U.S election: Over-reaction is the new normal

It’s interesting, given the outcome of the Nov. 8 U.S. election, how a theme at recent Real Estate Investment Network Workshops was all about “focus on policy, not personality” and “deal with the rules and changes as they are, not as you wish them to be.” It is critical that we remove our politically tinged glasses to see reality.

Being strategic and pragmatic, and attempting to be unemotional (not always possible), is how to have the world work in your favour, no matter what policy, politician or rule is changed or thrown our way.

I don’t deal in conjecture. I’m good at forecasting, extrapolating and adjusting – and making changes work in my favour. But this can only be done when facts arise or policies are enacted.

But, in order to do so, one must remove oneself from the screaming, the moaning and the fear mongering (even if some of it is justified – and it is), step back and wait for reality.

So, until any actual policy is announced or enacted with Donald Trump’s new government, there’s nothing to say that wouldn’t just be conjecture. (Well, it seems a lot of people can find things to say, including a lot of remarkable fiction that is being perpetuated in mainstream media, social media and blogosphere.)

No matter who won, it wasn’t going to be the best choice for Canada. But that is what democracy is all about. Many Albertans awoke to this reality after their last provincial election, and many Canadians felt the same sense of wonder after our own recent federal election.

Strategically, you must understand that there is a long wait until policies are announced and longer for them to get enacted. Campaign rhetoric doesn’t translate into policy (as we’ve seen in our recent election), and even when it is enacted, it takes time for their impact to be felt. Some of it will be bad, some of it will be good and most of it will be innocuous posturing.

So breathe, check out some other commentary that isn’t dragging you into this debate, fear and conversation.

You have a life to live, a family to look after, a business to run, a job to be the absolute best at and some fun to be enjoyed.

Smile, laugh and watch the firm grip of establishment be shaken up again. No one, not even the new president, knows what the future holds or what the reality of their policies will be. Everything takes time, especially in government. Will we like all of the policies our provincial, federal and international governments invoke upon us? No, but can we adjust to find out how we can make them work for us? In most cases, yes.