From the Merriam Webster dictionary:

“Fatigue: weariness or exhaustion from labor, exertion, or stress”

“I woke up this morning feeling like a truck ran over me and I felt very anxious.” John’s sharing during one of our weekly sessions. This is not unusual to me, in fact, it has become most of my clients’ primary concern. Hence, this is no longer just a concern, it’s a rooted fear amongst most Americans, and if it lingers, it will no doubt lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. So, what is it that people are fearing? What makes them so obsessed about these elections? And how can one regain peace amidst these chaotic events?

Health, happiness, and love

I believe to restore balance in our lives and live better, we must learn how to think better and be willing to reprogram the way we’ve been conditioned to think. Unfortunately, current events, such as the pandemic and the political negative landscape, have created extreme stress and inner turmoil. The psychological and physiological negative health ramifications are a major crisis that, if not tackle, will cause irreparable harm.

We must bridge the gap that has deeply divided America, seek well-being, acknowledge self-love, seek better and positive environment and ride this wonderful and mysterious journey called life. After all, and even beyond our political or religious beliefs, we all yearn for health, happiness and love. I travelled the globe four times and I have yet to find anyone who’s not. What’s troublesome, is that for the first time in American history, the political landscape has galvanized the masses by creating a toxic environment and helping shape an undeniable tribal mentality.

Perceptions is truth (based on what we’ve been fed).

At the core of the problem lies a fundamental truth: We only want to hear what validates our beliefs. It’s not about the mask, or the president, or anything else outside of our own mind. It’s about what we want to believe based on our fears, doubts and anxieties. Take hooliganism, for instance; young men engage in violent behavior to back their team, no matter what.

They don’t care if the team is bad, not playing well or even if there is illegal foul play. Their perception is their truth. Truth is not necessarily reality. What we believe to be true is the sum of our own conditioning and the propagandas that suit our belief system. Reality is what is really happening out there—outside or our head, our egos and most all or arrogance.

A clash of consciousness

Moreover, America is suffering from a lack of self-worth, the absence of conscience, and the loss of a moral base that helps guide pro-social behavior. Self-worth, conscience, and a moral base are what lead people to behave in socially acceptable and more humane ways. Without it, some, in a way, are unable to see that their actions are threatening the very stability of the world. This phenomenon isn’t new–men have always been a dangerous and conflicted specie—they create their own problems based on erroneous thinking and blame each other for failing to fix them. Conflict resolution then becomes elusive when you have clashing belief systems and conflicting core values.

Moving forward, a return to sanity

As I referred to it earlier, lack of self-worth and the absence of conscience may be causing unnecessary conflicts. We, as human beings, are either stuck in a low level of existence where clarity and awareness are rather clouded by an erroneous belief system fueled by fear, anxiety, and doubt, or thrive on a higher level of existence where we seem to maintain a healthy equilibrium between what I call The 4 Pillars of Mindful Fitness — the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of one’s life. When we rise to this higher level — we cultivate a greater sense of clarity and awareness.

One of the definitions for consciousness is: An inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior.

I’m not a politician, an activist, or mental health professional. I am a human who works with other humans in helping them create an optimum state of inner fitness — by regaining three life-sustaining components–health, happiness, and love. Ironically, these can only be obtained by reclaiming a sense of self-worth and by rising to a higher level of existence. Anger, reactivity, doubt, fear, and hatred won’t get you anywhere except where you already are–stuck at the lowest level of existence.

I will leave you with this beautiful quote:  Our maturity will be judged by how well we are able to agree to disagree and yet continue to love one another, to care for one another, and cherish one another and seek the greater good of the other.  — Desmond Tutu