The People, Process, & Progress Podcast - Lessons in Faith from Viktor Frankl: Faith in Action Friday 01

Episode Date: November 14, 2025

In this first Faith in Action Friday episode, Lessons in Faith from Viktor Frankl, I share how Viktor Frankl’s experience in the worst human conditions helped me reconnect with my own faith. Not religion, not routine, but real faith in meaning, faith in people, and faith in myself. Frankl’s story reminds us that even when everything is taken from us, we still have the power to choose our response. In this short reflection, we explore people, process, and progress through the lens of faith and consider where a little trust could lighten the load we carry.Key Points:Faith is not ceremony, it is connection and trustMany people have lost faith in something larger than themselvesFrankl’s story shows the strength of choice in the middle of sufferingFaith reconnects us to purpose, people, and ourselvesToday’s consideration invites you to notice where faith could help you breathe easierListener consideration:Where in your life have you been carrying the weight alone when a little faith could lighten the load?Closing message:People first, process aligned, progress together.Own your mind, move your body, anchor your spirit.

Today I want to start this new series, Faithful Friday, with someone who helped me find my way back to faith during one of the hardest times in my life. Not religion, not routine, but faith, real faith. The kind you hold onto when everything else feels thin. I'm also inspired by something I've been seeing for years. Many people have lost faith in anything larger than themselves. They also have lost faith in other people and their own ability to handle what life brings. I've been there too. I know how easy it is to let that drift happen.

I'm Kevin Pinell, your host and the author of The Stability Equation and the People Process and Progress of Project Management. This show is built on a simple idea. People First, Process Aligned, and Progress together. To connect with me or learn more, visit Peopleprocessprogress.com. If you find this episode helpful, subscribe, leave your review, and share it with someone who may need it. Now, let's get into this episode. Victor's Frankel's story teaches us something we talk about often.

It is always about the people, the process they use to steady themselves, and the progress they make one small choice at a time. His story is proof that you can lose everything, accept your power to choose who you become in that moment. When I first read Frankel's words about choosing your attitude in any circumstance, I felt something I had not felt in a long time. It was not hope. It was not motivation.

It was a reminder that the deepest part of us can survive things, our body, our mind, and even our identity cannot. Frankl's faith lived in the middle of evil. Many people never walk out of that kind of darkness. He did, his heart did, and his spirit did. There was a season where I felt disconnected from everything that I used to center me. My routines were still there. The workouts, the work, family responsibilities, leadership roles, all of it.

But inside, my compass fell off. I could not name it. I could not at work it. And that bothered me more than anything. Then I went back to Frankel. I read the same lines I had underlined years earlier, but this time they hit me differently. He did not rely on religion to survive. He relied on faith.

Faith in meaning, faith in purpose, faith in that even suffering can be shaped into something that serves others. That helped me reconnect with my own faith. A faith I had pushed aside while trying to handle things on my own. A faith that had always been there, even when I stopped paying attention to it, it also reminded me that I had been slipping in my faith in people. faith in myself. To me, faith is not a ceremony. Faith is not memorized words. Faith is not performance. Faith is a decision to trust that there is meaning in your story, even when you cannot see the whole thing yet. Franco wrote that everything can be taken from us except the power to choose our response. That is the process. Progress is one choice at a time. And the people part is

remembering that none of us are built to carry life alone. Faith reconnects us to that. So consider this today. Before you step into the rest of your day, think about this. Where in your life have you been carrying the weight alone when a little faith could lighten the load? Not faith in a system, not faith in a rule, faith in meaning. Faith that your story has purpose, even when the moment feels unclear.

Faith that people can grow and that you can too. Let that question settle in. Let it guide you how you move through the day. I close this out. Victor Franco reminded me that faith is not something we earn. It's something we return to when life shakes our foundation. My hope is that this series helps you return to yours. Remember to always keep people first, keep your process aligned, make progress together.

And for ourselves, let's keep working to own our minds, move our bodies, and anchor our spirits. Thank you so much for listening to the People Process Progress podcast into this Faithful Friday edition of the show. Again, I mentioned earlier at peopleprocessprogress.com is a place to connect with me to follow, but I'm at Penel KG, PN and ELKG on X and Instagram. We've got a People Process Progress YouTube channel

where you can get some workout ideas, see some fun videos, cold plunges, jitzer after action reports, and actually getting ready to put that up for today. And have some fun with it. And you can connect with me on LinkedIn as well. Thank you so much for listening and Godspeed you.