Anger is one of those things that can motivate you to heights of accomplishment. It can also destroy you and poison your personal relationships.
Ever since Donald Trump was elected, I have been in a perpetual state of rage, not only at Mr Trump himself, who gets more outrageous every day, but at those who supported him, and those who look the other way in the face of the racially divisive rhetoric that is his trademark
Given how explosive my emotions are, I made a few decisions: First, I would make sure that this anger never spilled over into my teaching, and my relations with students and Second, I would not let it spill over into my face to face relationships. I am very proud that I have never, since the election, lost my temper with a Trump supporter in face to face conversations, of which I have had many.
But at the same time, I realized that I couldn't suppress the level of anger I had without putting myself under intolerable levels of stress so I decided to direct the anger in two ways
First, by posting my opinions about the Trump Presidency on social media on a daily basis, and welcoming interviews about the subject on broadcast or print media. I have used whatever forum available to me to say what I think, using scholarship and experience to support my arguments, but letting the rage come through
Secondly, I have used the anger to motivate me to launch a diet and conditioning program more radical than any I have attempted in the last 40 years, and to actually succeed in sticking to it!
All in all, I feel very positive about how I have handled the challenge of Trump Rage. I have lost some friends on social media and gotten a lot of hate mail, but have not lost a single friend that I have made through face to face encounters.
Plus I am leaner and in better shape than I have been in many years. And the best is yet to come!
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