Quiet fatigue rarely announces itself. It hums under the surface until a crisis forces a decision.
In this conversation, Marine veteran and Forte co-founder Vineet Rajan reframes care for leaders as mental fitness - a proactive, daily practice that keeps pastors and nonprofit teams clear-headed, resilient, and ready.
We contrast mental fitness with therapy, name the everyday pressures leaders face, and offer accessible rhythms that fit real life.
You’ll hear why churches are becoming early adopters, how to reduce noise so you can notice what God is saying, and why outcomes - not just usage - should drive board decisions.
If you lead people, steward budgets, or carry a call that feels heavier than it used to, this episode gives you language, guardrails, and next steps to strengthen your team without adding shame or hype.
Key Takeaways
- Mental fitness is proactive training; therapy is reactive care for acute needs. Both matter.
- Leaders fight three constants: entropy, the enemy, and evil - training helps us endure them.
- Preventative care beats crisis management; reduce interior noise to increase signal.
- Ministries love the model because it separates staff care from supervisory entanglements.
- Outcomes matter: increased productivity and well-being translate to real ROI.
- Accessibility drives adoption: mobile scheduling, short sessions, and confidentiality.
Chapter Markers
- 00:00 Welcome and setup
- 01:00 Vineet’s backstory: immigrant kid to Marine officer
- 04:00 What is Forte and who they serve
- 05:45 Mental fitness vs mental health - clear differences
- 09:20 Preventative maintenance and the “office vent” analogy
- 11:45 The three E’s: entropy, enemy, evil
- 15:00 Why churches became early adopters
- 19:30 EAPs, engagement, and outcomes that matter
- 22:05 The secret sauce: accessibility and aspiration
- 25:40 From interrogation training to loving people well
- 29:00 Vision: organizations solving big problems, people known and whole
- 31:15 Next steps for leaders and teams
- 33:30 Closing and partnership
When leaders hit quiet fatigue, care starts with community. Ministry Transitions walks with pastors and ministry leaders through seasons of loss, burnout, and change - helping them rediscover clarity and calling. Visit ministrytransitions.com.
For mental fitness solutions, Forte serves both sides of the mission field. Explore getforte.com/faith for Christian organizations, businesses, and nonprofits, or getforte.com for teams in the broader marketplace looking to build resilience and clarity.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com