In life, there are a lot of things that we have to wait for. Some of them are short term things, like waiting for the bus, waiting for dinner to warm up, or waiting for your favorite show to come on. Other times, it takes a little longer to reach those things, like waiting to grow up. I feel excited when I think about reaching these things that I have to wait for, and sometimes I find that waiting can be just as much fun as doing.
One of the things I looked forward to this year was YAR. YAR stands for Youth Annual Retreat, and it’s a weekend trip you take with your youth group to meet other youth groups and talk about God. The first year I went, I had a ton of fun. I didn’t know what to expect, so anything we did exceeded my expectations. It was all new and exciting, and as soon as I left, I couldn’t wait to go back next year.
All throughout the next year, until YAR, I looked forward to the next trip. I remembered how much fun I had last time, and I eagerly thought of the fun things I would do the following trip. When I went on this trip, I found that it was super fun, and I wouldn’t have done anything different. However, at the same time, looking forward to the trip had been nearly as enjoyable as the trip itself.
On the other hand, anticipation can also take place with things that I’m not looking forward to. For example, giving a speech is the most often occurrence of this phenomenon. When I have to give a speech, I practice and practice multiple times. I’m totally ready by the time I need to give my speech. However, I still think about and dread the speech I have to give. My brain magically conjures up all the different ways that I could fail, and I unfortunately, sometimes I believe them.
For me, the only way to stop this negative procrastination is to take a deep breath (a few, actually), get out my speech, and practice it carefully time and time again, convincing myself all the while that my speech will be fine, and I will do well. And then, by the time the speech comes, it is nerve wracking, but probably not worth all the grief I put myself through.
The last thing I try to remember when I’m nervous about something is to think about the next day. It helps me stop worrying about everything when I realize that life will go on, and somehow, the event will become part of my past. After all, every day is a new day.
If you find yourself dreading something remember to take a deep breath, and realize that you will do fine on whatever is stressing you out, and in addition, even if it doesn’t go as planned, the day after the event will still come, no matter how unbelievable that sounds. If you realize that you are looking forward to something, enjoy that hopeful, happy feeling. Don’t merely enjoy the event, but enjoy the anticipation that comes before. See you next week!
“Reprinted from Hagel Publications, Inc. dba as Courier Newspapers”