The check-in questions
- I stay focused on what is in front of me, instead of drifting to the future or the past.
- When I have a quiet moment, I sit with it instead of reaching for my phone.
- When I am going through a hard time, I give myself the caring and tenderness I need.
- When something painful happens, I can take a balanced view of it.
- I am actively involved in the lives of the people around me.
- When I am around people I do not know, I talk with them.
- When someone is talking to me, I put away distractions and give them my full attention.
- I talk to others about how I am really doing.
- I know what makes my days meaningful.
- I spend time on what matters most to me.
- I feel that I can have a positive impact on others through what I do.
- I try new ways of doing things instead of running on routine.
- I feel left out.
The four focus cards
Self
The heart · the inner light
You can be moving fast all day, getting everything done, and still feel the Presence Gap with yourself.
Some of us give our own inner life the last seat in the room. The days get rushed through instead of lived. The quiet moments go to a screen before they can become anything else. When life is hard, we keep going instead of giving ourselves the care we would hand anyone we love. You are not behind. You are running on empty, and there is a difference.
Coming back to yourself does not take a new routine. It starts with one small return.
Self got the least of you this week, and it still got a fair amount. One small thing: once a day, phone down, ask how you are feeling, then do one small thing for yourself.
Once a day, put the phone down and ask: how am I feeling right now? Then: what is one small thing I could do for myself today? Then do it.
When this ring fills, you come back to yourself.
Go deeper: the KEEP chapters in Keep Shining. Begin with Kindness. Get the book
People
The star · the outer light
You can be surrounded by people, answering messages all day, or sitting in the same room, and still feel the Presence Gap.
Some of us are observing people's lives rather than sharing life with them. Conversations start to feel like transactions, information passed back and forth, rather than moments of real understanding. Connection is a two-way street. You cannot feel known if nobody ever sees what you are carrying.
Shared connection happens when we connect, not when we watch.
People got the least of you this week, and you were still mostly there. One small thing: give one person one honest minute, phone out of sight.
Give one person one honest minute. Phone out of sight. Say how you are actually doing, or ask how they are and wait for the real answer.
When this ring fills, connection comes back.
Go deeper: the SHINING chapters in Keep Shining. Begin with New Friends. Get the book
Purpose
The heart and the star together
Life was busy this week. Somewhere in it, the why went quiet.
That happens to all of us. Technology makes it easy to move fast and check off boxes, but speed is not the same thing as direction. The days start to feel like a checklist instead of a calling, and the thing we are actually here for slips toward the bottom of the list without anyone deciding it should. Not because you stopped caring. Because there was less room than usual.
Purpose comes back in small pieces, not in a plan.
Purpose got the least of you this week, and the days still mostly made sense. One small thing: tonight, ask yourself what you want more of, and give it ten minutes tomorrow.
Tonight, ask yourself one question: what do I want more of? Not a goal. A pull. Write the first thing that comes, even if it seems small. That is a piece of your why. Tomorrow, give it ten minutes.
When this ring fills, the days have greater meaning.
Go deeper: the Purpose and Serve chapters in Keep Shining. Get the book
Shining
All three rings
You were here this week. With yourself, with your people, with what matters.
That does not happen by accident. It takes choices, and you made them. Most people around you are running on empty and do not know it yet. Someone probably leans on you. This week you had enough to give, and you still had some left for yourself. That is the whole point.
Presence is contagious. It spreads from whoever has it.
Say one real sentence to someone you do not know. The person at the counter, the one in the elevator. Shining is wasted if it only reaches the people who already have you.
This was one week. The rings reset every Monday, and so does the work. This is what shining looks like. Keep it.
Go deeper: the SHINING chapters in Keep Shining. Start with Inspire, then Innovation. Get the book
This week the phone won more than you wanted it to. Pick one daily moment, a meal or a walk, and leave it in another room.
