As in all elections, there are winners and losers so some will feel disappointed while others will feel victorious. How we handle these emotions defines our character as individuals, communities and as a nation.  We all are entitled to our opinions because, well, they are our opinions. We should not feel the need to place our opinions on others and need to be respectful of their opinions like we would like them to be of ours.

As leaders in our organizations, we need to be encouraging positive ways of handling both victory and disappointment and allowing for diverse opinions. Here are some thoughts to pass on to your members and ideas for leveraging your Motivation Alliance wellness portal to help members navigate this week in a positive manner.

Take the high road on either end.

• Privately celebrate the victory and allow others to be disappointed.
• Privately be disappointed and allow others to feel victorious.
• Refrain from public negativity – dissing the election results disrespects other people’s opinions.
• Refrain from public celebration- rubbing victory in anyone’s face is unpleasant for any activity, for the voting process it also disrespects other’s opinions.

Make a conscious decision to not engage in the election day and post-election social media hype.

• Reduce your media presence on election day and the few days after.
• Have a source for reliable, accurate and bipartisan information that you feel comfortable accessing.
• Reduce your exposure to sources of information that you know tend to be inflammatory or full of rumor.
• Ignore posts that feel inflammatory to you, this is the response they are looking for.
• Stop the rumor mill – If you cannot firsthand corroborate a story. Do not share it. 

Redirect your energy to help your local community

• No matter what the election outcome, get involved locally to help your community become stronger.
• Find ways to help at local organizations such as food banks, Habitat for Humanity, women’s shelters, and VA hospitals.

This election is also being touted as one of the most important in our lifetime. This has led to an additional layer of anxiety for some people during this election process.  Here are some tips for election day stress relieving.

• Vote- it is the one thing you can do to contribute to the outcome.
• Follow the election results sparingly- the results will be the results when all the votes are counted.
• Get out and move to reduce physical tension.
• Try a mindfulness practice in Motivation Alliance
• Deep breathe to help you relax.
• Treat others with respect and kindness.

This is going to be a stressful week for many of your members. Leveraging Motivation Alliance to help members be kind to others and manage their stress can be a positive way to help individuals navigate this anxiety-producing time.

Here are some ideas for using your Wellness portal to help your members get through this uncertain week in a positive way.

• Send a News and announcement or push notification promoting:
  • Get out and vote
    • Example:  Let your voice be heard! Get out and vote.
  •  Use of a mindfulness practice
    • Example: Feeling election stress? Try the “Breath Creates Strength” mindfulness practices or one of the others by clicking here.
  • Logging your stress level
    • Example:  Log your stress level this week to help you get through election anxiety
  • Encourage members to be kind to others and share kudos and other positive nonpolitical messages in Chronicles
• Set up a socially distanced “no politics” group walk or workout
• Send out a funny meme or video (not political related) to lighten moods and generate laughter.
• Create a link in External Resources to recommended non-bias, nonpartisan election information.
• Identify local community organizations that need volunteers.  Promote and encourage volunteering using external resources or through news and announcements. Link to their websites.