might just learn something about the way you think—and how to make it work better for you.