How appropriate: today is Election Day in the United States, and I have had my share of politics to deal with.

As is always the case, the specifics aren’t as important as the broad strokes. Suffice it to say: I had a hard day at work, much of it the result of having to negotiate through institutional waters rife with conflicts that long precede my arrival.

When I encounter a situation in which I feel I’m being jockeyed against the rails, my first instinct is to bridle and push back. But as is often the case, I often have to question my motives. Why am I fighting back, and to what end? Am I fighting the good fight? Or am I defending some version of my ego?

After all, it was just a little over a month ago that I was writing about the lesson of surrendering.

So I left today’s politicking with a head full of counter-arguments and a rising bile. Not exactly how I want to spend my evening at home with my family.

The politics will return, no doubt. And there will be plenty of opportunities for heated debate. But at the end of the day–literally or figuratively, it’s important for me to remember to disengage.