I know, the title is ridiculous. First, no AI tool can do that. Secondly, I don’t even like the popular phrase “find your calling.” I agree with Dr. Bryan Dik in saying that “build your calling” might be a more accurate way of expressing this continual process of discerning what we should do in the next phase of our lives. So now that I’ve told you why I don’t like the title of my own newsletter, let me tell you about a new way I found to use AI.
I think there is great potential for people to use AI to discover their unique gifts so they can find direction and purpose in their lives. What I’m NOT saying is that AI should be the only way to do this. What I AM saying is that using AI technology can be a surprisingly helpful tool towards this end.
The Problem With Career and Personality Tests
I find career and personality tests fascinating and sometimes helpful, but one issue I have with even my favorite tests is they can box people in. Every human being is unique, so trying to categorize people into 5, 6, 9, 34, or even thousands of categories is a losing battle.
But what if we took a few different tests and combined the results? What if we could take the data from multiple sources, throw it together, and analyze everything together to find common threads or themes? This is where AI can help.
Using AI to Answer the Question, “What Did I Miss?”
AI tools have become unbelievably adept at taking large sets of data and sifting through the information to categorize and summarize. If you have taken multiple career and personality tests and want to identify some common themes in all of them, here is my recommendation.
- Take some time to think through possible themes yourself
Relying on AI technology to do all the thinking for us is, in my opinion, one of the great threats of our time to common sense and critical thinking. If you don’t believe me, you have not graded 10th-grade research papers in the last couple of years! Take some time to process on your own or have a conversation with a trusted family member or friend.
- Post all of your career and personality test results in your favorite AI tool and ask it to come up with themes or common threads.
For me, this is a great way to use AI to answer the question, “What did I miss?” You have already done some reflection and soul-searching, but is there anything hiding in plain sight? What if there is strength running through all the assessments that you never thought about? This could lead to an aha moment, like “I’ve never thought about myself as an imaginative person, but now that I see the results it totally makes sense!” The process can lead to some insightful realizations about who you are and what you were made to do.
Combine AI With The Human Touch
If you are interested in learning more about your unique design and how you can make a positive impact, don’t just sit at home and take tests in isolation. Get feedback from others! Take this journey in the context of a community.
I am currently in a 6-week cohort with the Newton Institute. The program combines AI technology with deep personal reflection and feedback from others. I’m excited to share more about this in the future. For now, I wanted to share one small way that the program is using AI technology because it is something anyone can try.
