Leading Through The Storm

Tomorrow is World Mental Health Day & here's why I'm taking one:

Anxiety & depression aren’t things leaders like to talk about — but they’re real, especially when you’re serving in the spotlight.

I’ve held leadership roles for a long time, and I’ve learned that when chaos hits — when there’s confusion, criticism, or conflict — people look to you to stay calm. To smile. To keep everything together. Because your team, your volunteers, and sometimes even your own family depend on your strength.

But what most don’t see is that leaders hurt too.

Behind the titles and the responsibilities, we carry the weight of being misunderstood, misrepresented, or even targeted — not always because of what we’ve done wrong, but because of who we are or what we stand for.

When you’re young & experienced, people can struggle to reconcile the two. They project their insecurities, their jealousy, or their limited imagination of what someone “your age” should be capable of. And sometimes, they don’t just come for you — they go after the people and progress around you.

That’s the part that hurts most.

Still, I keep going.

Not because it’s easy — it isn’t.

Not because I’m fearless — I’m not.

But because I love what I do, and I know it makes a difference.

Leadership, real leadership, means pushing through the storm even when the rain feels personal.

It means choosing grace when others choose gossip.

It means remembering that your mission is bigger than your mood.

I’m grateful for those who’ve shown me resilience in their own storms — and for the village that loves, prays, and fights for me when I’m tired.

People say, “Just keep swimming.”

Mel Robbins says, “Let them.”

I’m still learning to do both — to swim through the storm while letting go of what I can’t control.

Because at the end of the day, leadership isn’t about being untouched by struggle — it’s about staying true to yourself through it.

Read More at www.DanielSpeaks.org