Flourishing in the Age of AI: A New Operating System for Work
We are more prosperous than we’ve ever been.
We have more access to information, better health care, longer life expectancy, and powerful technologies that can automate work, connect us instantly, and optimize every process.
And yet…
We are more burnt out, more anxious, and more disconnected than ever before.
Our workplaces, where we spend over 90,000 hours of our lives, have become arenas of chronic stress and quiet suffering. They are breeding grounds not of flourishing, but of depletion.
It’s not because we don’t have enough. It’s because we’ve lost touch with what makes us fully human.
And paradoxically, I believe that technology, particularly AI, can help us find our way back.
Let me explain.
The AI Dilemma: Three Forks in the Road
In a recent conversation I had with Joseph Loizzo and Elazar Aslan, authors of Boundless Leadership, we explored the tension that leaders everywhere are facing right now:
“This technology can do 25%-40% of what people do. We can either give people back a day… let them go to drive profits… or use that capacity to create more positive impact in the world.”
Those are the 3 choices AI presents:
1. Free up time: Use AI to compress a 5-day workload into 4. Give people space to breathe.
2. Cut headcount to increase margins: let people go because machines are cheaper.
3. Amplify Human Potential: Use freed-up capacity to create more meaning, connection, and impact.
Most companies today are defaulting to option 2.
And yet the greatest opportunity of our time lies in the third path: using AI to help us become more human, not less.
From Human Doings to Human Beings
The relentless drive for productivity has conditioned us to believe that our worth is defined by output. We’ve become human doings, not human beings.
But if we embrace the first and third paths above, AI gives us the gift of space, the space to think more deeply, connect more authentically, and lead more compassionately.
It’s in this space that the magic of human potential is unlocked.
Joe said something that struck me:
“If the caliber of our human potential isn’t improved, but is neglected or eroded, what we do may seem efficient, but it won’t move us toward flourishing.”
In other words, without upgrading the operating system of our humanity, all the productivity gains in the world won’t help us feel more whole, more alive, or more fulfilled.
The Rewiring Begins with Awareness
So where do we begin?
Elazar offered a deceptively simple but powerful suggestion:
“Why don’t you just start with awareness of your biases?”
Here’s why that matters.
Each of us carries over 100 cognitive biases, mental shortcuts that distort how we see the world. These biases, like negativity bias, confirmation bias, and urgency bias, shape how we lead, how we relate to others, and how we respond to pressure.
But most of us are blind to them.
Without awareness, we lead reactively.
With awareness, we lead intentionally.
That’s the first step in the rewiring. Try this:
· Pick 3 biases you know you struggle with.
· Track them for a week.
· Journal about how they show up at work, in meetings, in decisions, in moments of tension.
You’ll be amazed at how this one act of mindfulness cracks open a deeper level of clarity.
The Body Never Lies
As leaders, we often over-index on the mind. We try to think our way to better performance.
But the science and ancient wisdom say otherwise.
Our bodies carry stress, fear, and emotion long before our minds catch up. As Joe shared with me:
“If the body doesn’t feel safe and connected, the heart closes and the mind shuts down.”
This isn’t philosophy. It’s neuroscience.
The nervous system is constantly scanning for signals of safety or threat. And when we’re chronically in fight-or-flight, we lose access to the parts of the brain responsible for empathy, creativity, and strategic thinking.
The antidote? Simple body-based practices:
· Take a grounding breath before your next Zoom call.
· Walk your commute (if you can), and offer silent compassion to those you pass.
· Shift your posture to openness: stand tall, soften your shoulders, breathe into your belly.
These micro-practices tell your body: I’m safe.
And when your body feels safe, your leadership transforms.
What Future Are You Building?
The real question for leaders isn’t “Should we invest in well-being?”
It’s: What future are you choosing to build?
Are you using AI to extract more… or to expand what’s possible?
Are you creating workplaces that drain people… or help them thrive?
Are you building cultures of fear… or cultures of flourishing?
Because the science is clear:
Flourishing cultures outperform.
Compassionate leaders innovate more.
Self-aware teams make better decisions.
And all of this starts with one small choice:
To pause.
To reflect.
To lead from your full humanity.
Let’s not miss this moment.
Learn more about Joseph and Elazar on Linkedin.
Listen to the podcast with Ashish, Joseph, and Elazar below.
Access and subscribe to all of the episodes of the Happiness Squad Podcast here.
Visit the REWIRE Program powered up by the HAPPINESS SQUAD Community and experience your shift within your 30-day risk-free trial today. Cultivate your Self-Awareness, Gratitude, Purpose, Community, and personal growth more through the 9 Hardwired for Happiness practices. Integrate simple and proven micro-practices grounded in the science of happiness and neuroscience of habit formation in 5 minutes a day.
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