The demands of leading a school can be relentless. Working nine to twelve hours on weekdays and more on weekends, holidays, and vacations is physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausting. More draining still is the weariness arising from the complaints and conflict that inexorably come with leadership. If you have led long enough, you know the feeling. You arrive at work drained before you even begin.

Stress and weariness are unavoidable. But they do not have to be overwhelming. There are practices, cultivated over many years, that have helped me reduce stress and remain resilient. I share them with the prayer and hope that a few will strengthen your resilience and provide rest for your heart and mind.

My wife recently shared a fascinating video, “20 Forgotten American Habits to Never Have a Messy Home Again.” I am fastidious when it comes to neatness, so the video resonated with me.

After watching it, I realized that many of the practical suggestions apply to leadership productivity, not just housework. Each leadership practice below mirrors a domestic habit from the video. The analogy is straightforward: what micro-maintenance does for a home, micro-discipline does for our productivity. Small, consistent actions repeated daily build lasting order, not heroic, stress-filled interventions.

Life is hard and full of trouble. In many ways, Christians face more difficulty than non-believers. Jesus told his disciples, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We face opposition and persecution because we follow Christ, for “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). Peter reinforced this hard reality:

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12–13).

We also endure the special attention of Satan’s attacks and temptations: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Likewise, Paul reminds us that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). The troubles of this life are not merely human in origin. We contend with forces beyond what we can see.

The Unique Furnaces of Leadership

Leaders face the normal troubles of this life and must endure the fiery furnaces unique to leadership. Shakespeare understood this, which is why he wrote, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”1 As leaders, we face many furnaces through which we must pass and lead.

I refuse to allow technology to train me to skim rather than read, to steal my ability to think and concentrate, or to control my attention and focus.

This time of year invites reflection on the past twelve months and planning for the next. We take inventory and ask what we did well and where we might improve. We resolve to be better and do better. Many make New Year's resolutions, some written, others held as mental goals. Whether recorded on paper or kept in the mind, these resolutions aim toward becoming a better version of ourselves. They seek to close the gap between who we know we ought to be and who we find ourselves to be, between what we ought to do and what we actually do. We are like Paul: "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate" (Romans 7:15).

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

He made all the right decisions. He dated slowly, chose wisely, did everything I asked of him in pre-marital counseling, and despite all his wise choices, his wife left him just months into the marriage.

She made all the right decisions. Three job offers were on the table. Her knowledge and ability was recognized by everyone. She prayed, sought wise counsel, and made the best decision she knew to make. Within the year the company failed and she was without a job.

There is a common assumption regarding God’s will. It’s the belief that success is the ultimate sign of choosing correctly. It’s the belief that if you make a decision which honors God, God will honor you with success. It’s a dangerous assumption.

I hear it as people are:

Everyone desires a life marked by satisfaction and peace of mind. Contentment offers precisely this: a settled satisfaction that arises from gratitude for what God has provided and trust in what He has promised. As we prepare our Thanksgiving tables with abundance, tradition, and fellowship, it is easy to overlook the one virtue that gives meaning to it all: contentment.

Contentment is one of the keys to living a life of inner calm and lasting satisfaction.