Healthy Anticipation – What are you looking forward to?

"The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, something to hope for." Allan K. Chalmers

After last week’s topic on expectations and what they produce in our lives, I thought of how important a role “anticipation” plays in our lives. Anticipation and expectation go hand in hand. With yesterday being the first day of summer, I reflected back on my own childhood growing up and how excited I became as the end of school year approached and summer awaited. I could hardly concentrate on the tasks at hand, and often finished the school year by the seat of my pants! I anticipated sleeping late, hanging out with my friends, and often going on vacations with my family. Even if maybe it wasn’t any big vacation, I knew it would be fun, and even better yet, I wouldn’t have to be doing homework or worrying about school. Then summer vacation was over too quickly and it was back to my nervous, but excited anticipation of the new school year. Maybe you’re flashing back right now when you were in high school and you anticipated that first football game, then Homecoming, then prom, and on and on. Seemed in high school and college, there were always pretty major events to look forward to.

Anticipation is healthy. How often do you tell someone something specific that you’re looking forward to? If you’re single, maybe it’s going on that first date with a new person. “What will I wear? What will I talk about?”You may even have butterflies when you think of them and the next time you see them. The anticipation builds up and then “Boom”, it’s over – what next? We always want to know “What’s next?” What about pregnancy? I know with each of my three children, the anticipation from first finding out about the pregnancy through the births of each of them were months and months of hopeful, exciting anticipation.

We all need something to look forward to. You may be thinking – “What do I have to look forward to this summer?” “The economy sucks; I have no extra money to do anything special.” Having things to look forward to doesn’t have to be expensive. Maybe you set aside time on your calendar in a week or two to just call someone you’ve been meaning to, but haven’t taken the time. Maybe it’s just creating your own “staycation” by calling some local resorts and getting good summer rates to take your family for a weekend getaway. Maybe it’s just a cookout in your back yard playing a little volleyball in the pool.

Anticipation of upcoming events or activities creates hope in our lives. Sure, sometimes we build it up so much that when it gets here, we feel let down, but it’s still a hopeful experience. What are you anticipating in your health? Are you working out with anticipation and expectation about how much better you will feel next week? Set small goals on your calendar that by “x” date, you want to lose “x” pounds, or drop your body fat by “x” percentage. Maybe you’re looking at my daily workouts and you’re thinking, “OK, if I start doing these workouts, I will not only look better, but I will feel better.” Your anticipation builds and you are given hope. What happens when you feel better? You exude those feelings and other around you can’t help but notice. These are all things to look forward to: Anticipation = Hope.

Summer is here – Start making your list of things you have to look forward to. Make it your “anticipation calendar.” You’ll be surprised when you start writing things down, whether big or small; there is ALWAYS something to look forward to. What’s on your list?

5 comments:

  1. Great blog Joe! There is always so much to look forward to - it keeps me positive :)

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  2. Looking forward keeps me from looking backwards!

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  3. that's right, i found way more healthy looking forward, than looking backwards, it's like been positive!!

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  4. The beginning quote is very inspirational!

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