How to Survive 2026
Try this. It works.
Congratulations! If you survived 2025 with your sanity (somewhat) intact, I hereby award you the TBR Peace Prize. (If soccer organizations can award them, why not comedians?)
But it’s even more crucial that you stay sane this year, because of what’s at stake. The midterms are our chance to do to Trump’s presidency what he did to the East Wing.
So, how do we remain calm enough to do the work that’s required?
I previously published an essay called In Search of Sanity, in which I recommended, among other tools, the Serenity Prayer:
God give me the serenity to accept things which cannot be changed; Give me courage to change things which must be changed; And the wisdom to distinguish one from the other.
The atheists among you may balk at the use of the words “God” and “prayer,” but if you omit the God part and call it a serenity meditation, it still works. (Also, as I recently observed, the abrupt departure of Elise Stefanik from politics should make even the most ardent atheists reconsider things.)
When I posted my essay about serenity, TBR community members contributed many insightful responses. Here are some of them. Check them out—they’re full of good advice.
The Serenity Prayer is really a recap of Stoic thinking (sorry, Christians).
Epictetus: “There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”
Old Epi (as his friends were wont to call him) was keen on the notion of “what is up to us, and what is not up to us.” Sweat the stuff that you can do something about; getting overwrought about the rest of the nonsense is futile. Do you really think your worrying is going to change Trump suddenly from unhinged to “hinged”?
Figuring out the difference is not all that hard, but it takes some work, for sure.
I’d only add to your serenity recipe some of the prescriptions from Timothy Snyder in his pocket-sized book, On Tyranny: “Stand Out. Be Careful With Language & Listen for Dangerous Words. Investigate. Get Outside. Make New Friends and March With Them. Be As Courageous as You Can.” And—support institutions that count, whether they be journalistic, non-profits, local government or whatever makes sense. We can’t afford to sit back. Ever.
I have a suggestion which I’m trying to get myself to take a little more often: instead of listening to NPR on your earbuds or your home radio, put on MUSIC. Do you remember music? It’s wonderful! Try it sometime.
I would add that, in the end, we have as individuals more power over and access to change than we often realize. Look how South Korea dealt with the martial law situation! It just takes a little bit more thinking and a proactive rather than passive (as in victim) attitude!
I’m 66, and have a lifetime of anxiety and depression behind me with lots of trauma. Along with many years of therapy, you don’t want to know how many, I started mindfulness meditation training with the Headspace app three years ago. And the main point if mindfulness, is that all we have is right now. The past is gone, and the future never arrives. None of us know what’s going to happen, we absolutely do need to focus on the micro, and do what we can to change our small corner every day. For me that means being kind, helping others when I can, and doing my best to live in the moment. Simple, but not easy.
I’ve been trying to tell my mourning friends that they’re mourning before the body’s dead. I believe Trump will cause great damage, and hurt a lot of people, but I have hope that the midterms will dull the pain, and in three years the Trump era will slowly start to diminish. I don’t think Vance or certainly not DJ Jr. have the personal charisma to keep his rabid followers as riled up. I could be wrong, but history shows us that most political movements reach a peak, then subside. Hell, even the Berlin Wall fell.
How about Epictetus? Basic premise:
There are only two things in life that matter:
First: Figure out in any situation what is the best thing to do.
Second: Do it.
To continue your quest for serenity, here are links to three other TBR posts you might find useful:
What Happens Now?
Turning Off the News
You’re Not Alone
And if none of that helps, perhaps this photo of my lovely friends Cookie and Mousse will:
Happy New Year, my friends! And onward to victory. Together, we’ll take our democracy back.
Love,
Andy
I attend rallies. I write postcards. I go to bridge standouts. I make phone calls. I call my Senators and Congress Folk and say "Thank you!!!! Keep up the good work!!" (I live in Massachusetts).
I shop and cook for a disabled woman and her disabled son.
I can look my activist kids in the eye and say "I tried."
I listen to jazz, read books, and watch bad sci fi from the 50s and 60s.
We do what we can. As a Brit once told me: "We survived Henry VIII. You will survive Trump."
Dogs are the cure for just about anything.
Thanks for writing this. Now to implementation. Happy New Year.