Summary: It’s February, and here in Michigan it’s the dead of winter, and often the height of Seasonal Affective Disorder. In today’s episode, John and Jim kick off a series of pods centered on the mental/emotional wellbeing of leaders with the subject: Become Your Own Best Friend.

You can listen to the audio version here. Here is the video version.

Show notes are below:

Statistics

• July 2020 CDC: 1 in 4 young adults in America ages 18-24, contemplated suicide due to the pandemic. A 300% increase over July 2019.
• December of 2020 CDC: the percentage of Americans reporting depression symptoms during the coronavirus pandemic spiked to 42%, up from 9% in 2019. That’s a 400% increase over 2019.
• The depression rate for pastors is even higher

First behavior: Become your own best friend

• Our capacity to love others is directly related to the degree we love ourselves 22:36-39
  • 39 – “as” – “in the same manner as.”

How do we become our own best friend without becoming narcissistic?  

• Healthy Self-talk
  • How I talk to myself about myself
• Understanding the difference between self-care and selfishness

• Selfishness: When we believe the entire universe revolves around us.
• Self-care: When we intentionally nourish ourselves spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, and relationally.
• Acts 20:28 – “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.”
  • “Keep watch” – comes from a single Greek word that means – “to attend to, to pay attention to, to devote thought and effort to”
• Philippians 2:4: “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
  • Becoming your own best friend means caring about others while at the same time caring for yourself. It’s not an either/or proposition—it’s both/and.