“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isaiah 26:3
As a leader, one of my biggest struggles is wondering if I’m doing enough. Am I truly doing my best every day? Am I being productive enough? Am I wisely prioritizing each day, week, month? When the business is doing well culturally and financially it’s easier to have that sense of balance, of knowing I’m doing a good job. Who really defines when a leader is doing an excellent job? Let’s be real, I don’t want to be an average leader, I want to be an excellent leader. What is the benchmark for excellent leadership? Happy staff? Happy customers? Healthy bottom line? Lack of complaints? What about the times when despite my best efforts, things are going terribly wrong? Does that mean I’m failing as a leader? It certainly feels like it.
Life is filled with uncertainty and “what if” scenarios. We have no guarantee of tomorrow, or even today. Tragedy is part of life: illness, death, injury, financial loss, economic turmoil, relationship loss, and so much more. No person or business is immune to facing tragedy. The Lord doesn’t promise Christians an easy, struggle free life. He promises to draw near to those who will draw near to Him. He promises that if we lean on Him, His strength will get us through.
This fall has been a particularly challenging season for me as a leader. My organization was on the receiving end of a malicious and vicious social media campaign to do as much damage as possible. The Lord worked in a mighty way through that time, and we saw revival among our staff. It was beautiful! But the fall out of the social media smear-campaign has been on-going. As a direct result, we lost almost a third of our students. Also, as a result, we are not seeing new enrollments at a time that is normally our heaviest enrollment season. We were still staffed for a full-program and facing tough choices. Every business faces the reality that if they spend more money than they make, they won’t be in business for very long. As a leader, it’s hard not to feel like a failure. I believe in taking responsibility and ownership for all that happens in my organization. The buck stops with me and me alone. But absorbing the emotion of the responsibility does not help solve the financial problem of the day. And so, staff were laid off and a plan made to ensure we are living within our means. On one hand, I am so proud of my staff for being willing to endure a lean and unpleasant season so that the longevity of the organization can be ensured. On the other hand, I feel like a failure for it even being necessary.
It is difficult to have peace when dealing with a struggle. My mind wants to obsess over every little thing that went wrong, over every decision, over every conversation. What could I have done differently? Where did I go wrong? Should I have made the hard decisions sooner? Could I have seen it coming? Was there a lack of discernment on my part that might have been a contributing factor? While self-analysis is a healthy skill in leadership and life, over-analyzing is not. I need to do my best and give the rest to God. Over-analyzing makes the struggle all about me and my ability. While ultimately God is in control of all, we have a free will. We have the ability to push through struggles, leading out of our capacity and ability. But that’s not the leader I want to be. I want to seek His guidance with every step and every decision. I want my mind focused on pleasing the Lord, on moving forward with His strength and blessing. I can’t have it both ways. I cannot be self-centered, obsessively analyzing what I could have done differently and have my mind focused on Christ. It’s one or the other: me or Him.
Isaiah promises perfect peace when our minds are focused on Christ. No matter the struggle, challenge, or tragedy. If we will choose to keep our minds stayed on Christ, intentionally putting our trust in Him, in His promise to provide guidance and strength, we will have peace.
How to stop obsessing over ourselves and focus on Christ:
- Read the Bible
Every day, start your day with time spent in the Word. The Bible is both an instruction manual and God’s love letter to us. Even when it doesn’t feel like we got much out of it, spending the time with Him and making Him a priority in our day gives us spiritual strength for what lies ahead. He wants us to spend time with Him, what better way than to read His Word?
- Pray
One of the biggest tendencies I fight is talking about things to people instead of with God. Instead of telling our friends and coworkers every detail of our struggles, we should be taking them to God. He cares about our lives and wants to hear about our challenges. Prayer doesn’t always need to be formal. It can be a conversation in your heart, or in the car, talking to Him as you would a friend. Tell God about it before you tell anyone else. When you feel yourself wanting to ‘spill the beans,’ wait and tell the Lord first.
- Listen to Godly Music
Music is powerful! Singing about the Lord is an effective way to keep Him at the front of your mind. Listening to music that worships God puts us in a mindset that is Christ-first instead of me-first.
- Praise and Thank Him
Give God the credit for His goodness in your life. No matter how small the moment, don’t be shy about giving God the credit, out loud, for all to hear. Express your gratitude for what He has done and is doing in your life. Near miss on the interstate? “Thank you, Lord, for keeping me safe.” Child’s fever broke after days of being sick? “Lord, You are the great Physician and Healer. Thank you for your hand of healing.” Received good news? “Thank you, Lord, for – Insert good news here.” Notice a beautiful flower on the side of the road? “Lord, You are the Creator of all. Your creations are marvelous and beautiful!”
Every day we get to choose where our minds fill be focused: on ourselves or on our Savior. Today, let’s choose Christ.
