𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀: 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝘁

It’s hard not to be afraid right now.

AI dominates headlines and conversations. There's no simple answer to calm most people, and no clear response to the question: "What does all this mean?"

I want to focus on what we know and how we can respond practically. This post isn't a technical explainer; it's a guide to staying sane and constructive in a scary moment.

History Cycles

Every generation has faced an existential crisis. Medieval plagues and the Black Death. The devastation of World War I and World War II. The dread of nuclear annihilation during the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The trauma of the Vietnam War. The shock of 9/11. The global upheaval of COVID-19.

Now we face a new kind of uncertainty: the deep anxiety and unpredictable impact of AI on how we live and work.

It would be wrong to confidently assert that everything will be fine. But it would be just as wrong to pretend humanity has never faced an existential crisis before. Our ancestors spent many nights wondering if they would wake up the next day—or what the world would look like if they did.

Uncertainty Is Terrifying — And You Can Hold It Gently

When the future feels uncertain, our minds naturally jump to the worst-case scenario and loop through every version of it. It's like having a mental doomscroll running in the background, replaying "What if everything goes wrong?" no matter what you're doing.

You can't control the big picture, but you can control how you respond. We don’t need to defeat our fear of AI; we need to recognize it, breathe with it, and discover the potential for us, our families, and our world. Here's a simple sequence:

1. Name the fear

When you notice your thoughts spiraling, pause and label what's happening: "I'm catastrophizing," or "My brain is running worst-case simulations right now." Naming the pattern creates distance and reminds you that this is a mental habit, not a prediction.

2. Ground yourself in the present

Next, bring your attention back to what’s actually happening. Take a few slow breaths, feel your feet on the floor, or use a quick 5‑4‑3‑2‑1 sensory scan. This shifts your focus from imagined disasters to the current moment, where you have at least some control.

In this moment, you are here, you are alive, and you are safe enough to read these words. That is already a lot.

3. Learn enough to understand, not obsess

From that calmer place, choose your entry point into AI. Read one practical article, watch a short explainer, or talk with someone you trust. Aim for sources that help you understand what's happening and what could reasonably happen, rather than pure criticism or doomsaying. The goal is to replace vague dread with grounded context.

4. Experiment instead of resisting

At the playground, children choose exploration over being "right." They try, adjust, and laugh when things don't work the first time. They're having fun while failing, then learning. With AI, experimenting instead of resisting will take you much further.

Consider downloading a simple tool to write code, building a small agent to solve one annoying problem, or watching a video where someone walks through creating something similar. If you're like me, you'll treat AI as a thinking partner—something you can poke, question, rewrite, and iterate with as you make sense of everything that's changing.

5. Practice gratitude to rebalance your focus

Most of life is outside your control. Regular gratitude reminds us what's already working. Every day, journal a few things you appreciate, meditate, and/or spend time with people who matter. Your attention shifts from "What if everything goes wrong?" to "What can I do with what I have?" That shift often creates just enough energy and hope to take the next right step.

This moment is your decision, your inflection point. You can't make uncertainty disappear, but you can choose how you meet it.

Consider Resilient Solutions

We can't control how fast AI is moving, but we can control how we respond. The people who are best prepared for the future are the ones who can imagine and start to build based on the prompt that has often pushed humanity towards innovation: “What’s next?”

That starts with a practical framework for staying sane and constructive in the age of AI that includes naming our fears, staying grounded in the present, learning enough to understand (not obsess), running small experiments, and practicing gratitude so we don't drown in worst-case scenarios.

Society, companies, and jobs will change—some dramatically, others barely at all. Technology is like fire: it can improve conditions, such as cooking and heating, or cause great destruction. Long-term thinking means creating mutual value by pairing what humans do best (judgment, empathy, creativity) with what technology does best (scale, speed, pattern recognition).

Some examples: companies that use automation to handle routine work while offering real humans for nuanced support and tailored coaching. Tools that surface trends and risks early so people can make proactive, less panicked decisions. Platforms that help workers reskill for new roles instead of leaving them behind.

The more you look for these kinds of “human + tech” solutions, the more you train yourself to see uncertainty not just as a threat, but as an opportunity for building a better future.

AI may be the sharpest version of uncertainty our generation has seen, but it’s not the first time humans have stared into the unknown and kept going.

You don’t have to be certain to move forward. You just have to keep choosing thoughtful action over paralysis, one decision at a time.

For entrepreneurs, many of the most impactful companies were born in the middle of crises: Airbnb during the 2008 financial collapse, Slack out of a failed game startup, and Zoom gaining massive traction in the early days of COVID-19. This time might be your turn.

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This format, called Go Wide: A Life Less Curated, serves as an antidote to algorithms and echo chambers by revealing how major historical events impacted the world and might shape what comes next.

Do you agree with this prediction? Are there other topics we should explore? Let us know at info@webuildscalegrow.com.

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AI is Our Generation’s Existential Crisis: Here’s How to Live With It image by skarletmotion

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