AI Makes Sitting with Discomfort Feel Shameful
The author reflects on how the process of learning through discomfort, once seen as valuable and character-building, now feels shameful in the age of AI. Tasks that used to bring joy, like deep technical exploration and writing, are overshadowed by the pressure to maximize productivity using AI tools. This shift has created internal conflict, where taking time to think is perceived as wasteful despite its intrinsic value.
- ▪The author spent a week exploring and writing about database row-locking in ColdFusion, a process that once felt rewarding but now feels shameful.
- ▪AI culture promotes constant productivity, multitasking, and automation, making slow, reflective work feel obsolete.
- ▪The author questions the value of writing blog posts when AI could generate optimized content in minutes.
- ▪Sociologist Sherry Turkle's idea about learning to be alone is contrasted with today’s AI-driven, always-connected reality.
- ▪Readers respond empathetically, acknowledging the emotional truth in the author’s struggle with modern tech expectations.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
AI Makes Sitting With Discomfort Feel Shameful By Ben Nadel Published 2026-04-25 in Generative AI, Life — Comments (25) Sitting with discomfort has always been a big part of my learning journey. Mulling over problems, sketching on paper, doing Google searches, reading books, reading the documentation, listening to podcasts, refactoring code, writing blog posts, paying attention to the pain caused by incorrect abstractions, weighing pros and cons, and even continuing to use technologies and products that other people have deemed "dead" — it's all about sitting with my discomfort, paying attention to my feelings, and trying to evolve. And as much as that's always been a struggle, it was a struggle that felt rewarding.
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