Jennifer Weiner has always been competitive. From writing, to yoga, to water tubing with her family, she is constantly seeking out opportunities to compete with others and challenge herself.

After publishing a dozen novels and a collection of essays, Weiner decided she needed a change, and looked to turn her time and attention to something different. Sparked by the notion of learning something new, she picked up piano lessons at Settlement Music School.

“Playing the piano has accomplished what all that yoga and meditation never could,” Weiner writes in the Dec. 30 New York Times Opinion article. “I can quiet my mind and focus entirely on something: not my breath, but the music.”

Instead of following her innate drive to always succeed, she revels in the opportunity to just be O.K. at piano, and to focus, instead, on the peace it brings her.

“In the new year, I will embrace the joy of making music (loosely defined) only for myself. I will invite failure into my life and play without the expectation of being the best, or even mediocre, until failing isn’t a terrifying unknown but just another possibility, and one I can survive.

To read the full article, click here.