ALLE PIERCE KNOWS how to plan a vacation. A few months ahead of time, she "goes on a crazy Google spree," constructing a spreadsheet of all the things she wants to do and see. She scrutinizes the menus of restaurants she is planning to visit. She uses a picture of the destination as her phone's locked screen image and downloads a countdown app.
"What's so exciting about a trip is the anticipation before it," says Pierce, founder of a luxury travel company called Gals Abroad Getaways, which plans group trips for women. Experts say she is probably right. Numerous studies suggest that having something to look forward to boosts your mood and lowers your stress.
"Imagining good things ahead of us makes us feel better in the current moment," says Simon A. Rego, chief psychologist at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York. "It can increase motivation, optimism and patience and decrease irritability."
Of course we can't just book a flight every time we need a little cheering up. But there are ways to harness and incorporate the power of anticipation into your everyday life.
GET EXCITED ABOUT A LOT OF LITTLE THINGS
Anticipating a smattering of small, delighful experiences can be as enjoyable as looking forward to one big event, says Carrie L. Wyland, a social psychologist at Tulane University in New Orleans.
"At the end of every day, write down one thing you're excited for tomorrow," she says. "Maybe it's a new book, or getting pastries, or a package you're expecting."
The accumulation of these mini thrills means you will still reap the benefits of looking forward to something, even if it's not a big-ticket reward, says Christian E. Waugh, a psychology professor who studies anticipation at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi
Pushpesh Pant, one of India’s pre-eminent food writers, is back with a comprehensive food history of the capital.
Who Wants Coffee?
It’s bitter—but beloved around the world
Prevent The Pain Of Shingles
You don't have to suffer, as long as you take two important steps
The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart
Dozens of diets are touted as ‘best’, but it’s easy to lose track of the fact that healthy eating needs to be about overall wellness, not just weight loss.
ME & MY SHELF
Journalist Sopan Joshi has worked in a science and environment framework for nearly three decades. His book Mangifera indica: A Biography of the Mango (Aleph Book Company) synthesizes the sensory appeal of India's favourite fruit with its elaborate cultural roots and natural history. He writes in English and Hindi.
SWITCHED
In 1962, nurses at a small Canadian hospital sent home two women with the wrong babies. Then, 50 years later, their children discovered the shocking mistake.
ECHOES OF THE PAST
A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT BARABAR CAVES IN BIHAR REVEALS A SURPRISING CONNECTION TO A LITERARY CLASSIC
Fathers of the Bride
A young woman finds a unique way to honour the many men who helped her survive her childhood
Fiction's Foresight
British-Bangladeshi author Manzu Islam's works reveal startling parallels to recent political upheavals in Bangladesh, begging the question: Besides helping us make sense of our world, can stories also offer a glimpse into the future?
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
The Divine Defence Picture this: A tractor in Rajasthan‘s Banswara district,a group of loan agents closing in to seize it and the defaulting farmer and his family standing by.
