Hi Reader,
We've spent the past month talking about AI as a thinking partner. Before we move into a new theme next month, I wanted to end with one of the biggest shifts I've experienced in the way I use it.
Not for writing. Not for research. Not even for making decisions.
I use it when my thinking gets noisy.
THE OPENING SIGNAL
Last week I sat down to review my LinkedIn content strategy and map out the rest of my content for 2026. It should have been a fairly straightforward planning session. I opened a doc, stared at a list of forty half-formed topic ideas, and felt nothing. None of them felt right, and I kept telling myself I just needed more ideas.
At least, that's what I thought was going on.
The more I talked it through with AI, the more I realized I wasn't stuck because I didn't have enough content ideas. I was stuck because I was trying to answer the wrong question.
The real question wasn't, What should I post about?
It was, What do I really want to be known for?
Once that question surfaced, everything changed. The messaging became clearer. I could immediately see which ideas fit and which ones didn't.
The problem was never the content calendar.
It was that I was trying to solve the wrong problem.
I've started calling this "the question behind the question". It's rarely the one you start with.
That conversation reminded me of something I see all the time with clients.. We usually think we're looking for answers, when what we really need is help uncovering the question hiding underneath all the mental noise.
WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS
AI isn't a substitute for therapy, and it isn't a substitute for a trusted advisor who knows your business.
But it is something most of us don't have enough of: a place to think out loud without worrying about someone else's reaction.
One of the biggest lessons I've learned over the past year is this:
The first question in your head usually isn't the real one. It's simply the loudest one.
Once I start typing everything out, patterns begin to emerge. Sometimes the real question is smaller. Sometimes it's bigger. Sometimes it's completely different.
AI isn't doing the thinking for me.
It's helping me separate the real problem from everything wrapped around it.
One of the most valuable things AI does for me isn't answering my questions.
It's helping me discover the question I should have been asking in the first place.
This shows up everywhere business owners get stuck. "How do I get more leads" is rarely the real question. Neither is "should I raise my rates." Underneath both is usually something closer to: what do I actually want this business to do for me right now?
Most of the time, the breakthrough doesn't come from finding a better answer. It comes from finally discovering the right question.
Humans still lead. AI simply helps us think more clearly before we decide.
ONE SMALL MOVE
The next time something keeps replaying in your head, type it into AI exactly as it sounds.
Then ask:
• What question do you think I'm actually trying to answer?
• Which concerns are based on facts?
• Which ones are assumptions?
• What information am I still missing?
• What question should I be asking next?
Don't use AI to make the decision.
Use it to help you discover the right question.
WORTH PAYING ATTENTION TO
Once you've uncovered the real question, there's still another decision to make.
Is AI actually the right tool for solving it?
That's why I created my one-page AI Fit Framework.
It's the same four-question decision filter I use before trying a new AI workflow or recommending one to a client. It isn't another AI checklist. It's a simple framework to help you think more intentionally about where AI fits, and where your own judgment matters most.
Download the AI Fit Framework
You don't have to trust AI more than you trust yourself.
You simply need somewhere to put the mental noise long enough to hear what actually deserves your attention.
Sometimes the breakthrough isn't finding a better answer.
Sometimes it's finally discovering the right question.
If you try this exercise this week, I'd love to hear what question AI helped you uncover.
Talk soon,
Lucy
P.S. If you know another business owner who's been carrying the same decision around for days, forward this email to them. They might not need another opinion. They might just need a better question.