Four Alternatives to Worrying About the Election

Worry has not been proven to cause warts. Or wisdom, for that matter.

But it sure gets a lot of airtime in the build up to Election Day.

That's November 5 for those following along at home. Check to make sure you're registered to vote here!

It is, perhaps, the curse of caring: we don't worry about things we don't care about. But here's what my Mum used to say: worry is love looking for an outlet.

Rather than drag conversations, text chains, comments into the mud of worry. And rather than mistaking worry for realism - that old trap that if we're worried, we're seeing more clearly than those who're hopeful - we could give our love a more actionable outlet. As David Orr put it, "Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up." Here are a few off-the-beaten path possibilities.

I've channeled my worry into spending Sunday afternoons until Election Day driving state Senators and House members in competitive districts to doors. A legislator I drove recently won by 338 votes last cycle; each door could have victory behind it! There should be sign-ups on your state political party's website or you can always drop the state party an email.

Make thee a homemade yard sign. Some plywood and paint could be what charms people into voting. In a sea of generic red, white, and blue plastic political signs, those handprinted messages are markers of authentic enthusiasm.

Door knock for a city or town councilor. I once voted for a candidate because she took the time to come to my door and hear what was on my mind. These super down-ballot races - which have bearing on school funding, whether unused land will become a park or a parking lot, how many days the library is open - can be decided by handfuls of votes. Anyone willing to pound the pavement for the candidate could knock the winning door.

But here's the part that easily falls off the radar this season: elections are one piece of our democracy. The laws that we live under are written between elections, and we could help shape those now by learning how to make our voice heard by politicians, trying this strategic alternative to calling our Member of Congress, and thanking the good politicians who help write the laws we do want to live under. We need folks like them staying in the game.

And if you hear a convo downshift into worry, you could say, "I hear how much you care. I do, too. Maybe we could put that care to work together this Sunday afternoon."