There was a season in my life when my days looked productive, even admirable. I was doing meaningful work. I was meeting people. I was building things. If you looked at my schedule, you could say, “He’s doing well.”
But inside, something felt off.
It was not a moral crisis. It was not a public breakdown. It was quieter than that. My inner life was getting muted. I could still function, but I was losing depth. I was busy, but not centered.
And I knew what that meant, because I spent time in the seminary.
That part of my life gave me a language for something many people feel but cannot name: you can be active and still be empty. You can be moving and still be lost.
So here is the shift I want you to see early.
Your inner life is not a private hobby. It is your foundation.
This is not religion. This is wholeness.
When I say “faith and inner life,” I am not trying to talk you into a religion. I am talking about spirituality in the broadest sense. Your inner life can be prayer, but it can also be reflection. It can be silence. It can be journaling. It can be breathing. It can be gratitude. It can be walking slowly without a phone. It can be remembering what you value.
In simple terms, it can be inner peace.
Because whether you call it faith or not, you still have an inner world. And that inner world shapes how you show up in the outer world. If it is neglected, everything else becomes harder. Work becomes heavier. Relationships become reactive. Even good opportunities feel noisy.
So let me ask you a question that is easy to avoid but important to answer.
When was the last time you felt truly at peace?
A neglected inner life shows up in your behavior
You can tell when someone’s inner life is running dry. They become easily irritated. They chase distraction. They live in constant mental noise. They scroll without enjoying it. They make decisions quickly, then regret them later. They are always “on,” but they are rarely present.
And sometimes, you see it in yourself.
You are not doing anything “wrong.” You are simply running without a center.
That is why this circle matters. Faith and inner life is not about being impressive. It is about being anchored. It is about living from the inside out instead of being pushed around by whatever happens outside.
Stop waiting for calm, practice it
Many people say they will focus on inner peace when life becomes calmer. But calm rarely arrives as a gift. Calm is practiced.
So the shift is not “find time.” The shift is to stop treating your inner life as something you do only when you have extra minutes.
Here is the line worth carrying.
Inner peace is not a mood. It is a practice.
Once you see it that way, you stop waiting for the perfect moment. You begin building small moments of quiet into your real life.
What winning looks like in Faith & Inner Life
Winning in this circle is not about sounding spiritual. It is not about posting quotes. It is not about appearing “deep.”
Winning looks like clarity.
It looks like being able to sit with your thoughts without panicking. It looks like responding instead of reacting. It looks like knowing what matters to you when you are under pressure. It looks like being steady even when life is loud.
For some people, winning looks like returning to prayer. For others, it looks like returning to silence. For others, it looks like rebuilding a journaling habit. For others, it looks like walking daily and letting the mind settle.
Your version can be different.
The only requirement is that it is real.
So what do you want most from your inner life right now—peace, clarity, courage, meaning, direction?
Name one.
Your one win this week
Choose one daily quiet practice you can do for seven days.
Keep it simple. Keep it gentle. Keep it doable.
It can be five minutes of prayer in the morning. It can be five minutes of journaling at night. It can be five minutes of breathing before you open your phone. It can be a short reflection walk. It can be reading a short passage that grounds you. It can be sitting in silence and asking one honest question.
The goal is not intensity.
The goal is contact.
Contact with yourself. Contact with what matters.
Make it stick: choose a trigger and a place
If you want this to last, attach it to a trigger and a place.
Trigger: after brushing your teeth, before coffee, after lunch, before sleep. Place: one chair, one corner, one quiet spot.
That way, you do not rely on motivation. You build a simple structure that makes it easier to return.
Then keep one small note each day: “What did I notice?” It does not need to be profound. It just needs to be honest.
Because over time, honesty becomes clarity.
The 30-day line
On your Nine Life Circles Map, find Faith & Inner Life.
Write: “For the next 30 days, I will play to win in Faith & Inner Life by ________.”
Choose one small shift for this week.
Do it for seven days.
Then notice what changes when your outer life is supported by an inner life that is cared for.
If you’re tired of knowing but not doing…
Let’s make one shift easier to live daily.
→ Shift Experiences
