3. Win the battle and find a bigger challenge
The voices that play in my head get worse when I’m bored…when there’s no challenge that’s dominating my time and attention.
Sometimes the fact that the voices are present and there’s a malaise is evidence to me that its time for a bigger challenge.
That doesn’t mean quitting your job or looking for something new. It just means upsizing the scale and importance of your current mission.
Fortunately for church leaders, we have the biggest mission on planet earth. Nothing could be more exciting, challenging or worthy of our lives.
If you’re not excited about the mission of the church, you don’t understand the mission.
Refocusing on the mission of the church is a very effective way of silencing the negative voices in your head.
4. Take a break and come back fresh
Occasionally, the problem isn’t that you’re not working hard enough, it’s that you’re working too hard. You’ve gotten lost in the long drone of day-to-day leadership.
Instead of staring at a wall and letting the dialogue in your head ramp up to another level, take a break and do something not related to your job.
Go for a run. Hop on your bike. Take a hike (literally). Watch a movie. Game a little. Cut your lawn. Have dinner with a friend and DON’T talk about work.
Take a nap or go to bed an hour early (going to bed earlier is almost always more energizing than sleeping in).
The mental distractions these activities offer provides a break from the long drone of leadership.
Every leader needs a break from the long drone of leadership. So take one today.
5. Lean into your energy
You get an equal amount of energy every day, but you never bring the same amount of energy to each hour.
You likely have a 3-5 hour window every day where you’re truly at your best. Your energy is high. Your mind is sharp, and your enthusiasm runs deep.
The problem is that often, you squander that energy on unproductive things, like a meeting that went too long, or email that made your eyeballs numb, or small tasks that could have been saved for later.
The key to maximum effectiveness as a leader is this: do what you’re best at when you’re at your best. That’s what top performing leaders do (here are 12 other traits of top performing leaders).
If your key strength is communication, do your writing or thinking in that 3-5 hour window. Save the administration for later when your energy is lower.
Or if your key work is building into your best people, get them in a room when your energy is at its best.
For me, my best hours are between 5-10 a.m. I try to do my most important work in that window.
Discover your peak hours by monitoring your energy level and then doing what you’re best at… when you’re at your best. (I wrote more about how to do that here.)
6. Pray and have people pray for you
Prayer is so important to Christian leadership, but it’s so often neglected.
I admit, I would lean toward participating in a strategy meeting over a prayer meeting any day, but that’s also a critical mistake. If we’re being 100% dead honest, you might lean in the same direction (and if you don’t—great).
Praying about the battle in your head is a necessary and powerful step every leader can take. And it should be the first step.
Also, when the battle wages on, it’s a good idea to have other people pray for you.
When I entered a period of burnout a decade ago, the prayers of close friends and family were instrumental in helping me see the light of day again.
Prayer fixes my mind on Christ and lifts me above the problems I’m facing at any given moment.
Here’s what I’m learning as a leader: fixing your mind on Christ fixes your mind.
What About You?
What voices do you hear in your head that want to take you off-mission and out of the game?
How do you battle them…and win?
