I was up pretty early this morning heading to a men's Bible study group that I attend. Along the way I saw signs and bumper stickers for Mitt Romney and Barack Obama and it moved me to see how in just a few hours those signs of a long campaign are now irrelevant. The American people have spoken and the country moves forward.
So what can we learn? I'll leave it to the experts to unpack what the election means in political terms, I'd like to look at what you and I can take away from it, regardless of whether you voted for Obama, Romney, someone else, or none of the above.
So what can we learn? I'll leave it to the experts to unpack what the election means in political terms, I'd like to look at what you and I can take away from it, regardless of whether you voted for Obama, Romney, someone else, or none of the above.
Let's start with lessons from the man who won't be president. Governor Romney had been pursuing the presidency for about eight years, and the main focus of his life in that time has been spent trying to get into the White House. I have no doubt that Romney and all of this staffers and volunteers were sincere, passionate, and well-meaning. I know that they REALLY wanted to win this election; yet it wasn't to be.
Sometimes life doesn't give us the things that we want, does it? Seems like such a simple and obvious truth, yet we forget this sometimes, don't we? In my years of interacting with people I often wonder how much better we'd be if we all remembered and embraced the fact that perhaps we aren't important enough to win all of the battles we fight.
What about lessons from the President? His campaign was built on the theme of "Forward!" and its clear that voters felt he was the person to move the nation forward. Yet, after the rhetoric fades and the signs are put away the American people will expect the President to deliver on his promises. His ultimate legacy will rest on what he accomplished in office, in addition to the historic aspect of his presidency.
Our success is the same way isn't it? We spend so much time reaching for the brass ring, that sometimes we forget that the brass ring alone isn't enough. Of course we can revel in the joy that we reached goals and milestones...and we should enjoy those moments, but then we have to deliver and continue to deliver, don't we?
In other words, we never really arrive do we? The people who understand this continue to move forward, the ones who rest on past victories often leave their best days behind them.
What have you learned from your defeats and victories?
Sometimes life doesn't give us the things that we want, does it? Seems like such a simple and obvious truth, yet we forget this sometimes, don't we? In my years of interacting with people I often wonder how much better we'd be if we all remembered and embraced the fact that perhaps we aren't important enough to win all of the battles we fight.
What about lessons from the President? His campaign was built on the theme of "Forward!" and its clear that voters felt he was the person to move the nation forward. Yet, after the rhetoric fades and the signs are put away the American people will expect the President to deliver on his promises. His ultimate legacy will rest on what he accomplished in office, in addition to the historic aspect of his presidency.
Our success is the same way isn't it? We spend so much time reaching for the brass ring, that sometimes we forget that the brass ring alone isn't enough. Of course we can revel in the joy that we reached goals and milestones...and we should enjoy those moments, but then we have to deliver and continue to deliver, don't we?
In other words, we never really arrive do we? The people who understand this continue to move forward, the ones who rest on past victories often leave their best days behind them.
What have you learned from your defeats and victories?
Keywords: Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, president, presidental election 2012, republican, democrat, rommel anacan, relationship difference, success, setback, victory, defeat, GOP, lessons from election 2012
