AI Challenge from Age 64 | Chapter 2-25: Three Things to Consider First When Turning Your Experience into an Article — What I, at 64, Realized While Sharing with AI —
“I have such a wonderful experience, but where should I even start writing...?”
Don't you ever find yourself just standing still in front of the screen like that?
Don't you?
Actually, I was exactly the same.
I have sighed over it many times.
When you have lived a long life,
you have various experiences that shine brightly in your heart, don't you?
Hardships at work that brought you to tears.
Times when your heart ached over relationships.
Times you took on a challenge with excitement, only for things not to go as planned.
Failures you can laugh about now.
But events that were truly heavy on your heart at the time.
Everyone must have such irreplaceable experiences.
But when you actually try to turn them into a note article,
your heart suddenly gets lost.
“Will this story reach anyone's heart?”
“Won't it just become a self-indulgent story of the past?”
“Where should I start, and how should I write it?”
While thinking in circles like that,
your fingertips stop moving completely.
This is exactly what I used to be like.
In my previous article,
I shared that to turn precious experiences into articles that everyone wants to read,
it is important to “add insights to the events,
and include a warm word for the readers.”
This time, it's about something even more fundamental—a story that makes your heart excited.
When you want to write an article about an experience you love,
how should you prepare your heart first?
Recently, I've found that when I think of these three steps,
my heart feels much lighter.
What happened?
How did you feel at that time?
What do you want to tell everyone now?
These are the three.
● The first is “What happened.”
First of all, what you think of is what happened.
This is the event itself that happened right in front of you.
There is absolutely no need to be nervous or intimidated.
For example,
I opened AI for the first time, but I felt nervous because I didn't know what to ask.
I've started a blog many times, but I always ended up quitting after three days.
Retirement is approaching, and I felt a little restless and anxious about the days ahead.
Before posting on note, I left it as a draft many times.
These are the kind of true-to-life events.
The most important thing here is that you don't need to look for a 'great biography' from the start,
that is.
It doesn't have to be a major event that turns your life upside down.
A small, everyday stumble is more than enough.
Even if it's just 'ordinary daily life' to you, for someone else who is struggling in the same way, it might become a magic spell that makes their heart feel lighter, thinking, 'I wasn't the only one!'
First, try to remember,
'At that time, this happened and it was fun, or it was lonely.'
That becomes the entrance to a new challenge.
● The second is 'How did you feel at that time?'
Next, ask your heart how you felt at that time.
If you write only the events in a detached way, it becomes a bit like a cold instruction manual, doesn't it?
But when you add your 'heart's temperature' to it, the writing becomes gently warm.
For example,
'I used AI for the first time.'
This alone is just a fact.
But,
'When I opened AI for the first time, I didn't know what to ask, so I froze in front of the screen.'
When you write it like that, you can almost picture the scene, can't you?
Furthermore,
If you just gently add, "I felt a little lonely, wondering if AI might be too difficult for me,"
readers will empathize, saying, "I know exactly how you feel!"
"Ah, they're just like me."
There will always be someone on the other side of the screen nodding deeply.
What truly reaches a reader's heart is not the event itself, but the "emotional stir" you felt at that moment.
You felt nervous. You felt embarrassed. You felt lonely. You felt like jumping for joy. You saw a glimmer of light.
By including those fresh, vivid emotions, your writing becomes a special treasure that belongs only to you.
AI can polish your writing and make it look neat.
But the excitement or pain you felt at that time exists only within you.
That is why, when I write an article, I try to warmly rewind my heart, asking myself, "What kind of expression did I have, and how did I feel back then?"
● The third point is "What do I want to convey now?"
And the third point might be the most important one for moving toward the future.
It is, "What do I want to convey now?"
Experiences are things stored away in the drawers of the past.
But when you turn them into an article, what matters is what kind of future you, as you are now, are envisioning through that experience.
For example, suppose you had a painful experience in the past where you gave up on blogging many times.
At the time, you might have been depressed, thinking, "I just don't have a talent for writing..."
But as you are now, you should be able to take a kinder perspective.
"The reason you couldn't keep going wasn't because you lacked talent, but
because you were trying to carry it all on your own."
Such a warm realization might emerge.
And, for fellow travelers who are struggling in the same way,
"It's okay not to try your best alone from the start.
Consult with a reliable partner called AI,
and let's take a fun step forward!"
You will be able to deliver a message that illuminates the future.
Once you reach this point, it is no longer just a sentimental trip down memory lane.
Your experience
becomes the best gift to support someone's future.
Recently, I have come to feel with excitement that turning experience into an article
is not about recording the past exactly as it was,
but rather "adding your current insights to your cherished past experiences
to make someone's future a little brighter."
● Lining up these three creates the framework for an article.
To summarize,
when you want to enjoy turning your experience into an article, these are the three things to keep in mind.
What happened?
How did you feel at that time?
What would you like to tell everyone now?
Just by lining these three up one after another,
the framework for a wonderful article is complete.
For example,
What happened? I opened AI for the first time, but
I didn't know what to ask.
How did you feel at that time?
I felt anxious and nervous, wondering if it would be too difficult for me.
What would you like to tell everyone now?
It's okay not to try to ask perfectly from the start.
Let's just rely on AI and ask about the things we don't understand.
With just this,
it becomes a warm story flow that touches the reader's heart.
Of course,
you don't have to try to polish it into beautiful prose from the beginning.
At first, it's fine to just feel like you're taking notes in your favorite notebook.
Short, murmur-like words are fine.
Once you have pulled these three things from your heart,
you can just say "Hey, hey" and consult with the AI.
● You can just hand the three things to the AI as they are.
Once these three things come to mind, let's try handing them to the AI
just like that, saying, "What do you think of this?"
For example, you can try talking to it like this.
Based on the following three points, please help me think of a fun structure for a note article.
1. What happened: I opened AI for the first time, but I didn't know what to ask.
2. How I felt at that time: I felt anxious that AI might be too difficult for me.
3. What I want to convey now: You don't have to try to ask perfectly from the start. It's okay to ask about things you don't understand just as they are.
When you tell it this, the AI will be happy too,
and it will keep suggesting wonderful article flows.
Instead of suddenly,
"Please write an article about AI."
asking it coldly like that, it becomes a much gentler piece of writing
that conveys your warmth.
The trick to getting the AI to write beautifully
is not to memorize difficult command sentences (prompts),
but to organize your warm experiences a little bit,
and hand them over gently.
● Writing is also about re-examining yourself.
The time you spend looking back to turn your experience into an article
is like a journey to go meet your past self.
What happened back then?
How was I feeling?
How can I embrace myself now?
When you look back carefully like that,
the life you have walked
starts to feel incredibly precious.
Things you once cried over, thinking "It's a huge failure, how embarrassing,"
are reborn as the best experiences to gently encourage someone else.
The clumsy version of you from back then
becomes a light that warms the hearts of those struggling in the same way.
The precious time you spent taking the long way around
might become a shortcut that illuminates someone's future.
When you think of it that way, doesn't excitement well up from deep in your chest?
This is a truly wonderful magic
that I encountered after I started writing on note.
And with a reliable AI by my side,
the hurdle of weaving words has become surprisingly light.
● It is a waste to let senior experience just sleep away
Because we are seniors in the second half of our lives, there are rich words we can weave.
there are rich words we can weave.
Important scenery I couldn't see when I was young.
The kindness I finally realized after falling down many times.
The feelings I nurtured through warm connections with people.
The true self I only began to see when I became conscious of retirement.
Such rich experience becomes a guide that illuminates the darkness for someone who is currently lost.
becomes a guide that illuminates the darkness for someone who is currently lost.
Even if it is an "ordinary" daily life for you, for someone else, it becomes important words that give them the energy to live for tomorrow.
it becomes important words that give them the energy to live for tomorrow.
That is why I have come to think that it is truly a waste to let the wonderful experiences of seniors sleep in a drawer!
I have come to think that it is truly a waste to let the wonderful experiences of seniors sleep in a drawer!
If you make AI your partner, you can turn those important experiences into words gently and enjoyably.
you can turn those important experiences into words gently and enjoyably.
If you use a warm place called note, you can gently deliver those words to someone who needs them.
you can gently deliver those words to someone who needs them.
This is filled with exciting possibilities that can make the second half of our lives shine to the fullest.
This is filled with exciting possibilities that can make the second half of our lives shine to the fullest.
● Today's small step.
If you think, "I'd like to turn my experience into an article and connect with someone," first try jotting these three things down in a notebook.
first try jotting these three things down in a notebook.
What happened?
How did you feel at that time?
What would you like to tell everyone now?
And please try asking AI gently like this.
Based on the following three points, please think of a structure for a note article. The reader is a senior beginner who is not good at writing. Please use a gentle conversational tone and create a flow where the reader feels, "I can do this too."
You don't have to aim for perfection from the start; 100 points is perfect.
Just muttering a word is enough.
Just remembering it is already a great success.
Let's start this exciting new journey together, beginning with taking out these three fragments of your heart!
● Finally.
When turning your precious experiences into heartwarming articles, there are 3 things I think about first with excitement.
They are,
What kind of event happened?
How did my heart move at that time?
And now, who do I want to reach and what do I want to deliver to them?
These three things.
It is not difficult at all.
But just by bringing these three things to mind, your beloved experience will gradually and smoothly take the shape of a wonderful article.
When you break an experience down into three parts, the entrance to an article that connects to the future suddenly comes into view. I feel that AI helps make that entrance into comfortable words.
That is what I feel.
If right now,
“I have a wonderful experience, but I'm not sure how to write about it.”
“I'm a little worried it might just end up being a monologue.”
“I don't know where to start.”
If you are feeling that way, first, please gently choose one experience that comes to mind.
And then,
What happened?
How did I feel?
What do I want to deliver now?
Please gently divide it into these three parts.
From there, I believe a new story will begin with excitement.
Do you have a precious experience that you would like to divide into these three parts and share with someone?
If you'd like, please tell me in the comments about “an experience of yours that you want to hand over to someone precisely because it is now.”
Something small and modest is fine. I would be very happy if we could think about it together with excitement.
Seniors, aim high with AI.
Thank you so much for reading until the end.
Having you read this,
and receiving your likes and comments,
is a great source of encouragement for me right now.
If you resonated with this article even a little,
I would be happy if you could support me with a like, comment, or follow.
In this [AI Challenge from 64] series,
I am writing about the process of me, at 64, fumbling with AI, gradually learning how to use it, and exploring the possibilities of the second half of life.
If you'd like, please read my previous article as well.
Previous article
Next time, I would like to write about
You can write text that conveys your message without trying to write well
.
I will continue to explore the possibilities of the second half of life
together with AI (ChatGPT).