Will AI Make You Free or Frozen?
Why Decision-Making Is the New Superpower for Substack Creators
Today, I bring to your attention a guest post by
, the founder of on Substack.Daniel is one of our most committed founding members who has transformed his life after he went through a very tough period in his life. Now he lives a regenerative life and helps others achieve that kind of transformation.
I hope you enjoy this amazing piece.
You don’t feel the chip being implanted. It begins slowly. Painless even.
An app tells you when to publish, how often to post, which title works best. You click yes. You follow the advice. At first, it feels like freedom. And growth.
No more guesswork. No more overwhelm. Just algorithms and best practices. But then something weird happens.
You forget how to feel. You forget what it means to want.
You start second-guessing your creative voice. Is that really me writing? Or is it the advice I heard on that podcast? The algorithm? The growth hack?
And the scary part? You didn’t decide to give your power away.
You just stopped deciding.
That’s how the future of creativity is being shaped. Not by an evil overlord. But by a thousand micro-decisions we delay every single day.
Let me tell you why that matters.
The Slow Death of Confidence (and Creative Flow)
We’re living in the golden age of possibility. You can build a business with a newsletter. Connect with strangers. Get paid to write from anywhere.
But this comfort has a price. And the price is clarity.
Because when you stop practicing how to decide, you stop knowing what’s yours.
You start to drift. Not in a calm, dreamy way. More like a ghost following trends, templates, and tactics.
Every time you delay a decision:
• Should I niche down? Should I write that vulnerable post?
• Should I quit social media?
Your nervous system pays a tax.
And the longer you delay, the more it costs. It’s like swiping a credit card you’ll never pay off.
I call it the silent burnout of modern creators.
You’re not hauling bricks. But your brain is running a daily mental marathon.
Trying to keep up with content calendars, AI tools, and engagement strategies. Add a few conflicting “growth tips” into the mix. Suddenly, you lose your voice in the noise.
But worst: AI isn’t going to slow this down. If anything, it’s accelerating it.
AI Won’t Save Your Voice. But It Might Replace It.
Don’t get me wrong. I love what AI can do. I use it. I partner with it. I build with it.
But here’s what I learned: AI will never know who you REALLY are. What you really care about. What you're here to say.
It can mirror you. Predict you. Remix your past.
But that’s exactly the problem. Most of your past decisions weren’t even aligned. They were shaped by performance, pressure, or pretense.
So if AI is pulling from that data?
You’re running in circles.
Unless...
You decide to lead. And to lead, you must decide.
Decide what matters. Decide what rhythm your creative life needs. Decide who you want to be in a world where machines never sleep.
As the famous serial entrepreneur Daniel Priestley lately said:
“We don’t know what’s around the corner, but we decide how we walk toward it.”
That’s the kind of energy creators need now. Not just productivity.
Not more tools. Presence. And power.
Your Decisions Shape Your Creative Soil
Maybe you know. My work isn’t about tips and tactics. It’s regenerative. A mirror of what Nature knows best.
That means I see you and your work as a living system. Your creative ecosystem.
And decisions? They’re seeds.
Some grow weeds. Some grow roots and big achievements.
But every decision changes your soil, too.
If you keep planting fear, hesitation, or people-pleasing?
Don’t be surprised if your content feels like a desert.
Dry, dull, or disconnected.
Let’s pause here for a second.
And ask a new question.
What if decision-making isn’t about being right or wrong... but being real?
What if it’s not about certainty... but connection?
What Is a “Good” Decision, Anyway?
Sitting in a restaurant, a menu in hand, frozen. Totally stuck.
Sounds silly, right?
But it’s a perfect metaphor for content creation.
Because that frozen moment reflects your relationship with control, fear, and trust.
A good decision is not:
• The fastest one
• The one that pleases your audience
• The one that feels safe and expected
A good decision is:
• Aligned with your values and dreams
• Gentle on your nervous system
• Creating real momentum, not fake urgency
It’s rarely easy.
But your future self and your future audience, will thank you for it.
Decision Fatigue Is a Real, Measurable Thing
Neuroscience tells us that we only have so much decision-making energy each day.
Every little hesitation drains the battery:
• Which post to write
• Which idea to pursue
• Which call to action to use
And now AI tools are making decisions for you. Sometimes that’s helpful.
But it also trains your brain to stop choosing. And that’s when the muscle starts to weaken. Just like your legs do when you stop walking.
The hopeful part?
You can train that decision muscle back. Like you regenerate a neglected garden.
Or a burned-out creative life.
Coexistence, Not Competition
I’m not anti-AI. Not even close.
I believe in a future where we co-create with machines. Where AI helps you do the busy work. So you can stay focused on the soul work.
Imagine this. You wake up clear. You publish when you feel lit up. You create from your center.
And you use AI to help execute, not to decide for you.
That’s not a fantasy. That’s a choice.
But it starts by taking back the decision-making power you’ve given away.
To growth hacks.
To audience expectations.
To fear of missing out.
Want to Start Small? Start Here.
I wrote Pizza, Pasta or Maybe Better the Steak? for people just like you. Creators. Writers. Solopreneurs. Tired of second-guessing everything.
It’s not long. It won’t give you another framework to memorize.
But it might give you something more valuable. Clarity.
Inside, you’ll:
• See what’s actually draining your decision energy
• Learn how to reset your inner compass
• Get a 7-step framework to make aligned choices without spiraling
This isn’t another productivity hack. It’s regenerative clarity.
Because you don’t need more ideas. You need more alignment.
Final Word
The future isn’t about who has the best tools. It’s about who can stay rooted when the rules keep changing.
AI will keep evolving. Substack will keep shifting. The algorithms will keep whispering.
But if you rebuild your ability to decide, to trust yourself again, to lead your creative life like a living system...
You become unshakable.
Not because you’re always right. But because you’re present. And rooted in what matters.
That, my friend, is the real superpower.
So I’ll leave you with this.
You can’t outsource your voice. You have to choose it. Even now. Even with shaky hands. Even when no one is watching.
Choose to decide. Your creative freedom depends on it.
Daniel
Regenerative Life & Business Designer
P.S. If your creative battery is running low from all the decisions, big and small, you're not broken. You're just exhausted. Let’s change that. Start rebuilding your clarity one choice at a time.
👉 Start a discussion in the Unplugged community! Get help or simply introduce yourself and connect with like-minded members, and create meaningful connections.
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 | A guest post by
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The challenge for creators going forward is to stay true to their unique voice and message.
Let AI analyse. Then analyse the result yourself and decide the course of action. Take assistance of AI to execute what you decide. Always keep the soul work with yourself. Use AI as your team member not as your supervisor.