Some weeks are made for history.
The proverbial hero's journey brings a person to their defining moment. Years of commitment, training, and personal strength culminate in this moment that defines their legacy, perhaps for history and certainly in our hearts.
The long hours, the hard work, the mental and emotional toll, years of waiting for the moment to do something great, something lasting. The story hasn't gone the way it was planned; they rarely do. Still, the moment comes, and the world waits to see who can rise to its pressure and achieve greatness.
This week, athletes from around the world will descend on Paris, France for their chance to live that moment.
Oh, did you think I was talking about something else?
I couldn't resist, y'all. I'm sorry. If you want to hear from Sarah and Beth on the historic presidential news of the week, make sure to listen to our episode from earlier this week. These (truly wild) past few weeks remind me why I get so hyped for the Olympics. The Olympics ground me in much of what I love about the human experience and bring me straight back to cherished family and national memories.
Watching the Olympic Games are some of the earliest recollections I have of engaging in any sort of national narrative. I was 9 when the Games came to Atlanta, and my parents took us to watch the torch relay come through our suburb of Columbus, Ohio. I remember paging through the special viewing guide the local paper printed and circling the events I wanted to watch. My mom, sister, and I camped out in front of the TV in the evenings cheering for our favorites, totally glued to the screen when Kerri Strug injured her ankle, yet vaulted again anyway, locking in gold for the Magnificent Seven (when you actually think about this moment now, it is horrifying, not inspiring).
We stayed locked in two years later as Tara Lipinski took home the gold in Nagano, Japan. And again in 2000 as Australian Ian Thorpe dominated in the pool. Every iteration of the Games holds memories for me. I'm not a sports watcher; I'm a music and theatre girl. But the Olympics sit at an intersection of healthy patriotism, human interest, and incredible feats of human capability that I can't resist. It's two weeks every two years when it feels like anything is possible.
I know there are major, important problems with the Games. Sarah and Beth have actually spoken about them on the show in both of the last two cycles. A lot of what they say is still very relevant (2021 conversation here, 2022 conversation here, and 2022 More to Say episode here). The IOC is in desperate need of reform, and the systems that prepare the athletes to meet their moment in the sun can be brutal, even abusive.
And, yet, there's nothing quite like the way the Olympics bring us together. We take off our political partisan jerseys and become fellow Americans, cheering for the home team. We watch our fellow citizens who, in so many respects are just like us, achieve feats beyond our wildest imaginations. We become invested in their stories and, thus, become invested in each other and a broader national story.
This year, I have a two-year-old who will be watching the Olympics for the first time. I watched some of the gymnastics trials with him, and he was so into it. At one point, Simone Biles was doing her (incredible) thing on the beam, and he turned to me, mouth agape, and said, "Woah." Yep. That's my reaction to watching her, too, buddy.
I'm so excited to share this experience with my son the way my mom shared it with me. It's an early way to show him the world and some of the amazing places and people and activities it contains. It's a way to teach him about our country and what a special place it is. This year, I want him to see that Americans can do hard things - both at the Games and at the ballot box. I want him to see that resiliency and strength and hope are some of the many positive qualities innate in the American spirit.
-Alise (Managing Director of Pantsuit Politics)
This week on our Premium Channel our Executive Producer, Dr. Dan Lebo, talked with Beth about his research and work in preventing burnout in purpose-driven professions. Kristen, our long-time listener, is also researching this field and reached out to us at the same time to share some of her research. It paired so well with that conversation that we wanted to share her thoughts as a companion to that episode.
As a Pantsuit Politics listener and Spice Cabinet member, I have appreciated Sarah and Beth’s recent conversations about burnout, mental health, and well-being. I'm an ordained minister living out my call as a full-time researcher working on projects around helping professionals’ well-being promotion and burnout prevention. Early results from my team’s research support many of the anecdotes and other studies shared on the podcast, especially among religious leaders, and I wanted to share with this community highlights from our religious leader data (including links to more detailed info).
What we’ve found: From August 2022 to August 2023, we surveyed 314 US religious leaders and found that 40.9% reported work-related trauma symptoms within the PTSD range, which is higher than the trends in post-deployment service members. This was true despite over 90% of religious leaders finding their work deeply meaningful. (I love you. It’s ruining my life…) This trend won’t and can’t change if left to the individual person to “make space for self-care.” In fact, putting all the responsibility for well-being on the individual could increase the sense of depletion (another to-do on an already full schedule).
What we’re trying: Committed to move beyond self-care towards sustainable flourishing, and after reviewing existing research, we developed CHRYSALIS, an 8-week online program in two different formats (group or self-directed) that strives to create a restorative space for caregivers to be cared for and (for those in the group format) a space to connect with others who “get it.”
Who can help make this change sustainable:
Friends and family – Consider encouraging and celebrating when your loved ones take time off at least as much, if not more, than celebrating when they work tirelessly.
Employing institutions—Employee well-being should be included in the definition of organizational success. Small organizations may need to focus on a smaller number of things done well and thoroughly instead of making small dents in larger numbers of initiatives.
Religious leader training programs – Realistic expectations need to be set when in seminary. Curricula need to include protective factors and to interrogate some of the theologies and ideologies that might undermine healthy living and boundary setting.
Other helping professional graduate programs – Schools that train professionals who will work alongside religious leaders (ex: medical & nursing schools, social work programs, higher ed administration) could include ways religious leaders can be collaborators.
The role of AI—AI’s entry into spiritual care has had a slower rollout, meaning the goal can still be to use AI to supplement and enhance spiritual care, not replace the humans capable of deep work.
Existing networks—This list continues to grow, but below are some organizations geared toward the professional support and development of religious leaders. I welcome hearing from this community about any others, especially networks for non-Christian religious leaders and chaplains!
Chaplaincy Innovation Lab – interfaith across a myriad of chaplaincy settings with a plethora of online workshops and networking opportunities
Common Table – networking organization focused on connecting Christian clergy primarily in the US and Canada.
Healthy Congregations – interfaith; utilizes Bowen systems theory in its resources and trainings for congregational clergy
Thriving in Ministry – a Lilly Endowment funded collaboration of Christian congregational clergy projects and events
Clergy Health Initiative – Duke-based research study of UMC clergy in North Carolina informed the development of resources available to seminarians and established clergy of any tradition.
Rev. Kristen Hydinger can be reached at kredford@bu.edu.
The one thing we want you to know this week…
We love partnering with other small businesses, especially when they are doing good work in their communities. Lisa at The Bookshelf on Church puts together fun boxes for our book club participants; she is also launching a program to get books to incarcerated people. Right now, the goal of the Appalachian Prison Book Project is to fill four boxes with Westerns by the end of the summer (that genre is highly requested!). We love this initiative and the work Lisa is doing for her community!
The one thing we made this week we can’t stop thinking about…
We were honored to speak with Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania at the end of June - right before everything went a little wild. In the end, getting to share this conversation with you this week felt just right, particularly as he seems to be a top contented for the VP slot now. Take a listen to learn more about how Governor Shapiro has been working to get tangible results for the people of Pennsylvania (and to hear Sarah and Beth’s immediate reactions to the news that Joe Biden had stepped down and endorsed Vice President Harris).
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I KNOW HER! So cool to see what you're up to, Kristen!
You ROCK, Alise! Masterful interweaving of themes!
And the Olympics are more exciting to me a little bit because where I live (Salt Lake City) was just named the city for the 2024 Winter Games!
And also, do you still live near Columbus? I work remotely for a company there, and I visit several times a year (coming up again in a couple of weeks.
Have the best day available to you!