If your goal is to gain new emotional insights, ChatGPT may be what you need to uncover a deeper level of personal growth.
Once every decade — or every time I move — I find myself in my basement in front of an open box of old journals. At first, it’s exciting to find them, to revisit a younger version of myself, and to reunite with lost memories that swirl around like flecks of dust from the dirty covers. But, with each notebook that I pull out and flip through, the nostalgia always wears off quickly.
I inevitably become bored with the topics my younger self was so preoccupied with and disenchanted with how stuck I was with certain emotions. I then heave the notebooks back into the box, one on top of the other, fold over the cardboard flaps, and push it all back into a deep, dark storage space.
My younger self would have benefited from the UX brain of my adult self with my practice of identifying trends and analyzing human behavior. Perhaps I would have seen the light more quickly and moved on from certain feelings years earlier had I been able to apply some of my research methodologies to my journal entries.
Perhaps I would have seen the light more quickly and moved on from certain feelings years earlier.
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Today, we use ChatGPT to compile a synopsis of a book, comprehend complex articles, and analyze banks of data. But many use ChatGPT for more personal things, like trying to find your purpose, asking for recommendations for mental health resources, or engaging with it in conversation.
So, why not do both at the same time?
Recently, I created a series of journal prompts in ChatGPT to help me set up a consistent and measurable set of data, based on my personal thoughts and feelings. Every morning, I prompt it to ask me and log a similar series of questions which I then answer. The questions are designed to get me to consider critical aspects of my day, as well as mental and physical feelings of well-being.
Every day I answer the questions thoughtfully, and every day it logs my responses.
But, the best part is the monthly prompt. This is the prompt I geek out on. It’s the analysis of the entire month of logged entries. With my monthly prompt, I ask ChatGPT to analyze my logged journal entries for top trends, key findings, and a concise summary of my sentiments, and wellbeing measurements. This is what it gives me back: A concise summary of the top three trends for my mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
It also provides a helpful summary of my daily entries over the past month:
Reading over the summary of my month was reflective but also provided an opportunity to see that so many of my entries carried similar themes.
I was able to take a step back and have ChatGPT — a neutral and third party — deliver the insights to me. It was an effective way to take a more macro look at my personal thoughts and feelings. Following the exercise, I felt like I was seeing myself through someone else’s eyes and it helped me step into my next month with a fresh perspective.
If you’re interested in using ChatGPT as your own journal, get the full prompt set and instructions in the Deeper Meaning AI Prompt Journal.
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