The Power of Prayer

Thoughts on prayer from a non-religious person

Prayer is a powerful habit.

In my opinion, habit is the key to the prayers’ success.

Prayer is a built-in pause for those who practice. The regularity of praying (sometimes multiple times a day) helps people focus on what they truly care about and their goals. It becomes a time to prioritize things in life and put problems in perspective.

It is also a dedicated time to be grateful and for reflection. This helps the feedback loop in growing as a human.

As someone who doesn’t pray, I intentionally set some time throughout the week to appreciate what I have, reflect, and prioritize things in life. I’m not as consistent as I would like to be since my trigger for it isn’t clearly defined (e.g. before meals or before bed).

Taking time to reflect and prioritize is valuable in all aspects of life. This is undoubtedly one of the primary responsibilities of a product manager, whether with the product and/or how the team executes. As a photographer, I take time before every shoot to determine what I want to work on; after the shoot, while culling/editing, I reflect on what I could have improved. As a med spouse, I’m always trying to help Dr. Viv to put things in perspective; there is so much heartbreak in medicine but there is also just as many jubilant moments (e.g. I never knew how common pediatric kidney transplants are!).