Struggling Well Is Rarely a Solo Act
A 5-part reflection on struggle, leadership, and the quiet work of becoming more human under pressure.
What are you carrying right now?
And who knows about it?
Most people around you are carrying something.
Some of it visible. Much of it not.
And when it’s not visible, it’s easy to assume we’re meant to carry it alone.
Once People Know
Have you ever noticed how quickly people step in when they can see it?
Meals appear.
Schedules shift.
People carry pieces of the weight.
But only after it becomes visible. Until then, most of us carry more than anyone around us would ever ask us to.
My friend and co-creator of this series, Wade Mitzel experienced that tension in a very real way.
His daughter had undergone spinal surgery and suffered a spinal cord stroke. The road ahead was uncertain.
We’ve Got You”: The Moment Everything Shifted -- Struggle Well Part 4
At any moment, he might need to leave work with little notice to get her care somewhere else in the country.
So he sent an email few leaders want to send.
“I had to send a very hard email… letting my team know I might have to leave quickly. That was hard. It felt like admitting I might not fulfill my duties or might let someone down.But when I told them, they all said the same thing: ‘Wade, we’ve got you.’ If I hadn’t given them the opportunity to see my struggle, they wouldn’t have been able to come alongside me… and I would have missed that too.”
Don't Go It Alone
That moment has stayed with me. Struggling well is rarely a solo act.
Sometimes it begins with something simple: Letting people see what you’re carrying.
If you lead, you’ve probably felt the pull to carry more.
Protect the team.
Hold things together.
Keep moving.
From the outside, that can look strong.
Inside, it can become isolating.
But something shifts when struggle becomes visible.
The weight doesn’t disappear.
But it becomes shareable.
Lessons Learned IN the Struggle
You already know this.
If you’ve ever walked with someone through a hard season…
You didn’t need the right words.
You didn’t need to fix it.
Your presence was enough.
And something changes when you experience that for yourself.
You listen differently.
You notice more.
You make it safer for others to be honest about what they’re carrying.
Before moving on, sit with this for a moment:
Who in your life knows what you’re really carrying right now? What's needed for you to open up and share it with someone...this week?