I first heard the term “double-dip feelings” from my mother-in-law, a longtime family therapist, who picked it up from Barbara S. Cain’s children’s book of the same name. The central idea teaches kids that it’s normal to feel two conflicting emotions at once. I’ve been thinking about this because I have some double-dip feelings about AI. I’m both excited and uneasy. Curious and cautious. I also get the idea that I’m not alone in this. So what do we do about these double-dip feelings?
One of my favorite recent AI conversations was with my friend Jay Baer, one of the smartest digital thinkers I know. He wrote a LinkedIn post that I liked so much I reached out to see if he’d come back on the podcast to discuss it (he even did a dramatic reading of said post). But during the interview, it was something else Jay said that stopped me cold: “AI can make you approximately 25% more efficient. So for me, the question you should be thinking about is not, How do I use AI? What you should be thinking about is, What am I gonna do with that 25%?”
Not enough of us are thinking about this. We’re distracted by the intoxicating promise of getting more done. One of my favorite sayings has always been: More isn’t always better. Sometimes more is just more. Rather than using AI just to do more, we should focus on Jay’s question, which itself takes some deep thinking.
In her new book Strong Ground, Brené Brown tackles this issue head-on. “AI seduces us into believing that it can do our thinking for us. We need to double down on our understanding of who we are and how we think.” Okay, but how do we actually do that?
Earlier this month, we lost Jane Goodall. Her story is so woven into our understanding of science and nature that it’s easy to forget how it began. In 1960, most chimpanzees were studied in captivity or only briefly in the wild. That changed when anthropologist Louis Leakey chose a 26-year-old Goodall—with no formal degree—to live among the chimps and observe them. He picked her for her patience and steady eye. As a child, she’d spent hours sitting in a henhouse waiting for the hens to lay eggs. At Gombe, she watched a chimp she named David Greybeard fashion a tool from a twig, a skill previously thought to be uniquely human. That simple observation changed everything—not just for Goodall, but for our understanding of what it means to be human. And it all began with patience and observation.
Counterintuitive as it sounds, when everything around us—technology included—is speeding up, it’s more important than ever to slow down. I’m not suggesting you park your head in the sand. Rather, channel Jane Goodall: step back, observe, and reflect. As Brené Brown writes in Strong Ground, do the deep thinking yourself and “let AI unload the dishwasher.”
Another connection between Goodall’s work and this moment? Considering our own humanity. While her observations challenged the idea that humans are the only toolmakers, we remain unique in our ability to tell stories. Other species communicate, but what makes us special is our ability to create and share complex narratives that include past, present, and imagined futures with layered meanings and motives.
Bottom line: Use the 25% of your time that you get back from AI as R&D, exploring your humanity and story.
Leaders: Schedule some Jane Goodall-style observation and deep thinking—not in the wild, but in your own work and life. What moments have shaped who you are? When have you had to stand up for your values? These are the stories that will help you connect and inspire at a time when that’s only getting harder.
Marketers: We have more to do than ever before with tighter budgets and fewer resources. As such, there are plenty of dishwashers that AI can unload for us! But save some of that reclaimed time to reconnect with your brand’s humanity. As David Greybeard used the twig, story can be the tool you need. In a world overflowing with AI slop, customers crave real connection.
Facing my own double-dip feelings about AI, I feel cautiously optimistic. Yes, AI might make us more productive. But if—and that’s a big if—we use this reclaimed time intentionally to think, reflect, and connect, we can get closer to our stories. And our own unique humanity.
Use This Story Strategy in Your Work
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What: Reclaim AI time for reflection. Instead of just doing more, use the time AI frees up to pause, observe, and uncover insights in your story.
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When to use it: When you feel rushed, reactive, or trapped in “more is better” thinking. Notice these feelings and intentionally schedule time to step back.
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How to do it: Jane Goodall kept notebooks—you could do the same. When it gets noisy digitally, I like to go analog (as you can see from my sketches here). Writing things down fires up your brain, strengthens connections, links ideas, and embeds insights more deeply. Start with Jay’s big question: If AI makes you 25% more efficient, what will you do with that extra time? From there, ask yourself: How can you more fully live into your story as a leader—or bring your brand story to life more vividly?
AI gives you 25% more. Use it wisely: think, connect, and channel your inner Goodall. Or even your inner Taylor Swift …
A version of this first appeared in Story Strategies—my monthly email newsletter designed to help you connect with your audience through the power of story. Get the next issue delivered to your inbox.
