There were screams of joy and moans of despair this past Tuesday night as the presidential election results were announced. Some people were happy, some people were devastated. As is the case with any contest — whether it’s an election, a football game, or a game of checkers — there is a winner and a loser. There will be tears of joy and tears of sorrow.

My chosen candidate for president, and the man for whom I cast my vote, lost the election.

Would I have preferred the outcome to be different? Of course.

Am I worried about the direction that our country is headed in certain areas? Absolutely, that’s why I voted for President Obama to not keep his job.

In my opinion, Mitt Romney was, and still is, better qualified to lead our country. But, not enough people in the country shared my opinion and President Obama was re-elected.

Am I losing much sleep over it days later? Not a chance.

I learned along time ago that worry over things that you cannot control burns valuable energy that could be used in a more productive way.

So, instead of taking to Facebook, Twitter, or any of the other social media sites to declare the end of the world as we know it, I have chosen to move on and worry about things that I can influence or control. You can tell the true character of man by the way he reacts, rather than the way he acts. I saw and read some pretty disturbing reactions.

In my view, most people fall into two distinct categories — pessimists or optimists. I choose to be as optimistic as possible, while remaining realistic. I have a tough time dealing with pessimism.

I have chosen to put my faith in, and be optimistic of, a system of checks and balances on the federal level that has served us well for 236 years.

I have chosen to do everything in my power, via my personal efforts and the influence of this newspaper, to help bring much-needed jobs and industry into Decatur County.

I have chosen to strive to provide the best product possible to our readers and advertisers. I have chosen to hold accountable our state and local elected officials to do the job in which they were elected to do.

Our country will be fine. While we have been through a tough patch the last few years, and that tough patch will likely last a few more years, we will be fine.

No, I do not agree with some of the things going on in Washington and will not agree with things for the next four years. But, I refuse to do my best Chicken Little imitation. Instead, I chose to be optimistic about our future and do what I can to make it better.