The alarm went off at 3:30am this morning. Already there were three alerts on my news-feed on Election Anxiety from Bloomberg, NPR and The Atlantic.
Prior to 2016 most Americans never heard the term Election Anxiety. The American Psychological Association, in their yearly report of “Stress in America” reports that the stress of political uncertainty is on all sides of the aisle. It does not discriminate against age, gender, income or political party.
It doesn’t matter who wins the level of anxiety is just as high. Where are your anxiety levels today? Where are they for your team? Where will they be tomorrow when the election is over?
Stress and anxiety levels at this time of year are at a peak for employees. Add general life stress levels + holiday/family stress + self-evaluation/self-judgement at the office for end of year goals + election anxiety = ???? Each one exasperates the others.
Whenever we are anxious or stressed who takes the brunt of our criticism? Who is most vulnerable? Usually ourselves. “What could I have done differently to not be in this place?” “If I didn’t mess up would I be here?” “If I made different decisions would my family or my company be in this situation?”
What are the consequences of all that self-criticism? A negative impact on the physical, emotional, financial and mental health of you, your team and your company.
The up side is more self-confidence, a willingness to take more chances and a release of anger…anger at yourself which permeates to others. Practicing self-kindness leads to more creativity, higher engagement and increased happiness.
How do you begin being kind to yourself? How do you start practicing self-compassion? Daily wish yourself happiness, “May I be happy, May I be peaceful”. Then consciously plan to do something nice for yourself. When was the last time you had a massage just because it felt good? When did you last allow yourself to stop and watch the sunset from your office window because it brought a smile to your face?
So why was I up at 3:30am today? When my Tuesday client needed to reschedule I signed up to be an election judge for Cook County. My contact for the county could not have been more welcoming and helpful in spite of me being a last minute, freshman. The team I am working with are genuinely excited to be helping people vote. And the joy on the faces of the first time voters, some new U.S. citizens from all over the world, brings me a level of happiness I had not anticipated.
This was my day of self-compassion, of happiness for myself and those around me.
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