Today I feel like I have been punched in the gut by a bully.  There is a pain in my belly that is diverting my attention from everything else I planned to do today. I am asking myself, 

"What happened?"

I was doing my best to fight back, but now it feels like I am surrounded by people who are just watching the bully beat me up.  My question now is, "What next?"

My first effort to get over this is to review the 5 stages of grief and loss:

1. Denial & Isolation -- We cannot deny the reality of Donald Trump as President. We will get over it. Let's not crawl into a hole to escape this reality.
2. Anger -- The pain of this loss will return again and again. We must try to avoid allowing this pain to be expressed as anger. We must channel that energy to constructive outcomes.
3. Bargaining -- This usually is expressed in repeatedly asking what we could have done differently. It is over. We cannot repeat yesterday. We must determine how to move on.
4. Depression -- We will feel bad for a while. Our productivity, and some of our relationships will suffer. Some of this we must get over alone. In other cases, we must find common cause with others to make tomorrow better.
5. Acceptance -- Finally, we must accept this outcome and resume speed, proceed with our new normal. We must be ready when the sun comes up tomorrow.

Several things may come from this.  Our actions will determine how we emerge from this gut punch.   I need to get busy working to make this pain go away.

1. First, we must understand what it means to "act in our self-interests." This means understanding the issues important to us, and working to move those issues to the top of the agenda in every election -- local, state, and national.
2. Second we must learn to "vote in our self-interests." This means understanding the impact of the outcome of every election. Every vote has consequences.  The only time our vote doesn't make any difference is when we don't vote. We always have to choose from the alternatives available to us. As Joe Biden once said, "Don't compare me to the almighty; compare me to the alternative." Sometimes our self-interests are served when we vote against the greater of two evils.
3. Finally, Get engaged, and stay engaged.  I have voted in every election since I was eligible to vote.  I haven't given my vote away to anyone. I come with my vote. If we demand a seat at the table, we must be prepared to sit at the table and stay engaged to affect the outcomes we desire.

The lesson we must learn from all of this is to do everything possible to take ownership of decisions that affect our future. If we do, I won't feel like I got sucker-punched by a bully after the next election.

Roger Madison, CEO

iZania, LLC

About.me