My Self-Care Tips for Christian Leaders

If you're feeling exhausted by current events and not sure what to do about your stress right now, I'm going to share my six self-care tips for Christian leaders that will help you to relax, be present, and to focus again.

I don’t know about you, but I used to pride myself in being able to handle the stresses of everyday life, but my self-care routine of reading my Bible regularly, praying, getting enough water to drink, getting exercise in, and healthy eating just hasn't been enough to keep the stress of this weighty season at bay. There are some seasons that call for some extra help when it comes to self-care so that we can still find ways to relax, be present and focus even while the circumstances around us haven't changed. Watch now, or read on below.

Tip 1: Take Extra Time Off

So tip number one take some extra time off now. My assumption is that you are already regularly taking the Sabbath because we know that God can do more with our six days on and one full day off than we can going full speed ahead seven days a week without taking a regular day to rest and reconnect with God and our loved ones at least one day a week. So my assumption is you're taking a sabbath and if you aren't definitely start there. If you are regularly sabbathing and you're still finding yourself very stressed by the weight of sour current circumstances, then I highly recommend that you take some extra time off.

Now if you are working loads of overtime hours right now, then actually I really want to encourage you to take comp time right now, don't take personal vacation days, take comp time. You've earned those hours and now you really need to take time off. If you haven't been burning the midnight oil at work and things are just so stressful right now, because they actually are, then take some extra time off. My husband and I actually took this last Friday and Monday off and made it a long weekend for us on a you know random April weekend so that we could have time off together because the season has just been extra stressful and frankly we needed the time off. So I really want to encourage you to pause and think about if taking some extra time off right now might really be what you need to help take care of yourself.

Tip 2: Get Alone or Phone a Friend

Tip number two is to get alone or phone a friend. For some of us introverts getting alone might be what we need to deal with the extra stress of our current circumstances. Or if you're more of an extrovert then finding time with friends, even if it's a simple phone call, might actually be what you need right now to help deal with the extra stress of our circumstances and our current realities. So pause to consider what you really need right now.

And if you don't know what you need right now that's okay. Why don't you try both ways and see what actually helps you to relax and rest and be more present. Take some alone time get alone to read a book or just to think or to be or to sing by yourself or to enjoy nature by yourself and then why don't you call a friend either just hang out with them on the phone or go for a walk with them maybe join them at an outdoor cafe if you're comfortable with that and see what helps. Is it connecting with others right now or is it finding more time to be by yourself?

Tip 3: Laugh or Cry

Now tip number three is to laugh or cry. Now I mean it. Usually when circumstances are really stressful as leaders we continue to move forward because things gotta keep getting done and we often have this tendency of suppressing our emotions so that we can continue to move forward. Well that can only serve us for so long, so I really want to encourage you if you're feeling really stressed right now to find a way to laugh or find a way to cry.

It might mean watching a Hallmark show. I don't know about you but watching Hallmark shows usually result in free-flowing tears at least for me or maybe you need a good laugh right now. So maybe re-watch the lawyer cat video and laugh at it for the 100th time because it really is that funny. Whatever it is you need right now make sure that you're creating space and time to get your emotions out and give them space to breathe. So be it laugh or cry find a way to connect with them right now.

Now maybe you don't know if you need a good laugh or a good cry right now and if that's true that is okay. Sometimes our emotions have been so pressed down because we've been moving forward for so long in a state of elevated stress that we don't actually know what emotions are lying beneath the surface. So if that's you, that's okay, tap into something that regularly allows you the space and the freedom to just feel and to get your emotions out because we really want to create space for emotions to have their day, in a healthy way. Because the longer they stay suppressed the more likelihood that they are going to come out in an explosive way when we least expect it or when it's least helpful. So create space to connect with those emotions today.

Tip 4: Get Active

Tip number four is to do something active. As stress levels increase in our body you all know this cortisol levels do too and one of the best ways to get cortisol levels to go back down again is to move our bodies and get some exercise. So find something fun or that is usually fun for you to do to just move your body. You don't actually have to enjoy right now, let's be real, but you do need to move your body because we want you to stay healthy for the long term.

So go for a walk or go for a run or go for a hike or do some weight lifting do some cycling do something to help get that cortisol level back stable and get those cortisol stress hormones out of your body because the best and easiest way to do it really is to move.

Tip 5: Get Outside

Tip number five is to get some fresh air. Go outside and take some deep breaths in God's creation. There's just something about being outside, being out in fresh air, that does wonders for our heart and our soul. So I really want to encourage you to make time to get outside. We're never going to find time, we always gotta make time to do the things that are important for us. So if you are experiencing higher levels of stress right now because the season that we're in is so stressful then I really want to encourage you to get outside. You can just sit outside and take some deep breaths that'd be really helpful it also could be really helpful to combine your moving with being outside and going for that walk or that run outside. But get outside take some deep breaths of fresh air and it's amazing what fresh air can really do for the state of our mind our hearts and our souls.

Tip 6: Do Something Out of the Norm

Now tip number six is to do something out of the norm. We have all been mostly working from home living at home. We have all been kind of doing the same thing for the last 13 months. So I want to encourage you to think outside the box and do something out of the norm. This has been a very challenging and hard season and for a lot of us our days have kind of been made up of the exact same thing day after day after day. So I want to encourage you to do something out of the norm. Do something that you aren't normally doing day in and day out right now.

So what might that be for you right now? It's springtime so maybe that's gardening maybe you've never gardened before but maybe this is the year to take up gardening or at least just try it or maybe it means going for a drive to somewhere a lake or to go for a hike in the woods or up a mountain if you happen to have mountains where you live i don't but we have tons of lakes and there's just something about going for a walk around the lake that does wonders for my heart and my soul and my peace of mind. So what might that be for you? Maybe it's window shopping, maybe it's making something with your hands, whatever it is, find something out of the norm and do that in the next 48 hours. It's amazing what just breaking out of our routines can really do for our stress and to help us relax, be present, and able to focus once again.

As we all know this is a marathon not a sprint and God created our bodies such that they need rest, they need to be cared for. They can't go full stop without breaks without us doing some actual damage to the one and only body that we get this side of heaven. So I really want to encourage you, we want to be in this for the long haul so, please please please make your health a top priority. And if this season has been extra stressful for you and you found your levels of stress elevated, and your regular self-care routine is not quite cutting it, then pick one of these six tips and try them out in the next 48 hours and let me know how they go.

Now if you think you might actually be dealing with burnout then watch my video on dealing with burnout. Let me know what you are going to be doing for your self-care in the comments below and let me know which tip you're going to implement. Or are there other ways that you are finding that are really helpful for taking care of yourself finding the relaxation enabling you to be present and helping you to focus right now in a very stressful season? Comment below and let me know. Here’s to our marathon!