3 reasons every leader needs an affirmation file

Every now and then I find myself struggling with discouragement. I suppose that’s true for most people. Sometimes these times of discouragement seem to come out of nowhere. Other times they’re due to the emotional drain of a flopped project, a soured relationship, or simply a realization of how truly human I am in a world where human often seems not good enough.

Ministry leaders are particularly prone to discouragement due to the intense demands on their time and families as well as the extremely relational nature of the work. The truth is that most of us really do want to please people, but there’s absolutely no way to please all the people all the time.

It’s on these down days that my affirmation file comes in very handy. I keep this tattered file in one of my desk drawers. It has made a number of moves through the years as I’ve followed God to different places along my ministry journey. The label on the tab says simply ‘Affirmation/Encouragement,’ and it’s filled with cards, letters, and notes of appreciation from various people I’ve met along the way. Over the past few years, an increasing percentage of these items are in the form of email and Facebook print-outs. Most of the notes are from people I know pretty well, although some are from those with whom my life intersected only briefly as I led a workshop, officiated a funeral,  or ministered in some other way.

I’ve kept a file like this for as long as I can remember, and I strongly recommend that you keep one too — for several key reasons: Read more of this post