Goals Archives

I Try Not to Have Any (As Many) Expectations
I Try Not to Have Any (As Many) Expectations

Books, Expectations, Health, Letting Go

I Try Not to Have Any (As Many) Expectations

I try not to have expectations for the book’s success, but authors write to be read. I have learned, however, to let go of outcomes I can’t control. Letting go of expectations allows us to be present in the moment. Friends ask me how my book, Standing at Water’s Edge, is selling now that it has been out in the world for a few months. “I don’t really know,” I say. And it’s true. From what I understand, publishers share sales data (through royalty checks) once or twice a year. Amazon shares ranking data, but you can’t put a number on that. I have a paid subscription to NPD BookScan through Publishers Marketplace, so I can [...]

Janice Post-White2022-03-26T21:32:02-04:00March 26th, 2022|Categories: Books, Expectations, Health, Letting Go|Tags: Expectations, Goals, Illness, Letting go, Priorities|

Tastes Like Joy
Tastes Like Joy

Childhood, Life Lessons, Play

Tastes Like Joy

Imagine you are 10 years old again. You peer into the future and see yourself now. What do you think about who you have become? What does your 10-year-old self perceive as your strengths? Your weaknesses? You might consider your physical health/condition, where you live, or what you do and how you do it. This is the reverse exercise of “what would you tell your former self.” Instead, think like a child. What does your child-self see in you as the adult they envisioned becoming? What surprises them? This exercise was a prompt in a week-long writing intensive last week—virtual, of course.* The purpose was to get us writing, creating new material. It’s also an opportunity [...]

Janice Post-White2022-02-02T15:29:46-05:00January 31st, 2022|Categories: Childhood, Life Lessons, Play|Tags: Creating, Goals, joy, Memories, Writing|

As the Seasons Change, So Must We
As the Seasons Change, So Must We

COVID-19, Life Lessons, Reflections, SARS-CoV-2, Summer

As the Seasons Change, So Must We

Photo by author So, how was your summer? Did you get away from your routines and responsibilities and do something you enjoy? Or were you happy to stay home and catch up on projects that felt good after they were finished, if not necessarily enjoyable in the process? Perhaps some of each. Alas, the iconic Minnesota State Fair end-of-summer-get-together started this week, meteorological summer ends August 31, and kids are getting ready to go back to school and college. Well, some kids, at some schools, in some states. With all the pandemic uncertainty of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, who knows what rules schools will institute (and parents will concur with) over the next [...]

Janice Post-White2021-08-29T17:02:58-04:00August 29th, 2021|Categories: COVID-19, Life Lessons, Reflections, SARS-CoV-2, Summer|Tags: COVID-19, Goals, Memories, Seasons of life, Summer fun, Thankful|

Looking Back, Moving Forward; Cleaning Out, Letting Go
Looking Back, Moving Forward; Cleaning Out, Letting Go

Expectations, Letting Go, Psychology

Looking Back, Moving Forward; Cleaning Out, Letting Go

Shutterstock by Maren Winter; Desperate woman behind stacks of binders and flying papers What clutters your office or basement? Are your files electronic or paper? Letting go of the past creates space for the new. Cleaning out my office was one of my summer goals. After twenty years of working from home, I want to paint, get a new desk, and be able to navigate my space without assaulting my fragile shins on file boxes stacked three deep. I don’t mind organized clutter; I know where everything is; I just can’t access it easily. And now that my memoir is coming out (date still pending), I want space—in [...]

Janice Post-White2021-07-30T15:32:17-04:00July 30th, 2021|Categories: Expectations, Letting Go, Psychology|Tags: Attachment, Creating new, Goals, Letting go, Memories|