The Power of Anticipation

One of the greatest skills a person can build is the ability to take control of your mind. It can indeed be done. In the Bible, Paul talks about "casting down imaginations" and "taking every thought captive" (2 Corinthians 10). A large element of popular psychology relates to controlling your mind and your thoughts. Why is this so important?

Because of this sensation that we all experience before something big happens. It's called ANTICIPATION. The power of anticipation is similar to the effects of a very powerful drug. Depending on how it is received, it can either strengthen you and make you feel great, or it can weaken and destroy you. Recognizing and taking control of the emotions you feel during the anticipation time before (and sometimes during) big events is one of the greatest skills a person can build toward more consistent success.

Consider this. If you are a big fan of the holidays, such as Christmas, what is it that really gives your spirit energy and excitement? Is it the actual day of Christmas? Most people I know experience a huge hangover-type feeling on Christmas Day or shortly after. Some begin immediately taking down the decorations. And some even begin to go into a state of depression. Why? What happened that caused us to no longer be jolly and happy? The anticipation wore off.

In fact, what happens within days after Christmas? We anticipate new goals and lifestyle changes by making New Year's Resolutions. We talk about what is going to happen in the new year, and that gives us a jolt of energy.

Additionally, this is when many start to make their summer vacation plans. Once we have the dates on the calendar and our plans laid out for summer vacation, what happens? We anticipate that day, and it gives us energy, motivation, and pleasure.

Anticipation is an incredible source of pleasure.

Anticipation can also be an incredible source of anxiety and stress. Have you ever received a call from the doctor's office saying, "The results of your tests are in and we need to schedule an appointment to have you come in so we can discuss them." What happens between that phone call and the moment you sit down in the doctor's office? The stress and anxiety of anticipation.

Have you ever received a text message from a good friend that said something like this, "I need to talk with you about something, and it won't be easy. Can you give me a call tomorrow morning?" If you have, let me ask you, was it easy to sleep that night? Did you toss and turn a little bit, wondering what kind of news your friend was going to lay on you the following morning? Could you feel your heart beating like it was pounding on your chest?

Anticipation.

I can still remember the feelings of terror that came over me as a child whenever I would hear the words, "Just wait until your dad gets home." I think I would have rather taken an immediate whooping with 30 cracks of the county fair yard-stick than have to sit quietly and wait for two hours for my dad to come home. That anticipation was so much more painful.

Have you ever had to give a big presentation or speech at school or at work? Those can bring on a mixture of anticipation-driven feelings, both positive and negative. The excitement of doing something big and meaningful is pleasurable, but at the same time the fact that you're getting ready to do something big and meaningful brings on feelings of nervousness and perhaps even fear. Your palms get sweaty and your breathing becomes shallow.

I remember walking about 30,000 steps on game days during the springs of 2016 and 2017 when our baseball team was on exciting post-season tournament runs at the end of both of those seasons. Whenever we had practice or things that would busy ourselves during the week, I was fine. But on game days, I could barely concentrate on anything at work. I would go out and start walking and before I knew it I had walked around the entire campus. It seemed like time was standing still. I just wanted the game time to be here already. The anticipation was driving me insane.

That is what anticipation can do. It can be a very powerful thing, and it can have a lot of influence on how you react and behave, which means anticipation holds a lot of power over some pretty big moments in our lives. So, how do we control it? Can we control it? Perhaps it might help us to learn a little bit about why this happens.

Anticipation is brought on whenever we are facing something big and meaningful, and that big and meaningful thing is in the future. Think about the difference in how you feel once you actually get to the moment of the big task and start engaging in it. All of that anxiety starts to go down as soon as you stop anticipating the task and start doing it. That's how anticipation works. It immediately goes away once you are doing the very thing that was causing all the anticipation-related emotions.

There is plenty of psychological evidence that suggests anxiety, stress, and fear is always more intense during the anticipation than during the performance. And let me ask you, what is the most important part –– what happens before the performance, or the actual performance?

Of course, it is not what you anticipate but what you DO that actually matters. I wonder, though, about the influence anticipation can have on performance. I am not sure if any such study has been done or if there is even any way to accurately measure that. But I wonder, could we be more successful and consistent in our achievements if we built the skill to take (at least some) control over the emotions and anxiety of anticipation?

Neuroscientists have taught us about dopamine, a molecule in our brains known as the "pleasure molecule." Whenever we participate in pleasurable things, our brains release dopamine. When dopamine is released we feel a strong sensation of pleasure, which causes us to want to repeat that experience.

Some scientists have even given dopamine the name, "the anticipation molecule," because it has been shown that dopamine is not only released in our brains DURING pleasurable experiences, but in ANTICIPATION of pleasurable experiences. Our brains begin releasing dopamine when two things happen: (1) we think about the pleasurable experience and (2) there is a realistic opportunity that we will be able to have the pleasurable experience.

For example, every team THINKS about winning the championship at the beginning of the season. That's every team's ultimate goal. But thinking about it in that sense is not the same as thinking about it because you are actually one of the last two teams left playing, and the championship trophy is actually within sight. There is now a realistic opportunity that you could win it, which generates true anticipation.

It is the same feeling you have with every "do or die" elimination game scenario. The realistic chance that you could get one game closer to the championship or that your season could be over; it creates the anticipation factor.

The anticipation factor is one that coaches and players would do well to plan for. Discuss ways of taking control of your thoughts, imaginations, and emotions during anticipation. It will go a long way.

Here is an idea. As you go through your day, prior to a big event, try to notice if you feel your anxiety increases or lessens as the future becomes the present. Remind yourself that your anxiety is going to decrease from the anticipation phase to the performance phase.

You are as prepared as you need to be and so when performance begins, anxiety will be "taken captive." Recognize it and remind it of that fact. It is your brain, talk to it. Take control of it.