By Erick Rommel |Catholic News Service

In less than three months, millions of young adults like you will cast ballots for the first time.

Some of you are ready. You have clear political opinions and will vote for the candidate who best represents your views.

Some of you will be ready. You don't follow current events closely enough to fully understand the nuance that divides the candidates, but by Election Day, you'll know what's important to you.

Some of you are disconnected. You will turn on your TV the evening of Election Day and wonder why your favorite Tuesday night shows have been pre-empted for special news reports.

Regardless of your engagement with the political process, watching can be quite entertaining and educational. You just have to have the right perspective.

Instead of seeing politicians as boring or tedious, imagine them as gladiators, battling for supremacy in the arena of public opinion.

Candidates, like gladiators, are often seen standing alone, talking about a wide range of topics. They're asked questions and they parry and deflect, waiting for the opportunity to give what they feel is the winning answer.

While they stand alone, a candidate's success is dependent on the skill of others. A team of experts teaches them the specifics of every issue, much as trainers work with gladiators to increase their strength and agility.

The candidate or gladiator with the better team of experts and trainers is always at an advantage, the same way you are when you surround yourself with people of quality. The older you get, the more important that will be, especially when you need someone to provide a job reference or fix your car or babysit in a pinch.

Candidates and gladiators also gain advantage when they can create opportunity. For a gladiator, this flexibility comes through choosing proper weapons.

Every option has strengths and a weakness. A sword can overcome fists; a shield can block a sword; an ax can break a shield; the fists of someone fast can cause injury to someone wielding a slow-moving ax.

Political candidates must be equally flexible. Taxes are proposed to pay for new programs; new programs are supposed to create positive outcomes; positive outcomes can justify new taxes.

Every candidate and gladiator has a preferred weapon. A politician may prefer to talk about outcomes instead of programs, just as a gladiator may prefer an ax instead of a sword. But if an opponent doesn't know how to use an ax or can't discuss new programs in great detail, the skill to take advantage of an opponent's weakness becomes a great strength.

This will hold true in your life as well. One day, you and a colleague will present two different ideas to a boss. Your success won't come from highlighting similarities. Your success will come through being able to articulate your areas of greatest strength contrasted with your colleague's greatest weakness.

For politicians and gladiators, every weakness is defined the same way, something that distracts from the end goal. Both find thrill in the roar of a crowd, but they must ignore it until their opponent is defeated or the final Election Day ballot is cast.

You must do the same thing; don't let praise from a small success distract you from your ultimate goal. Convincing the boss is nice; becoming the boss is nicer.

If you follow these guidelines -- surround yourself with good people, embrace what makes you different and ignore the applause of those around you -- you will not only be better prepared for choices in your own life, you'll also be better informed about the candidates whose names will appear on your ballot.

Hopefully, you'll be inspired by a candidate who best represents your views rather than disappointed that they're causing the pre-emption of your favorite Tuesday night shows.