So Your Candidate Lost... now what?

Losing sucks. Everyone has felt the sting of defeat in some way, shape, or form. It hurts even if the team/side/individual you were rooting for didn’t win. It doesn’t help that the victor/s will inadvertently rub salt on your wounds by parading their win either by acting all humble and grateful of their achievement, or just outright telling you in your face how they owned you or your side.

This is specifically for you, the people who went and vote for our next president, with strong convictions that their chosen candidate is the solution the country needs (implying the other candidate is unfit for the task). Oh, and your man happened to have lost. It’s tough, I know.

What are you going to do now? Are you going to act all dignified and magnanimously congratulate the other side for a well-fought battle? Let me think... no. Even the most level-headed and sportsmanly people deserve to whine, rant, and ineffectually flail their arms to commemorate their epic failure.

Here are some things you can do to express your disappointment. Trust me, you’ll feel better after doing them:

Cry in the Shower/Bathtub/Rain

That’s right, let it all out. There’s no shame in letting all those emotions out via your tear ducts. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to do it in the safety and privacy of your bathroom, or while the heavens are pouring. You can preserve some dignity, that way.

flickr.com/people/romsri

He’s crying for a different (read: more dignified) reason, but you get the idea.

Engage in Strenuous Activity

Nothing like hitting the weights, smacking the punching bag, or something equally energy-consuming to take your mind off things. It’s better to use all that pent-up aggression and negativity in this manner than ending up releasing it on another living being. That would be bad.

flickr.com/people/jontunnell

Nobody ever said that you’d look cool while doing it.

Shout

Drive to a relatively uninhabited area and go all out in screaming your frustrations out. Use expletives liberally, even if you’re a political conservative. Inhale deeply, then repeat. Do this until you’re all out of curse words and motivation. Assuming you didn’t pop a vein, that felt good, didn’t it?

flickr.com/photos/salforduniversity

I suppose you could also measure and record it... but why?

Have a Beer

If there’s a time to pop open an ice cold microbrew, this would be one of those perfect moments. Sit back, chill out, and let the negativity just melt away. Let’s face it, the world isn’t about to end, the economy will not drastically improve or get worse with either choice winning, and there’s always the next election to rally for and campaign for your chosen party. Let’s drink for our impending prosperity and the return to better days!

flickr.com/photos/corruptkitten

To beer!

About the Author

Stacey Thompson is a professional writer, marketer, entrepreneur, and a lover of weird little animals. She is based in San Diego, California, and she is currently working with her gal-pals in forming their group blog, Word Baristas.