I believe that we can become better readers, thinkers, and learners as a result of the Trump victory. That is if we respond to it by trying to better understand our political knowledge gaps, and our prior reading and information processing errors that made the result surprising or difficult to comprehend. Even those of us who dismissed the result as quite predictable, have the opportunity to search for, and likely find, gaps in our political and psychological understanding. But I won’t explain my position today, for lack of time. I think just putting the idea out there might be helpful to many.

Last week, I published a blog post on the election, to help myself and others. I used it as an opportunity for thinking about emotions. I also alluded to some ways of coping with the political situation.

On mySleepButton.com, I published a brief article to help people handle the political stressors, and protect their sleep. Here it is, in case it might help you: Are the Recent Elections or Upcoming Holidays Interfering with your Sleep?.

If you read that article, you’ll notice that I have some advice about reading. I think the suggestions in part 3 of Cognitive Productivity might be helpful. They deal with assessing, selecting, delving and mastering knowledge. Educating ourselves and each other can lead to better government, help us hold our elected officials to account,and help us maintain equanimity.

Buddhist and Stoic practices can also help one remain balanced and focused in the face of challenges.