Define Anticipation to Me

I needed someone to truly define anticipation to me. I kept hearing the term… anticipation. And while growing up, adults kept telling me that I needed to anticipate. Okay?? So what is that? What does that mean? Is that good, or bad? People were quick in telling me to anticipate, but they didn’t really want to take the time to explain it to me, and I ended up stressing myself out about it.

I would put myself into anxiety (which we will talk more in detail about next week…), because I was told I needed to be in anticipation. I would place myself in a stress stage saying: “I need to anticipate…”. Well, how am I supposed to anticipate if I have no clue what that actually means, or includes?

Define Anticipation… What is it to You?

So back to the original question then… someone define anticipation to me. As I started digging deeper into the word ‘anticipation’, it was pretty interesting for me to discover how I dug myself into stress and anxiety just because I was told to ‘anticipate’. And I didn’t even know I was doing that to myself. Sound familiar?

I wanted to know what anticipation actually meant… Is it a feeling? An emotion? Is it an action we are supposed to take? What is anticipation? Define anticipation. Is it something positive or negative? What are we supposed to do with it? When you expect something to happen, you are usually feeling an emotion. That emotion is known as anticipation. Whether you are expecting something good or bad, you are still feeling that emotion. In other words, anticipation can be felt both for good and bad. It’s that emotion you feel when you wonder “what’s happening next?”.

Define Anticipation… What Am I Supposed to Expect?

Have you been in this relationship before, where you received that text where it said “we need to talk…”? The heart starts racing, and you jump to the worst conclusion. I’ve been there… I was stuck in anxiety. Then the moment hit, we talked, and I was completely wrong about what I thought it was about. But my anticipation was based off of previous experiences.

So I can give you a general definition of anticipation, and it can mean something completely different to you, because we have the tendency to connect it with experiences we have had in the past. That’s where we decide whether we make it positive or negative anticipation, depending on what we connect it with.

What Are You Connecting Anticipation With?

Therefore, let me ask you this… When you feel anticipation, what do you feel? Do you get nervous? Are you feeling anxiety coming up? What are you connecting it with? When it’s something you are looking forward to though, anticipation can be something positive (a good birthday for example…). The way I define anticipation might be a completely different definition in your mind.

With that said, let me tell you something that was discovered a while back. There were several tests done where it showed that positive anticipation was having healthy effects on the people that anticipated good times ahead. The people that were looking forward to something ahead of them in a positive way, made it really easy for them to live in the present, and fully enjoy it.

Starting to Connect it with the Positive

Create certainty. It can be something small ahead of you. Maybe something just a couple of days ahead of you. But start connecting anticipation with something positive coming up for you. Start looking forward to something you are really excited about, while completely enjoying the present you are currently in. Because the moment you try to take control over what’s ahead of you, is when anxiety starts hitting you. And that’s when anticipation is being connected with the negative again.

Once anticipation is being connected with positivity, it alleviates stress. It starts helping you fully enjoying the present, while it helps you looking forward to something. When you start practicing anticipation during smaller events in life, it will prepare you for bigger events in life that you might not look forward to (separation for example…). It helps you overcoming those events, and looking forward to the light at the end of the tunnel. It starts making the life events more tolerable because you start connecting them to something positive.

The Anticipation of Christmas 😊

Here is another perfect example: Christmas! Christmas is so joyful and exciting because of the entire anticipation around it. Think about it. If you wouldn’t take the time around it to get everything ready for the event itself, you would not feel the same excitement you usually do on the day of. The cookies that are being baked the weeks before. A great excitement you start feeling when you start wrapping the presents, because you can’t wait to see the person’s face when they open it. The joy you feel when the tree is being set up, with the beautiful decoration around it. It’s all positive anticipation you are connecting with the Christmas Day 😊.

With that said, let’s talk about small steps we can start taking to start connecting anticipation with positivity going forward. Keep in mind, this is a habit that needs to be broken and changed, so don’t forget… It will take time. Start with small things. Perhaps, get yourself your favorite coffee for breakfast sometimes this week, and allow yourself to get a delicious chocolate croissant with that. Look forward to that breakfast.

The Beginning of the Change

Put it on your calendar to watch your favorite movie, or maybe your favorite comedy show on Friday night, and anticipate (look forward to) watching it. Get really excited about it.

If you know you are having a quite stressful day coming up at work, soothe it by planning on grabbing your favorite meal on your way home that evening. It gives you something to look forward to, and helps you deal with the stress that day by anticipating what’s afterwards.

No ‘What If’ thinking this week 😉. That’s what causes anxiety, and we are trying to break away from that. There will always be room for ‘what if’, no matter what. But that is completely unpredictable and will only put you into panic mode. Tell me… how do you define anticipation right now?

Expect something good to come. It will be beneficial for your emotions, and it is beneficial for your brain as well as your physical health. No longer fear of anticipation due to fear of disappointment. Start with small steps, and anticipations this week, and see where that takes you as changes in life will happen. Anticipation itself is not bad, it just depends on what we connected it with throughout our life. And now is the time to get the good out of it 😊.