Last time we talked about getting stressed and overwhelmed with the political season quickly approaching. A different but equally important and often overlooked is what do you believe in? What are the issues that matter to you?
Forget about parties.
It may be true that you feel as though you lean one way or the other but what I don’t believe is that in general either party can speak for you. And we certainly should not allow an outside entity tell us how to think or feel about something.
What are three things that get you really upset? The environment, the criminal justice system, the need for term limits, motorized scooters taking over your city and littering the streets? Write them down.
Now without googling an article or a static or looking at what anyone else things/says about the topic, write down what it is about this topic that you feel is broken or needs attention. You have figured out what bugs you and why.
Do you have a fix? Do you know how to solve the problem? For example, if the environment is really important to you because you want to leave the planet as healthy or healthier than when you found it, there may be a lot of way to accomplish that. Maybe you want to ban cows or cars or have some sort of mandatory recycling program…. Or perhaps you know that it bugs you and you feel like you’re doing your part but you aren’t sure what a good solution is.
THAT is a good place to start look a potential candidate. If you are passionate about the environment and a candidate says they are too, look for what they say they plan to do to solve the problem. If they don’t say, ask! And if you don’t like their answer, suggest the solution you believe will work. If they aren’t on board, spend your vote elsewhere.
We are highly unlikely to ever find a candidate that we are perfectly in line with so it is far easier to feel clear on the issues that weigh heavily on your mind and start you vetting process there.
Get involved.
There are tons of ways to get involved with issues that matter to you. It could be volunteering, donating money, letting your representatives know that this is an issue that you feel they need to pay a lot more attention to and why.
A long time ago I took a class on productivity and the lecturer said something to the effect, 'the way you spend your time reflects your values.' That felt like a little bit of a kick in the gut for me at the time because I didn't like that so little of my time was spent on things that really mattered to me. If you feel strongly about these things, are you spending time and energy on them? If not, this is a fantastic time to change that.
As always, I’m here. If you are ready to live your best life, call me and let’s get started!