4 Ways To Maintain Friendly Relationships Post-Election

By Ms. Moreah Vestan. Posted on Nov 6th 2012.

Once the result are in, there is no way you can change it! Here's how to move on from there:

We'll soon know how all our efforts and political rants turned out. We may have to swallow our pride. We may want to lord it over those on the losing side —"I told you so!" It's not hopeless. There are at least four ways to get along after the votes are counted.

1. Agree to disagree. We can tell those in our intimate circle who don't agree with our politics that we understand they have a different perspective. As a communication trainer, I have long followed Nonviolent Communication's belief that we all do everything we do to try to meet a need. In the voting process, the need may have been for economic security, for moral integrity, for ease in retirement, for more job options or for the trust in someone skilled in the job we are voting for.

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We won't lie — we did vote for our values — and right now, we either have or don't have the people we voted for in office. When we say matter-of-factly, "Let's agree to disagree" or "I won’t rub it in if you don't" or "We both did our best to put people in that we wanted. Let's see what we can do now to accept and work with those who got elected." As difficult as it may feel to connect with our "opponents," it's the only choice that makes sense if we want to feel peaceful.

And so far, I haven't found anything more important than feeling peaceful and contented in my daily life. (You have heard that stress is a leading cause of illness and disease, have you not? If you need a reason to cool it, read here.

2. Don't send a million emails. Some people may want to rub it in. Maybe you do. How about an agreement with those you really want to keep in your inner circle to not send more than one email a week (month) that promotes the opposite side of what they hold true. (You know — choose to be happy or to be right.)

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Ms. Moreah Vestan

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Moreah Vestan, M. A.

Come visit my website Pleasures and Ponderings

Check out my website Communication Coaching

Visit my blog Pleasures and Ponderings

Location: Seattle, WA

Credentials: MA

Specialties: Communication Problems, Dating/Being Single Support

Website: http://www.pleasuresandponderings.com/index.html

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