Year of Focus: Week 9 Anticipate

Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy 

The Year of Focus:  Week 9

Word of the week: Anticipate

Anticipate - verb 

1. to expect; look forward to; be sure of, to anticipate a favorable decision.

 Anticipation can cause excitement or worry, depending on the setting. It shows up whether there’s a traffic jam you did not anticipate, or an unexpected expenditure not in the budget. Life is full of situations we anticipate with excitement or dismay, so how can we temper our anticipation good or bad?

When you think about it, these emotions are 90% by choice. We get to choose how we respond to life, to the ordinary and unforeseen. The problem rests in how we are programed. Our way to do things is either habit or the way we observed others. Today there are many ways we can soften our anxiety or worry of anticipation. Even the disappointment of joy we anticipate can be a lesson in being present and adapting in new ways.

Using practices like meditation and yoga can teach us to be present.  Journaling reminds us to look inward during uncomfortable situations. Armed with the proper tools we can handle things with grace. Knowing frustration and anger will not change our circumstance, we learn to use the calm of meditation, or the breath work in yoga, as we unravel our anticipation.  

February - Month of Love