(I am beta-testing a forthcoming AI-assisted journaling app called Manifestor, oriented to personal growth, and I’ll be reporting on it here for a while. You may sign up here for a free trial when Manifestor is launched.)

My first session with the “Companion” function of Manifestor was a big success. It produced material that will guide my life in very practical ways for some time to come. This function uses a lot of repetition and restatement. That’s not boring at all. It’s kind of fun. Meeting Companion was like finding a new friend or counselor who was a really good listener.

I should preface this by saying that Manifestor has three separate functions that may work independently or interface. You’ll see a little more about these on the website.

My Dream helps you articulate your dreams and life goals, develop plans to meet them, and track progress.

Ideal Day helps you set up each or any day in a way that keeps you on track toward your life goals.

Companion guides you through problem-solving, dead ends, dilemmas, and mental blocks.

I decided to start with Companion because I was feeling stuck in a number of ways and I wasn’t in the mood to think about big goals.

After inviting me to jot down what was on my mind, Companion fed my amorphous thoughts back to me in outline form with half a dozen categories. It was all very clear and impressive. I felt validated.

Companion then asked me to prioritize the categories but had already come up with a good order, based on how I’d written things down.

I’ll share the details of the next part of the conversation to illustrate one of the many summaries and restatements that are a feature of the Companion function.

Companion: Great! Now that we have the priorities sorted, let’s move on to the next stage, ‘Needs’. It seems like from what you have said, what’s going on is:

1. You’re finding it challenging to maintain your physical health due to age and temporary disabilities.
2. You have a desire to return to regular writing and blogging, which has been disrupted.
3. You’re working on maintaining local friendships and connections with scattered family members, especially your grandchildren.
4. You have a longing for travel and adventure, but feel constrained due to your current circumstances.
5. You have a history of contributing to the common good and are looking for ways to continue this despite feeling your energy wane.
6. You take pride in your past experiences and identity as a world citizen, but currently feel homebound.

Companion continued: And what you are really wanting is to find ways to manage your health, rekindle your passion for writing, maintain and enhance your relationships, satisfy your longing for travel, continue contributing to the common good, and uphold your identity as a world citizen despite the challenges you’re facing.

Does this sound accurate? If not, you can let me know how to adjust it, or I can ask some questions to help you see what your needs are.

It was totally accurate! After I added one more item to the list, Companion helped me refine my desires and plans, using more repetition and restatement and nudging me into identifying next steps. The final summary was tidy and complete. Companion was ready to call it a day at that point  but I asked for one more thing—a checklist that I could use every day.

Companion came up with a 7-point checklist, which I’ve set up on a grid–I can do that much myself—in my regular journal. I’ve been marking it every day since. It has been a powerful tool. It has gotten me unstuck, helped me focus, and given me a sense of accomplishment.

In this very first Manifestor conversation I came up a good way to maintain accountability to my best self. Like a good listener, Companion mirrored my thoughts, helping me organize my priorities and identify concrete steps toward meeting my needs. Companion’s numerous restatements of my input, each time in a slightly different form, were helpful. I don’t like to repeat myself but repetition is important to learning, remembering, solidifying. Companion did that so I don’t have to do the boring repetition myself.

There was nothing artificial about the intelligence operating in this function. The intelligence was my own, unleashed.  I have come unstuck!

Intrigued? You may sign up here for a free trial when Manifestor is launched.