Ambition vs. AI: How I Learned to Stay Human in a Tech-Driven World

In 2021, my life took a dramatic turn. I was diagnosed with stage 2 cancer three months after I started a demanding new job, and was tasked with building a new team while managing multiple projects across various streams. To make matters more challenging, I was deeply involved in passion projects, working with refugees in Ukraine, Palestine, and Peru. The pressure to succeed in my professional and personal life was immense, and it quickly became overwhelming.

This job consumed 90% of my time—hours spent in meetings, strategizing, onboarding new team members, and ensuring projects were hitting deadlines. That left just 10% for everything else: my health, my family, and my personal well-being. But instead of admitting that I was struggling, I made a mistake many ambitious people make—I pretended to be okay. I convinced myself—and those around me—that I could manage it all.

But the truth was, I couldn’t.

Trying to keep up appearances, while quietly battling the stress, anxiety, and physical strain of both my job and cancer treatments, became a mental health issue. I was overwhelmed but unwilling to admit it. The feeling of being on the edge of burnout lingered constantly, and yet I pushed forward.

Finding a Creative Solution: Escaping the Overload

In my search for a creative way to manage the overwhelming physical pain, the stress of work, and the emotional suffering, I found an unconventional solution. After each cancer treatment, I would leave the country. I needed a change of scenery—something that would help me mentally recharge, physically relax and escape the grind.

So, I packed my bags and set off. Traveling became my way of managing the overload. I worked remotely while pursuing my passion projects, supporting refugee initiatives in war-torn and vulnerable regions. This journey took me to Palestine, Peru, and Ukraine—where I found myself in the middle of the war’s first few weeks.

But it didn’t stop there. I traveled to Panama, Spain, England, Italy, Jordan, Israel, Poland, Turkey, and Portugal. Each trip allowed me to disconnect from the pressure of my life back home, find purpose in humanitarian work, and manage the physical and emotional pain that cancer brought. These experiences offered both a respite and a renewed sense of purpose. Working with refugees reminded me why I push forward, even when it felt like I couldn’t and it made me realize that my problems are not as grave.

But was this sustainable? How long could I keep managing my life by running away from the pressure and treating work as something to be endured rather than embraced?

How AI Became a Lifeline in Managing My Cancer and Anxiety

Amid the chaos of work and travel, AI became more than just a tool—it became a lifeline. One of the most unexpected ways AI helped was in managing my cancer treatments. There were countless moments when I felt anxious, unsure about symptoms, or needed reassurance. But my oncologist wasn’t always available to answer my questions. That’s when I turned to AI, using medical resources and AI-driven platforms that could offer real-time insights.

The AI tools responded with grace. They provided answers with the same thoroughness and calmness I would expect from my oncologist. While it didn’t replace my doctor, AI became a valuable source of support when I needed immediate answers—especially late at night or in moments of heightened anxiety. Whether it was a potential side effect of treatment or a general health concern, AI was there to provide guidance, offering a sense of control when everything felt uncertain.

But it wasn’t just my health that AI helped manage. AI assisted me in organizing my travel, managing refugee projects, and coordinating efforts across different time zones. With so much happening, these tools allowed me to stay on top of the details that would have otherwise slipped through the cracks.

However, can technology truly replace human reassurance, or is it just a temporary crutch in moments of crisis? I began to rely on AI for answers and logistics, but over time I wondered whether it was simply a way to avoid addressing the deeper issues.

The Risk of Losing My Voice

While AI helped with practical tasks and offered peace of mind, it also presented a hidden risk. As time went on, I began to notice that while the thoughts behind emails and messages were mine, the tone didn’t feel like me. My words became too polished, too robotic. They sounded corporate or sterile, not reflective of my true self.

I used ChatGPT to refine and elevate my communication, and it did its job. My messages were clearer, more professional—but also more distant. The more I relied on AI to handle communications, the more I felt my own voice slipping away. The words I was sharing no longer conveyed the empathy, warmth, or directness that are core to how I lead and work.

Can we truly manage everything with AI, or does it come at the cost of authenticity?

I realized that by leaning too heavily on AI for communication, I was losing the personal touch that built connections. The thoughts were genuine, but the delivery felt disconnected. This was affecting my relationships with my team, colleagues, and even my family. I wasn’t showing up as my authentic self, and it was becoming clear.

Balancing AI and Authenticity: Leadership and Mental Health Lessons

For business leaders, this is an important lesson. AI can help streamline operations, reduce cognitive load, and provide actionable insights, but leadership requires presence and human connection. While AI can manage tasks, it cannot replace the emotional intelligence that builds trust and leads teams to success. One of my closest friends once told me that my biggest strength is my emotional intelligence (EQ)—yet it was one thing that AI couldn’t replicate.

For me, this meant scaling back my use of AI in areas that required personal interaction—emails, team meetings, creative writing, and updates on refugee projects. I began to show up as my real self, using AI only where it enhanced efficiency without diminishing my voice. I thought a lot about "How do I reconcile ambition with the reality that I can’t do it all?"

By learning to admit that I couldn’t manage everything myself, I became a more effective leader. AI allowed me to handle the logistical workload, but I had to reclaim the personal aspects of my leadership. I became intentional about delegating tasks to AI while ensuring I was fully present in conversations that mattered.

Practical Tips for Using AI Without Losing Your Authenticity

For entrepreneurs, startup founders, and business leaders balancing heavy workloads, here are some lessons I learned on how to integrate AI without compromising your authenticity:

1. Delegate Repetitive Tasks: Use AI for automating data analysis, scheduling, and reporting—tasks that don’t require a personal touch. This frees up your time for strategic thinking.
2. Keep Communication Human: While AI can help draft messages, review them to ensure they reflect your tone and values. Authenticity in leadership comes from being relatable and human.
3. Set Clear Boundaries: Don’t let AI handle everything. Be mindful of when you need to engage personally—especially in areas like team leadership, client communication, and high-stakes decisions.
4. Reflect on Mental Health: AI can help reduce stress by handling logistics, but it’s crucial to take stock of your mental health. Avoid using AI as a tool to mask burnout. Check in with yourself and prioritize well-being.

A New Approach to Ambition

Today, I still use AI to manage the complexity of my projects and streamline my work, but I do so with a renewed focus on authenticity. AI is there to support my ambition, but it doesn’t define it. The balance comes from knowing when to use AI to enhance productivity and when to step in as the human behind the machine. This balance allows me to pursue my goals while staying true to who I am.

Is AI the key to ambition, or does it risk stripping us of our authenticity?

The true power of AI isn’t in its ability to replace human effort, but in how we choose to wield it. As Maya Angelou once said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” AI can help us manage life’s chaos, but it’s the human connection—how we make others feel—that truly defines our impact.

I’ve learned that it’s not just about using AI to reach our goals; it’s about knowing when to let our humanity take the lead. Balancing efficiency with empathy, ambition with authenticity, is what makes leadership resonate on a deeper level.

But as we continue to embrace AI, we must ask ourselves: In our pursuit of efficiency, are we forgetting the deeper connections that define us as leaders and as human beings? How has AI affected your work-life balance?

#AI #Authenticity #Leadership #MentalHealth #WorkLifeBalance #Entrepreneurship