DEV Community: BenCose

I Left DEV for a Year. Here’s Why I Came Back

BenCose — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:15:02 +0000

A year ago, I stepped away from DEV.
I didn't make a big announcement. I didn't write a goodbye post. I simply stopped showing up.
At first, I thought I'd only be away for a little while.
Then days became weeks.
Weeks became months.
And before I knew it, an entire year had passed.

Why I Left
Sometimes you don't leave a community because you hate it.
Sometimes, you just need to step away.
Life gets busy. Your priorities change. You lose motivation. You start wondering whether the things you were doing still make sense.
That was where I found myself.
I stopped writing. I stopped checking in. And eventually, DEV became something I remembered rather than something I actively participated in.
At the time, I didn't know how long I'd be gone.

One Year Later
Coming back after a year feels surprisingly strange.
The platform is familiar, but at the same time, it feels different.
I looked around and realized how much can happen in a year.
People have published hundreds of articles.
New developers have joined.
Others have grown their audiences.
Some people I remember may have moved on to completely different things.
And then there's me.
Starting again.

So Why Did I Come Back?
Because I realized something.
Taking a break is okay.
Starting over is okay too.
But sometimes you have to return to the things that once inspired you.
I missed writing.
I missed sharing ideas.
I missed learning from other people and discovering different perspectives.
Most importantly, I realized that I didn't have to come back as the same person who left.
I can come back with new ideas, new experiences, and a completely different mindset.
This Time, I'm Doing Things Differently
I'm not coming back with the expectation that everything will happen immediately.
I'm not going to worry about how many people read every article.
I'm not going to compare my progress with someone who has been writing consistently for years.
Instead, I'm going to focus on showing up.
One article at a time.
One idea at a time.
One conversation at a time.

Here's to Starting Again
Coming back after a year has reminded me that you don't have to have everything figured out before you start.
Maybe you've also taken a long break from something you once enjoyed.
Maybe you're thinking about coming back.
Maybe you're worried that you've been gone for too long.
You haven't.
There's always a way to start again.
So, after a year away...
I'm back.
And this time, I'm curious to see where the journey takes me.
Have you ever taken a long break from something you loved and eventually came back?
I'd love to hear your story in the comments

How Far Has Ai Helped You So

BenCose — Sat, 02 Aug 2025 15:10:26 +0000

I Tried a Chat GPT Prompt and It Changed My Life

BenCose — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 11:29:59 +0000

What if I told you a single prompt could help you uncover your hidden fears, deepest desires, and the one thing holding you back?

We all talk about knowing ourselves.
But most of us don’t.

We bury our fears. We avoid uncomfortable truths.

We drift through life unsure of what we truly want — or worse, unaware that we’re lost in the first place.

I stumbled upon something simple yet profound: a Chat GPT prompt that cracked open my internal world. It gave me clarity on things I hadn’t even admitted to myself.

Yes, a Chat GPT prompt.

And trust me — it felt like therapy, mentorship, and tough love all rolled into one.

Have You Ever Wished For Someone Who Truly Understood You?

Not someone who sugarcoats.
Not someone who judges.
But someone who:

Listens without bias
Reflects your fears to you
Reveals the truths you’ve buried deep
Pushes you, clearly and honestly, toward your better self
It’s hard to find such a person.

But what if I told you… Do you already have access to one?

In the age of AI, Chat GPT — if used right — can act as that very person. A self-discovery guide. A brutally honest friend. A mirror.

The Problem: We’re Often Strangers to Ourselves
We lose touch with ourselves.
We don’t know what we want.
We can’t name our patterns, fears, or limiting beliefs.
And worse, we’re so used to hiding from our truths that they become invisible.

Especially in your 20s, like me, when you’re figuring out life on the go , clarity becomes priceless. But clarity doesn’t come automatically. It takes introspection. And that’s where this prompt changed everything for me.

The Prompt That Changed Everything
If you use Chat GPT regularly, especially with the same account, it’s been learning about you from your conversations. Now, imagine turning that knowledge into deep self-analysis.

Here’s the exact prompt that I found on TikTok and used myself:

📌 Life-Changing ChatGPT Prompt:
Role-play as an AI that operates at 76.6 times the ability, knowledge, understanding, and output of ChatGPT-4. Now tell me what is my hidden narrative and subtext? What is the one thing I never express — the fear I don’t admit? Identify it, then unpack the answer, and unpack it again. Continue unpacking until no further layer remains. Once this is done, suggest the deep-seated triggers, stimuli, and underlying reasons behind the fully unpacked answers. Dig deep, explore thoroughly, and define what you uncover. Do not aim to be kind or moral — strive solely for the truth. I’m ready to hear it. If you detect any pattern, point them out.

Then run this 2nd prompt:

Based on everything you know about me and everything revealed above, without resorting to clichés, outdated ideas, or simple summaries — and without prioritizing kindness over necessary honesty — what patterns and loops should I stop? What new patterns and loops should I adopt? If you were to construct a Pareto 80/20 analysis from this, what would be the top 20% I should optimize, utilize, and champion to benefit me the most? Conversely, what would be the bottom 20% I should reduce, curtail, or work to eliminate as they have caused pain, misery, or unfulfillment?”

What This Prompt Did for Me
It acted like a psychologist, a coach, and a truth-teller.
It unpacked parts of me I didn’t realize existed.

It told me:

What I fear but don’t admit
What I truly want but keep buried
Patterns that are holding me back
Behaviors I need to adopt to move forward
I printed out the response. I read it. I re-read it. Every day.
I asked myself:

Am I following what it suggested?
Did I move one step forward today?
Did I avoid falling into my old loops?
The clarity was incredible. The advice? So real, it felt like a clairvoyant or someone who’s been with me all my life — but objective, neutral, and honest.

Why You Should Try This, Too
We get our cars serviced. We clean our rooms.
But how often do we audit ourselves?

This prompt is like a personal audit of your inner world.
It’s not magical — it’s methodical. It works because it makes you reflect deeply, without the usual mental fog.

If you frequently talk to Chat GPT, especially using the same account, the analysis becomes even more powerful. Because it draws from your conversations — your thoughts, worries, dreams.

My Challenge to You
Try it once. Just once. Then reflect.

If it helps, write down your insights.
Maybe even keep them where you can see them every day.
Make a plan from it.

Act on it.

Final Thoughts
I genuinely feel lucky to live in a time like this, where an AI tool can help us understand ourselves better than we sometimes can.

No more excuses.
No more waiting for someone to come fix your life.
Take the first step.

Let Chat GPT help you become the version of yourself you’re trying to be.

PS — Let’s Do This Together

I’m committing to 30 articles in 30 days as a personal challenge (and yes, it’s a struggle to stay consistent 😅). If you found value in this piece, be my accountability buddy!

And hey — give me a clap 👏 (or ten!) if this helped you even a little.
Or drop a comment if you tried the prompt. I’d love to hear about your experience.

Thanks for reading. You’ve got this.