Welcome to the Good Life Chronicles, where living a good life takes center stage.
I know, the world feels uncertain at the moment. Whether it's political tensions, economic questions, climate concerns, or simply the pace of everyday life, there's no shortage of reasons to feel distracted, worried, or overwhelmed.
(In fact, I was so distracted – maybe you noticed? – I missed the last 2 scheduled newsletters!)
And yet, life continues.
Which is why I've been thinking about something surprisingly powerful: anticipation – looking forward to what is coming.
One of the strangest things about happiness is that some of it happens before the thing itself.
Think about it.
A holiday you've booked, or maybe a dinner planned with friends.
It might even be a concert ticket sitting in your inbox, or less dramatically, a package you've ordered.
If you’re like me, it’s the first coffee you'll have tomorrow morning.
Part of the pleasure comes from looking forward to it.
We often assume happiness arrives when the event happens. But research consistently shows that anticipation itself contributes to our happiness; anticipation in fact, is a feeling, it’s a positive emotion. Having something positive on the horizon gives us hope, direction, and a reason to keep moving forward. It’s also gives us those little uplifts that help us get through otherwise boring days.
It's one reason I like having things in the calendar.
A lunch date.
A bike ride – even if I take one every morning.
A weekend away.
A planned museum visit, because the Louvre Abu Dhabi doesn’t visit itself and it’s right down the road (including, if you haven’t yet been, the Zayed National Museum).
The point is that it’s “something” and something does not need to be extraordinary, it just needs to give Tuesday a relationship to Saturday.
Without anticipation, life can become one long sequence of tasks and obligations we’re all familiar with. Wake up. Work. Gym. Laundry. Repeat.
A little Netflix if you’re lucky (and aren’t we all hooked on some series somewhere)?
And while there is nothing terrible with that, life can quickly become meaningless as a result.
In contrast, with anticipation, there is a sense of movement toward something. And now the hours or days have a point.
The best part?
The thing doesn't need to be expensive or impressive.
Some of the things I look forward to most cost very little: a beach walk, seeing a friend, trying a new restaurant, reading the next issue of a magazine I've been waiting for.
A Good Life isn't just about enjoying life when it arrives.
It's about creating things to look forward to before they do.
So this week, put something in the calendar.
Something that makes Future You smile.
What's one (even small) thing you're looking forward to right now? Even a nicer coffee than usual will do. Go on, life is for living.
Share it in the comments here or below depending on your platform. Remember to sign in to leave a comment.
While you’re here!
If you like the idea of happiness and feel someone in your life should too, pass along this newsletter. They can sign up here.
Why not learn the skills of good living for yourself? Sign up to my course here, you can also “gift” the course to others.
Finally, do you work somewhere in the GCC that could use a little uplifting? See my programs for organizations here.
Have a great week and remember...
Life is short, what you do with it matters.
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