There are two types of people scrolling LinkedIn right now.
The first sees yet another AI post about the “10 tools you MUST be using” and thinks, great, more homework I’m already behind on.
The second sees the same post and thinks… actually, no. They think the exact same thing. Because that’s the only reasonable response to being told , for the forty-seventh time this week , that you’re somehow failing at technology.
If you’ve ever closed your laptop feeling more anxious than when you opened it, this one’s for you.
Here’s what I need you to hear before we go any further: the overwhelm you’re feeling is not a character flaw. It’s not a gap in your knowledge. It’s not proof that you’re “not techy enough” or that everyone else has figured this out while you’ve been left behind.
It’s a completely normal response to an environment that is anything but normal.
Let me explain.
The Constant Noise Surrounding AI
Remember when AI was that thing in sci-fi films? Now it’s in your inbox, your social feeds, your team meeting agendas, and somehow also in your toaster. (Okay, maybe not your toaster. Yet.)
The sheer volume of AI content being produced right now is genuinely unprecedented. Every platform, every expert, every person who discovered ChatGPT three months ago and now has a masterclass , they’re all shouting. Loudly. Constantly. And often contradicting each other.
Use this tool. No, that one’s better. Automate everything. But keep it human. Learn prompting. Actually, prompting is dead now. You’re behind. Catch up. Hurry.
Sound familiar?
Here’s the thing about noise at this volume: it doesn’t inform, it disorients. Your brain wasn’t designed to process this much conflicting information while also, you know, running a business, raising humans, feeding yourself occasionally, and remembering which child has PE on Thursdays.
Research confirms what you already feel in your bones , this constant influx of information and choices creates genuine cognitive strain. It impairs how we think, decide, and function. The mental fog, the irritability, the 3am spiralling about whether you should have started a Substack by now… that’s not weakness. That’s your nervous system responding appropriately to an inappropriate amount of input.
The noise is the problem. Not you.
Why Comparison Culture Hits Women Particularly Hard
Now let’s talk about the uncomfortable bit.
Women in business have always navigated comparison culture : the curated highlight reels, the “effortless” success stories, the suspicion that everyone else received a rulebook we somehow missed.
AI has turbocharged this. Spectacularly.
Suddenly, there’s a whole new arena where we can feel inadequate. A whole new set of tools we “should” have mastered. A whole new collection of people who appear to have it all figured out while we’re still wondering which AI tool is the right one for writing emails that don’t sound like a robot having a breakdown.
And here’s what makes it worse: women are socialised to be thorough. To prepare. To not speak up until we’re certain. So when we see the endless stream of AI content, our instinct isn’t to shrug and wing it : it’s to learn more, research more, consume more. To feel ready before we act.
But the content never stops. So “ready” never arrives.
Meanwhile, confidence quietly erodes. Not because we’re incapable, but because we’re measuring ourselves against an impossible, ever-moving standard set by an algorithm designed to make us feel exactly this way.
The comparison game is rigged. And the house always wins : unless you stop playing.
Decision Fatigue and Its Impact on Confidence
Let’s talk about decision fatigue, because it’s silently doing a number on all of us.
Every piece of AI content you consume presents choices. Should I use this tool? Should I learn that skill? Should I change my whole strategy based on this person’s hot take? Should I feel bad that I haven’t done any of this yet?
Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.
And here’s the kicker: the more decisions we make (or avoid), the worse we get at making them. Decision fatigue is a real, documented phenomenon. It’s why shopping for a new laptop feels harder than it should. It’s why you can run a business all day and then stand in front of the fridge at 6pm completely unable to choose what to eat.
When it comes to AI, we’re not making one or two decisions. We’re making hundreds of micro-decisions just by consuming content. Is this relevant to me? Should I save this? Am I falling behind if I ignore it? Does this person know what they’re talking about?
Each of those tiny decisions costs cognitive energy. And when that energy depletes, confidence goes with it.
You’re not struggling to make AI decisions because you’re indecisive. You’re struggling because your brain has been making decisions all day about things that may not even matter to your actual business.
Why “Keeping Up” Is Not a Realistic (or Necessary) Goal
I’m going to say something that might feel like relief or might feel like heresy, depending on how deep you are in the AI content vortex:
You do not need to keep up.
Genuinely. You don’t.
The idea that you should be across every AI development, every new tool, every update and iteration : it’s not just unrealistic, it’s actively harmful. No one is keeping up. Not even the people who appear to be keeping up. They’re just shouting louder and posting more confidently about the 3% of AI they’ve actually explored.
AI is moving at a pace that makes “staying current” a full-time job. And you already have a job. Probably several, if we’re counting the unpaid ones.
The goal was never to know everything. The goal is to know enough : enough for your business, your clients, your actual life. That’s it.
Chasing “keeping up” is like chasing the horizon. You’ll exhaust yourself and never arrive. Permission to stop running, effective immediately.
Permission to Ignore Most AI Content
Here’s your formal, written permission slip:
You are allowed to ignore most AI content.
Not some of it. Most of it.
That viral thread about the 47 tools that will “transform your business”? Ignore it. That webinar promising to reveal the AI secrets the gurus don’t want you to know? Skip it. That newsletter you subscribed to in a moment of optimism that now just makes you feel behind every Tuesday? Unsubscribe. With zero guilt.
The vast majority of AI content is not created to help you. It’s created to capture your attention, trigger your anxiety, and make you feel like you need something you probably don’t.
Your peace of mind is more valuable than being across every trend.
Here’s a tiny, liberating reframe: what if confidence with AI isn’t about knowing more, but about needing less? Less noise. Less comparison. Less pressure to perform expertise you never signed up for.
What if the most confident thing you could do is close the tabs, mute the accounts, and trust that you’ll figure out exactly what you need, exactly when you need it?
You’re Not Behind. The World Is Just Very, Very Loud.
If you take nothing else from this, take this:
The overwhelm is real. The anxiety is valid. And none of it means you’re failing.
It means you’re a human being trying to navigate a landscape that changes daily, surrounded by noise designed to make you feel inadequate so you’ll keep consuming.
You are not the problem. The environment is the problem. And recognising that is the first step toward building genuine confidence : the kind that doesn’t depend on mastering every tool or reading every thread.