And Then Our World Was Forever Changed

Last week, Donald Trump was re-elected President of the United States.? What we know for sure is he’ll step into his second term with a Republican majority in the Senate and a 6 - 3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court bench.? As of the date of this posting, the result of the House of Representatives still hangs in the balance.? This is what 10s of millions of my fellow citizens chose.

The past several days have been difficult for me.? I’ve been on a two-week marathon of engagements with clients across 2 continents.? I was in Portugal on November 6th having lunch with my client directly following my keynote session when I heard the news of the election result.? Up until that moment, I had intentionally avoided watching the news, or checking my phone, or really communicating with anyone leading up to the keynote so I could remain focused on delivering. ?Nevertheless, walking onto that stage last Wednesday I could sense the weight of the result even having not heard it because my wife (they/them) hadn’t slept all night. Despite their best efforts to conceal their knowledge of the result in support of me, I could see deep sorrow in their eyes.

So here I sit, creator of an idea to embrace the difficult emotions brought on by change as signals, as guideposts to our greatest opportunities to grow, learn, and connect.? This mindset, embracing the signal emotions that change provokes as a chance for growth, ultimately puts those who practice it in their seat of choice, even through life’s most devastating changes.? So, I sit here in my seat of choice.? And it is challenging for me. But even though it’s hard, this blog post is my choice to practice, in the most public way possible, the mindset I created.?

Let me put it bluntly: This is not the outcome I wanted.? This is not the outcome I hoped the collective wanted. Yet this is the outcome that now colors my reality.

I’m sad.? I’m scared.? I’m anxious.? I’m frustrated.? I’m confused.? My signal emotions are blasting.

I’m a gratefully Black, queer, woman, recovering alcoholic who is married to a magnificent non-binary human being. Because I was gifted to walk in this world as such, as I look to the future my fear is fueled by the risks uncertainty presents:

1. Will Obergefell v. Hodges be overturned and my marriage no longer be recognized as a right in the eyes of the law?
2. Will my transgender friends and loved ones be further persecuted and experience heightened vitriol or violence simply because of their existence and choice to live authentically as themselves?
3. Will the rate of death by suicide among young queer and trans people begin to skyrocket?
4. Should my wife and I continue our family planning, knowing the life of whoever carries the child is at even greater risk should something go wrong with the pregnancy? Will we even be legally permitted to do so?
5. Will the people I love who rely on government-funded programming be unable to attain the support and care they need because of a multi-trillion-dollar federal budget cut?
6. Will the people living in my country, on all sides of the political spectrum, become so fueled by hatred for those with whom they disagree that the division breaks our democracy? ?
7. What is going to happen to the rights of Black and Brown people in this country, including me and my family?
8. What is going to happen to the many people I love who have legal status as non-citizens in this country?
9. Am I putting myself and/or my business at risk by continuing to allow my authentic light to shine?
10. Will publicly sharing these thoughts have a detrimental effect on my business and livelihood?

I respect the democratic process.? Millions of U.S. citizens were part of that process. And the result is that Donald Trump will become our next President. This is the outcome for which millions had hoped.? Millions of U.S. citizens are experiencing feelings of peace, joy, and hope.? Meanwhile, for millions of others, including me, this is a difficult reality to embrace.? I am struggling to see a future of belonging, respect, opportunity, safety, trust, and dignity for all.? I’m unsure of what the future holds. So much is out of my control. I wish I could close this article with a beautiful rally cry or well-thought-out plan of action to unite us all, but I’m not there yet.? What I know is that I have control over the choices I make in response to my signal emotions. So, I’ll close with what I'm choosing in this moment:

• I believe my purpose is to help maximize human growth potential when going through change; I choose to start with my own growth potential for the purpose of supporting others to do the same.
• I choose to practice what I preach, even though it is internally confrontational—excruciatingly so right now.
• I choose to allow the depth of sorrow, fear, frustration, confusion, and anxiety vibrating within every fiber of my being to shake me into a tremendous moment of opportunity: to do my work with greater focus than ever before.
• I choose to ensure that Change Enthusiasm Global remains a space where individuals of all walks of life and identities are empowered to show up as their most authentic selves.? Where feelings are welcomed.? Where uncomfortable conversations anchored in mutual respect, dignity, and compassion are role-modeled and encouraged.
• I choose to continue embracing diversity—including diversity of thought, politics, and perspective.
• I choose to role model the connection, mutual understanding, and compassion I want to see bloom across my country and the world, fueled by curiosity, by personally stepping into uncomfortable conversations with people whose viewpoints, values, and motivations drastically differ from my own.
• I choose to believe that our collective humanity bonds us together and will prevail over any forces that seek to tear us apart.
• To quote Angela Davis, “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.”? I choose to believe it is possible to radically transform the world and I choose to act accordingly.

What will you choose?

If these words have moved you in any way, I hope you will take the opportunity to express your choices during this moment of change in the comments or in a shared post.