For much of my life, I’ve been very good at taking care of what needed to be taken care of.
My family.
My team.
My work.
My responsibilities.
If someone needed something, I figured it out.
Maybe you know that kind of leadership.
You’re capable. Dependable. Strong.
People know they can count on you.
But there’s a question I’ve been sitting with lately:
What happens when the person the leader continually leaves off her own list is herself?
I’ve had to face that question personally.
I’ve known for some time that the way I’ve been caring for my body isn’t supporting the life I want to live or the calling I believe God has given me.
Recently, I finally stopped rationalizing it.
I confessed it to God and made a commitment to begin caring for my health differently—not because I need to become a certain size before I’m worthy of being seen, but because I want the energy, mobility, focus and longevity to faithfully do what I’m here to do.
That’s self-leadership.
And I don’t think it only applies to health.
I’ve watched capable women do this in so many areas.
We give everyone else the best hours of our day.
We absorb problems that belong to other people.
We postpone rest.
We ignore what our bodies are telling us.
We convince ourselves we’ll take care of ourselves when things finally settle down.
But leadership that continually requires you to abandon yourself isn’t sustainable leadership.
I’m beginning to see self-care differently.
Not as indulgence.
Not as selfishness.
As stewardship.
Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourselves. There is an assumption in those words that we know how to extend care in both directions.
So perhaps the leadership question this week isn’t:
“Who needs me?”
Perhaps it’s also:
“What has God entrusted to me that I have been neglecting?”
Your health?
Your peace?
Your spiritual life?
Your boundaries?
Your relationships?
Your own dreams?
You don’t have to overhaul everything today.
But you can tell yourself the truth.
And you can take one faithful next step.
That is where self-leadership begins.
Lead well.
Live faithfully.
Stay steadfast.