Trump is making a mess of American
values. Is it true? No. He seems to be clarifying and strengthening
them for a majority of Americans.
How do I feel when I believe the thought that Trump is making a mess of American values? Same old helpless and hopeless, furious and desperate. The future seems so bleak. I get overwhelmed at the thought of four more years. I lose energy and the willpower to do anything. I want to zone out and give up. I'm not present with my husband or my kids. I'm lost in a black place in my mind.
What do I get out of holding onto this thought? I get to be right. I get to make “them” wrong. I am large and in charge, though that is a completely exhausting way to be.
Can I see a reason to drop this thought? Yes. I can't know it's true and it's exhausting me to hold onto it.
Who would I be if I could never think the thought that Trump is making a mess of American values in these early days of his administration? Again, more peaceful, curious, open. Noticing what uncharted territory we are in and wondering what happens next. Calm and grounded in my life. Focused on the things that I can do here and now in my day, and with the energy and enthusiasm to do them.
Turn It Around:
Trump is strengthening American values. Well, look at all the protests and support for immigrants! We are clarifying our values with every executive order he issues. To look more deeply, what do I even mean by “American values?” That sounds jingoistic and his protectionist trade policies could fit right in with that, so sure, he's strengthening American values by trying to protect American workers from competition overseas.
I am making a mess of American values, or my thinking is. Yes. I'm angry with so many of my fellow Americans over this presidency, based on whom they voted (or didn't vote) for. That's anti-American, anti-democractic. I am trying to invalidate their votes. (Aha, I see where my voter-suppression thinking is coming from!)
Trump is making a mess of American immorality (going for the opposite of values.) Well, yes. He's showing us ego at its worst. Our ego. Our American sense of entitlement. Of overvaluing ourselves. He is showing us the end game of ego and believing our thinking, and it's not pretty.
How do I feel when I believe the thought that Trump is making a mess of American values? Same old helpless and hopeless, furious and desperate. The future seems so bleak. I get overwhelmed at the thought of four more years. I lose energy and the willpower to do anything. I want to zone out and give up. I'm not present with my husband or my kids. I'm lost in a black place in my mind.
What do I get out of holding onto this thought? I get to be right. I get to make “them” wrong. I am large and in charge, though that is a completely exhausting way to be.
Can I see a reason to drop this thought? Yes. I can't know it's true and it's exhausting me to hold onto it.
Who would I be if I could never think the thought that Trump is making a mess of American values in these early days of his administration? Again, more peaceful, curious, open. Noticing what uncharted territory we are in and wondering what happens next. Calm and grounded in my life. Focused on the things that I can do here and now in my day, and with the energy and enthusiasm to do them.
Turn It Around:
Trump is strengthening American values. Well, look at all the protests and support for immigrants! We are clarifying our values with every executive order he issues. To look more deeply, what do I even mean by “American values?” That sounds jingoistic and his protectionist trade policies could fit right in with that, so sure, he's strengthening American values by trying to protect American workers from competition overseas.
I am making a mess of American values, or my thinking is. Yes. I'm angry with so many of my fellow Americans over this presidency, based on whom they voted (or didn't vote) for. That's anti-American, anti-democractic. I am trying to invalidate their votes. (Aha, I see where my voter-suppression thinking is coming from!)
Trump is making a mess of American immorality (going for the opposite of values.) Well, yes. He's showing us ego at its worst. Our ego. Our American sense of entitlement. Of overvaluing ourselves. He is showing us the end game of ego and believing our thinking, and it's not pretty.
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