Sometimes life has a way of showing us the tools we need, even when we’re convinced we’re fine with our bare hands.
I’ve been thinking a lot about resistance lately. Not the kind that makes us stronger, but the kind that keeps us stuck in the same garden bed, turning over the same soil, wondering why nothing new ever grows.
For me, that resistance showed up every time I looked at AI tools. There were so many of them like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot. And then the no-code or vibe coding tools like Loveable, Cursor, Replit. Each promising to revolutionize how we work, think, create. And honestly? It was overwhelming.
The Overwhelm is Real (And That’s Okay)
Here’s something we don’t talk about enough: learning to use new tools can feel like standing in the garden center, surrounded by a hundred different types of fertilizer, having no idea which one will actually help our tomatoes grow.
I’d open one AI tool, push myself, get confused, close it. Try another, feel stupid, close that one too. The tutorials and YouTube videos made it look so easy. Everyone else seemed to be building entire empires with AI while I couldn’t even figure out which prompt to write.
But here’s what I learned in those messy, frustrating early days: Feeling overwhelmed is part of the process. It’s our mind’s way of adjusting to new possibilities, like our eyes adjusting to bright light after being in the dark.
My First Tiny Victory
After weeks of false starts, I decided to stop trying to master everything. Instead, I picked one simple project. A small meditation web app I’d been prototyping, but kept running into deployment issues or running out of credits to get any measurable amount of work completed.
I stripped it clean and started from scratch on the base. This enabled me to get a fresh look at the project without bugs or other issues already crowding the space.
Was it groundbreaking? No.
Did it change the world? Definitely not.
But did it change something in me? Absolutely.
With Copilot AI as my coding companion in VSCode, I went from “I can’t do this” to “Wait, I just did that?” in a matter of a few days. The app wasn’t perfect. The code wasn’t elegant. But it worked. And more importantly, It was live and I had made it.
The Garden Metaphor We Keep Missing
We talk about AI as if it’s this foreign, digital thing, separate from our human experience. But what if we looked at it differently?
What if AI is simply another tool in our garden shed? Not replacing the shovel, but working alongside it. Not doing the gardening for us, but helping us see which seeds might grow best in our particular soil.
When I started viewing AI this way, everything shifted. It became less about “artificial” intelligence and more about augmented intention. I wasn’t giving my power to a machine; I was amplifying my ability to bring ideas to life.
The Real Practice: Starting Small and Staying Curious
Here’s what nobody tells you about using AI for inner growth: it’s not about the technology. It’s about what the technology reveals about us.
- Every time I got frustrated with a tool, I learned something about my patience.
- Every time I wanted to give up, I discovered something about my persistence & drive.
- Every time I finally got something to work, I uncovered a capability I didn’t know I had.
The Three Stages I Moved Through:
Stage 1: The Clutter
Trying everything, understanding nothing, feeling overwhelmed by choices. This is normal. This is necessary. This is the soil being turned.
Stage 2: The Focus
Picking one tool, one project, one small goal. Not because it’s the “right” one, but because starting somewhere beats standing still.
Stage 3: The Growth
Realizing that the apps I’m building aren’t the real harvest. The real harvest is the confidence, the new perspective, the willingness to try and put myself out there.
Sharing the Seeds:
Something unexpected happened after I launched that first simple app. I started pushing myself to create even more, each of these thoughts paving the way for new ideas to bloom.
Below is my first web app, and after all these years, I can finally say, I did it! I have a working web app, and not only that. It uses AI, APIs, and Firebase, something that I thought was always way over my head!
Inner Gardener AI Guided Meditation
Generate a personalized AI meditation based on your mood, experience level, and time. Because sometimes, having a little help is all we need to get started on something new.
This AI-powered meditation generator is the first web app that I have ever created/published, and I am excited to share it with all of you!
You can find the app here: Inner Gardener AI Guided Meditation
The Uncomfortable Truth About Growth
Here’s what I wish someone had told me when I started: Using AI for inner work isn’t about becoming more technical. It’s about becoming more human.
- Every prompt we write forces us to clarify our thoughts.
- Every project we attempt reveals our hidden capabilities.
- Every tool we master shows us we’re more adaptable than we believed.
But, and this is important, we have to be willing to sit with the discomfort first. To feel overwhelmed and continue anyway. To produce imperfect work and share it anyway. To be a beginner and own it anyway. To till the soil, so our gardens can grow.
What This Means for Our Gardens
I’m not here to tell you that AI will solve all our problems. I’m sure it won’t. I’m not even here to tell you that you need to use it. You don’t.
But I am here to share this: sometimes the thing we’re resisting most is the very thing that could help us grow in ways we never imagined.
For me, AI became a mirror that showed me I was capable of more than I thought. It became a patient teacher that never judged my beginner questions. It became a collaborator that helped me build things I’d only once dreamed about years ago.
Not because the technology is magical, but because the act of trying something new is transformative for our mind, body, and soul.
Your Next Tiny Step
If you’re feeling called to explore this path, here’s my suggestion: don’t try to boil the ocean. Don’t sign up for every AI tool. Don’t watch every tutorial.
Instead, think of one small thing you’ve wanted to create. One tiny project that feels just slightly out of reach. Then pick one AI tool—any tool—and spend 15 minutes asking it to help you start.
- Not finish. Just start.
Because sometimes, starting is all we need to discover that we had the capability inside of us all along.
The seeds are there, waiting in your pocket. The soil is ready. The only thing left is the planting.
And remember: it doesn’t have to be groundbreaking. It just has to be a beginning.
What small project have you been putting off because you thought you couldn’t do it? What do you think would change if you had an AI partner to help you try? I’d love to hear about your own resistance and breakthroughs in the comments below.
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