I find it frustrating when you pick up a seemingly good-looking orange, go to the work of peeling it, and then finding that it is actually dry-rotten.  While the outside of the orange looks good right now, over time, the rot on the inside of the orange will eventually show because any living substance can’t stay fresh or well if the core is dead.

The same principle applies to people.  How can we, who expect to guide, teach, and show, do any of this well, if our core is rotten?  The obvious answer is we can’t.  So how do we keep our “core” fresh?

This “core” is our inner life, or our spiritual life, and in order to keep it healthy, we must nurture it and exercise it just as we do our physical and mental aspects.  Mindfulness practices such as yoga, meditation, spending time alone in nature, and prayer are all examples of ways we can strengthen our spiritual life.

Indeed, nurturing our spiritual life should be a priority in our day.  As a Christian, I believe that my Spirit grows and thrives as I spend time with God in prayer, allowing Him to feed me and make me whole. As a result, I place my time in prayer as the first item on my daily agenda.  My relationship with God and the nurturing of my spirit take first dibs on the day.

Spending some point of the day in reflection and meditation is essential if we want to move beyond ourselves and pour into others.  Psychology Today found that those who spent time in a spiritual practice were more gracious and compassionate, tended to self-actualize, savor life experiences, and flourished more than those who did not have a spiritual practice.

Why do we need to practice these “spiritual” activities?  Because what happens within our spirit influences what we do externally.  A vibrant inner/spiritual life produces four important benefits: faith and hope in our personal lives, vision towards a greater purpose, and altruistic love for those with whom we work.  All characteristics of great leaders.

So, my encouragement to us all is to spend time tending to our “core.”  As leaders, let’s put effort into tending to our spiritual needs through prayer, worship, meditation, or reflection –  a practice that allows us to step back and grow internally.  That way, as we pour ourselves out to others and empty ourselves for the sake of a cause, we are able to come back each day, find refreshment, and keep our “core” healthy.