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.
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 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.
Spiritual Well-Being Leadership and Development
To continue with the car analogy, we need gas in the tank to function, so our first focus is on our spiritual health. Focusing on spiritual well-being is the best way to achieve a more balanced life. By developing healthy spiritual rhythms, we can improve our spiritual wellness and profoundly influence other dimensions of health. Caring well for spiritual health is essential to living a balanced and meaningful life. Spiritual well-being involves prioritizing our time to connect with God, cultivating a sense of purpose, living in community, and implementing rest and renewal into our week.
Practices for Spiritual Wellness
One key aspect of spiritual care is nurturing a connection with God. This can be achieved through practices such as silence and solitude. These activities create space for reflection and reliance on something greater than oneself, fostering hope and resilience.
Another cornerstone is developing a sense of purpose. Engaging in activities that align with one’s values—whether serving others, pursuing meaningful work, or fostering personal growth—helps cultivate a life of intention and fulfillment.
Community and relationships also play vital roles. Sharing spiritual practices or conversations with others who share similar values creates a sense of belonging and support. Vulnerability and accountability within these relationships foster spiritual growth and depth. Our culture encourages us to be self-sufficient and independent; however, genuine development and spiritual maturity occur in meaningful relationships.
Finally, spiritual care requires rest and renewal. Setting aside time for a sabbath recharges the soul, enabling one to better navigate life’s demands.
Caring well for the spiritual dimension of health is an ongoing journey, not a destination. Individuals can experience greater peace, resilience, and holistic well-being by intentionally prioritizing practices that nurture the spirit. Once we implement healthy practices to care well for our spiritual health, we can start to care well for our other dimensions of health.
Be Still and Reflect
Pause here and reread the four ways to grow in your spiritual health above. Sit silently and notice which practice God wants you to start developing (solitude and silence, developing a purpose, increasing vulnerability in relationships, or resting). Christian leadership requires this intentional time of reflection, and then focused action stops to create healthy rhythms.
Please take intentional time to develop your spiritual health before proceeding to the following information on mental health. As mentioned earlier, we must have fuel in the car to drive anywhere, so let’s get a full tank before addressing the first wheel of our vehicle (mental health).
Resources for Spiritual Wellness:
If you want to read more about spiritual well-being, check out this book that focuses on silence and solitude or this article that focuses on finding one's purpose.
Discover your purpose in leadership today
Mental Well-Being Leadership and Development
Now that we have practiced developing our spiritual health and have the fuel to drive our car, we must shift our focus to the vehicle's wheels. We will begin with the mental dimension of health, which encompasses our thought life. The mental domain of wellness refers to the health of our cognitive ability, such as our thinking patterns, self-talk, and learning process. Our minds and thoughts help us ensure a balanced and fulfilling life as Christian leaders. Good mental wellness supports resilience, promotes positive relationships, and enhances productivity.
Caring for the cognitive domain of health requires intentional actions that foster emotional stability, intellectual growth, and creativity. Although Christian leadership comes with stress that impacts our mental health, we can nurture and improve our mental wellness. A healthy mental state manifests as coping with life’s challenges, recovering from setbacks, and maintaining a positive outlook. Two practices to implement to improve your mental well-being are developing healthy thought patterns and writing a gratitude journal.
Practices for Mental Wellness
Develop Healthy Thought Patterns
Mental health starts with how we think. Cognitive distortions, such as catastrophizing or negative self-talk, can significantly impact our well-being. 2 Corinthians 10:5 states, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” We know the importance of this scripture, yet we struggle to apply this to our lives practically. As we develop our leadership skills, engaging in cognitive-behavioral techniques, such as reframing negative thoughts and focusing on gratitude, can help cultivate a healthier mindset. A basic format to follow that will help Christian leaders become more aware of their thought patterns is the ABCD model of thought. A represents the activating event or adversity you’re facing, B represents your belief about the event, C represents the consequential feelings from the event and belief, and D represents the disputing evidence to challenge your negative belief. Here is a typical example of leadership thought patterns using the ABCD model:
a.) Your team finds a mistake in your meeting presentation.
b.) We tell ourselves, “I am a terrible leader and appear incompetent to my team.”
c.) I feel embarrassed and angry with myself.
d.) We challenge our thinking with: "My team believes in me, and I am human, so they do not expect me to be perfect.”
As Christian leaders, we all face self-defeating thoughts; however, sometimes, these thoughts are outside our awareness. Intentionally spending time to take thoughts captive will improve your mental well-being and, in turn, improve your leadership.
Gratitude Journal
Gratitude journaling is the practice of regularly writing down things one is grateful for in life. This practice has been extensively studied in psychology and neuroscience. Research shows that it reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety by shifting focus from negative thoughts to positive experiences. Keeping a gratitude journal has been found to increase emotional resilience, helping individuals cope better with stress. Lastly, expressing gratitude can foster stronger social bonds, enhance empathy, and increase trust and mutual support in relationships. It seems small; however, starting a gratitude journal today and writing 3 to 5 specific gratitudes daily will help improve your mental well-being. Also, be specific with your journaling; for example, instead of writing "I'm grateful for my family," write "I'm grateful for the laughter I shared with my sister today.”
Caring for the mental domain of health is a dynamic and ongoing process. It involves balancing emotional stability, cognitive growth, and social interaction. By adopting healthy practices such as self-awareness of our thoughts and an intentional focus on gratitude, individuals can develop healthier leadership skills and lead enriched, fulfilling lives. Recognizing the importance of mental health is the first step toward a holistic approach to overall well-being.
Resources for Mental Wellness:
If you want to read more about spiritual well-being, check out this book that focuses on mental well-being or this article that focuses on mental cognitive ability.
Next Steps
Now that you have filled up your car with fuel through healthy spiritual practices and you have one wheel of your car filled with air from your mental wellness practices, it is time to focus on the next three dimensions of health. Part two of this article will focus on emotional, physical, and social health. Please continue to spend time on the spiritual and mental dimensions of health before moving on to the following article. As we know, if we focus our attention on too many topics at once, we only make a small amount of progress on each one. Take time to develop each dimension of well-being individually before moving on to the next one.
