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In school, there are standards for each grade about what a child should learn. But we all know that that’s not how things work: some kids are behind and some kids are ahead. There are so many reasons for kids to be off schedule. Genetics. Wealth. Family situations. Something that happened generations ago that still affects those children.

Sometimes we try to easily identify those that are at a disadvantage, such as minorities or groups who have historically been oppressed. But life isn’t that simple. Those who have difficult circumstances don’t always fall into easy categories.

So it can be difficult to realize, especially from a policy perspective, that some people from privileged categories, like white males, are at a disadvantage. Not because they are white males, but because of things like intergenerational poverty, or genetics, or health problems, or being raised in the wrong neighborhood, or family problems.

And some people who belong to categories that are not usually privileged might actually enjoy a huge amount of advantages in their life.

I think the point is to realize that everyone isn’t the same, and there is uniqueness in life. We need to help those that need help, to see who they are and where they are. We need to realize that there are a wide range of people who struggle in all different places and in all different categories.

First, see if there is a writing group near you. If there’s not, then you might want to start one.

You have to be open about the fact that you write, so you can find other people who also write. My writing friends have come from online forums, family members, and book clubs. And then some of my writing friends knew other writing friends. Going to writing conferences is another good way to find other people who write (obviously).

Once you have at least one or two writing friends who live near you, you can start a writing group.

You can also contact your local library to see if they would be willing to help sponsor a writing group, providing publicity and a place to meet.

Then you have to decide what you want to talk about during your writing group meetings. You might want to:

• Share what you’re working on.
• Talk about the fears, successes, and failures of writing.
• Encourage each other to keep writing.
• Critique each other’s work.
• Talk about how to write better, including sharing writing process, advice from others, have to write better prose, how to develop characters, and etc.
• Talk about publishing, what success can look like, and what goals you have.

And you have started a writing group.

This morning, I was feeling anxious and worried because I made some decisions and I wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do.

For example, there was an community event–it included a tree lighting and Santa–and I decided to stay home. But then when I saw a picture of it on social media, I immediately regretted what I had chosen.

When I make a decision, I try to forecast into possible futures and then choose which future is the best. But I don’t know if I’m forecasting accurately.

After I make a decision, I know what the results of one option. But the other option is still very much unknown.

So regret becomes really easy, because I can still fantasize about the road that I didn’t take.

I have to stop myself and remember that that pathway is not only still unknown, but also now impossible.

Regret is useful to make better decisions in the future, but wasting regret on the imaginations of what could have been isn’t sensical. I often regret decisions, even though nothing turned out badly–I just think that maybe another decision would have been better. But it’s better to only use regret when I don’t like the decision that I made, instead of just hoping that some other option would have been better.

I cooked Thanksgiving dinner yesterday and had some family over to eat it with me. We shared and ate and talked with each other. I enjoyed myself, and didn’t worry too much if everything was perfect. There was plenty of food, some of it was really good, some of it was adequate, but we all ate and had a good time.

I also planned a Christmas party with some other people, and a lot of the focus was on decorations, having things match, and making things look exactly right. I like those people, but I struggled in the meeting as I thought that none of these things really matter that much.

Food is the most important part of almost any party of event. If there is not enough food or the food isn’t good, there’s a problem. If the food is good, the event is good. Hungry people are generally unhappy people. Feed them with good food and they become happy.

Decorations and entertainment and music are all fine. But just get the food right, invite some people over, and everything else will fall into place.

Every kid has been told to stop crying. When they are bored and restless, they are told to hold still. When they are loud and exuberant, they are told to be quiet.

We are raised with our emotions never quite in sync with how others think we should behave.

Some people learn to hide their emotions, and this can be a very useful skill, and one that I am not very good at. But it can also be really damaging. Because those emotions do exist. And trying to run away from them and ignore them can lead to problems such as anxiety, depression, and a very negative view of ourselves.

Sometimes I scream or throw things or say things I regret because I don’t know what to do with how I feel.

The other day, one of my kids was really tired and bored and on a hike and didn’t want to walk anymore. Their solution was that I should carry them. One of the solutions I had was to get upset and try to use my own anger and frustration to motivate them.

But I thought: that’s not a goo way to deal with it. They are feeling something that isn’t bad at all. I can work with them to change how they feel in a positive manner instead of just wishing that they were different.

So we played games. It changed tiredness and boredom into something fun and exciting. Instead of wanting me to carry them, they ran.

Face what you feel. Embrace what you feel. And then work in positive ways to change it, instead of telling yourself you shouldn’t feel that way. You feel that way. It’s okay to feel that way. But you don’t have to feel that way forever.

I was going to blog every day, but I quickly fell behind. For quite a while, I was not very consistent. But then I got better, and I feel like it’s a habit to just update my blog every day. So how did I create this habit?

Whenever I post a blog post, WordPress automatically emails me my post (since I follow my own blog). I was deleting these emails, but I realized I could leave them in my inbox until I wrote the next post. I keep my inbox clean, so I would be reminded of blogging whenever I checked my email.

I also follow myself on Feedly, and I would leave my own blog post unread until I wrote and finished the next one.

I don’t check my to-do list very often, but I do check my email and I check Feedly. So I was being reminded much more often of my blog posts.

And then, eventually, it became habitual and easy.

I think one of the important things is that the habit was in multiple places: it was on my to-do list, and my email, and another website, and my list of goals. I need that repetition for it to become habitual.

Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Stuffing. Rolls. Sweet potatoes. Cranberries. Pumpkin pie. Rainbow Jell-O.

But nothing every goes as expected. This year, a glass plan exploded, I got a new niece, and there were lots of other small things that made the day a little different than I thought it would be.

I looked up my Mayflower ancestors today. And I listed what I was grateful for. My kids made turkeys with feathers, and I wrote on the feathers things like family and brothers and sisters and toys they liked to play with.

Thanksgiving is mostly about the food, and then remembering to be grateful for the food, and trying to enjoy it with the people we love.

Every day for over 275 days now, I have been writing down what I’m grateful for in the app Presently. Usually it’s just a things things: my family, my home, something exciting happening that day.

On April 6, I was grateful for weather, sports, hiking, and my family.

On May 1, I was grateful for light, peace, sleep, animals, and plants.

On July 14, I was grateful for the temple.

On August 8, I was grateful for church, kids, family, and school.

On October 22, I was grateful for my children and who they are becoming, being able to help others, and family history.

Listing what I have been thankful for has been easy, actually. Even in difficult times, I am still extraordinarily blessed and fortunate.

Today, I am grateful for my kids, vulnerable conversations, improvement, and Thanksgiving.

1. Having the wrong goals
2. Not having support from other people
3. Not sharing my goals with other people
4. Not being patient enough
5. Laziness, because it’s easier to do nothing
6. Knowing that even if I do everything I can, I can still fail
7. Distractions, because it’s easier to consume than create
8. Trying to impress people instead of trying to connect with people
9. Emotional baggage and overthinking things
10. Holding back and not going all in