At some point as a leader, you will feel hopeless. As a pastor, it will more than likely happen after the weekend. It is hard to keep hope alive all the time as a leader. I often read people on twitter who are overly confident and I wonder, “Are they like that? Is life that exciting for them all the time?” Then I feel like I’m doing something wrong as a leader because that isn’t me.

Should a leader be hope-filled? Yes. A leader should carry the banner of hope and excitement; you are the main vision carrier of your church.

Will you always feel like doing that? Probably not. At some point, you will feel like you have no hope and like you don’t want to go on.

So, what do you do then?

Here are some things I do when I feel hopeless:

Pray. While this seems like the expected answer, it isn’t the easiest thing to do. Often as a leader, our last thought is to pray, especially when we are teetering on the edge of losing hope. We want to think, strategize, vent, read a book, figure out how to get out of this funk. Spend some quiet time with Jesus.

Talk to trusted, encouraging friends. A leader needs people to vent to, people who can help to shoulder the weight, people who know the weight a leader carries. That last part is important because many times a leader feels like no one understands what their life is like and the weight they carry.

Sleep. Much of the hopelessness we feel as leaders come from the fact that we are tired and need rest.

When you wake up in the morning, and you feel rested, many things that were dark the night before are not as hopeless as they appeared.

Do something active or fun. This helps to balance out the chemicals in your body. Take a hike, workout, have sex with your spouse, play with your kids. Do something fun, something recharging.

Know that this won’t last forever. Hopelessness feels like the end of the world, that’s why we call it hopelessness. This won’t last forever. Tomorrow will come, another sermon will happen. This is a season that might last a day, a week or a month, but it is a season. You can look back on previous moments and see that they ended as well.