November 5, 2024 – It’s Election Day here in the United States. How are you feeling about it this year? Yeahhhh, me too. 

Current musings:

A few emails ago, I laid out a list of my favorite basic themes in these emails. And they’re pretty good, I must say. I like the things I share with you. (and thanks for reading!)

But I left out a really important one that will lend itself nicely to today’s message; a message we really need right now, TODAY.

As a metaphor, it’s this: don’t try to boil the ocean! As in, seek to control only what you CAN control otherwise you’ll wear yourself out!

Yes, I’m referring to Election Day. I’m glad I don’t bite my nails or I’d have none left.

First and foremost, let me say: VOTE! It’s too late to vote early, but PLEASE VOTE. It’s your right to do so! Plus you absolutely CAN control whether you make your choice count in your polling place. (And you get a sticker!! Who doesn’t love a sticker?)

For months and months now it’s been a slew of negativity in your mailbox and on all the platforms, getting uglier and nastier by the moment. It’s utterly exhausting. And even if you aren’t spending time in the comments on social media (smart move!), you’re still getting saturated with 40-50 emails and texts a day reminding you of the election. 

In a way, I’m relieved that November 5th is finally upon us.

But now, we have to simply wait for what might be days (weeks? months?!?).

And I know we can’t help but worry about what might unfold in this our incredibly fortunate country the U-S-of-A, but we can’t control all that. We can only control our exposure to it.

Here’s how you do it:

If you worry you will spend hours and hours staring at the news channels where they say the same thing over and over, with very little new info, then guess what? You have this thing called a remote CONTROL!

You can turn it off. Please limit your exposure to a manageable amount that won’t set your cortisol going off the charts, PLEASE, friend. Say no!

Is there someone else in your home like a spouse or a parent that runs the TV non-stop even when you don’t? Can you ask them to watch in a different room, or put it on mute with the teletype going instead? Or at the very least, turn the volume lower??

Also, you must AVOID accounts (and entire platforms!) that are filled with hatemongers and trolls. Unfollow, mute, and delete. Permission granted! Save your precious sanity.

Another hack is to curate your social media feeds to include a barrage of adorable kittens, energetic Labradors, and lots of accounts that make you laugh!! (I highly recommend subscribing to all accounts by Leanne Morgan! She is a stitch!!)

Bottom line: FOCUS your energy  on things you CAN control. Guard yourself from what could be a really…wild…ride, friend. 

Thanks for reading. Consider this a hand to hold. We are better together, always.