As the world sat transfixed, watching the US election unfold this past week, many things became crystal clear:

• The division in the US is very real
• Our current leadership put on an incredible show of immaturity and toxicity
• We need to make voting easier and more efficient everywhere
• Nobody is going to govern the other half of the population out of existence

I am one who does not watch mainstream television. I haven’t since I was a teen. I have deliberately avoided a lot of the news coverage of this year’s election because I frankly don’t need or want the additional stress in my life. I also happen to live in a state where mail-in-ballots have been the common, efficient practice for years.

I have reliable news sources I check in with, I have political conversations with a diverse group of people who are more “in the know” than I, and I am clear about my own politics and heart.

And still, the anxiety around this year’s election was palpable to me. Even my 5-year old son was feeling it, only he doesn’t know what it is or where it’s coming from. He just felt something that didn’t feel… good.

As helpless, sad, enraged, grief stricken and traumatized as so many of us feel right now – especially Black, Brown, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ communities and people – I think it’s very important for all of us to recognize that we can do something to feel better, now.

You must remember that the election results cannot change what is in your heart. If you can pull yourself out of your feelings and despair and into creative action, you can take what is in your tender heart and live it out into the world. Because THIS is what is needed today.

This is a call for all of us to do something that we can feel proud of TODAY.

I don’t know what will make you feel proud. I don’t know what is in your heart. And I don’t know what goodness you’ve felt the urge to do for someone else but have held back from doing.

But when you ask yourself, “What could I do TODAY that would make me feel proud?”, what do you hear in response?

Maybe it’s to reach out to a friend or family member who is being deeply impacted by this election.

Perhaps it’s to double down on your leadership and how you show up in your business.

Maybe it’s to take some soup to a neighbor who’s recently had surgery.

Maybe it’s to donate to a cause you feel drawn to.

Perhaps it’s to follow through on that promise – to your kids, your friends, your community, your family – that would be so easy to break.

Maybe it’s to educate yourself about an issue you feel strongly about but don’t fully understand.

Maybe it’s to fill your own cup, take better care of yourself and recharge so you can fight another day.

It’s imperative that you feel your feelings. Let the anger, pain and disappointment burn through and through. Let your emotions guide you to discover what you can do now. Focusing on how you can help and serve is a powerful way to do something powerful and purposeful with your own personal pain and distress.

It’s also a powerful way to be the change you want to see in the world, and to positively affect others along the way.

I also highly recommend listening to Heather Small’s song, “Proud”. It’s perfect for pulling out of a funk and into an empowered state.

I’d love to hear from you: What did you do today to make you feel proud?

Let’s do this.

PS: Looking for ongoing support, tools and resources for this topsy-turvy world we’re living in today? Join my free private online community to learn how you can live powerfully and purposefully… and feel good while you’re doing it!… no matter what life serves up.