Pursuing Balance as a Christian Leader: Caring for Your Whole Self
Christian leaders often desire a more balanced life; however, we struggle to achieve this goal due to the high demands of our roles and the minimal time allotted for self-care. We know a balanced leader is more effective and can sustain long-term success, yet we struggle to identify and take the steps needed to attain this stability. A practical way to start pursuing a balanced life is to focus our time and energy on our five main dimensions of well-being: spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, and social. Just as a well-functioning system relies on all its parts working together, we must care for each aspect of our health to maintain overall harmony.
Five Dimensions of Well-Being: Avoiding Burnout Through Intentional Growth
The five main dimensions of health can be compared to the components of a car, each playing a vital role in keeping the vehicle running smoothly. Spiritual health is the gas that keeps the car running. If our gas tank is low, we must stop to refuel the vehicle. The car's four wheels represent our mental, emotional, physical, and social health. If one of these tires becomes flat, we must take time to put air in the tire or buy a new tire so the car can function correctly. As car owners, we understand the maintenance needed for the health of our vehicles; however, as leaders, we do not maintain these five dimensions of health in our lives well and feel it as we try to drive on an empty gas tank or flat tire. Today, we can learn to care well for ourselves and, in turn, avoid burnout.
As we proceed with the Christian leadership training on achieving balance, let’s recognize the importance of intention instead of attention. Our intent matters as we read this article and begin this deep work on ourselves as leaders. Instead of focusing on the attention we gain from meeting a goal, let’s focus on our purpose for the process. Please know we aim to create healthy habits that last for a long time instead of a short-term quick fix. Our spiritual transformation is a lifelong journey, not a set of goals to meet quickly. Development, maturity, and health are slow and methodical, often meaning people rarely see immediate results. So before you begin, write down your purpose for reading this article series and your desire to have more balance as a Christian leader. Then, one day, if you feel discouraged about the process, you can look back and read this note to yourself for motivation to proceed.
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