Here's a little tip for life: try to always have something to
look forward to, no matter how small. The power of anticipation
in boosting our well-being is incredible. You know that feeling
you get when you're dreading giving a public talk or going to
the dentist? That is the negative power of anticipation, but it
also works the other way. We get enormous amounts of pleasure
from looking forward to good things in the future (Bryant,
2003). This is part of the reason why our modern consumer
society of 'buy now and pay later' robs us of pleasure. Part of
the fun of purchasing both objects and experiences is in their
anticipation. Waiting for good things to come is fun. There's a
part of our minds that thinks we'll enjoy it more if we get it
right now, but that part is the greedy part. And it's wrong. Get
it later You might think that what we lose in anticipation,
we'll gain in reminiscences. In other words we'll get the
pleasure the other side of our purchase. But this doesn't seem
to be the case. The pleasure