Anticipation is a powerful thing. For almost as long as I can remember I have wanted to travel to Europe. Specifically, I have wanted to go to England and Italy. It’s been my dream. I’ve been able to travel to the Holy Land, but never Europe. My wife, Tammy, has never been overseas at all. But in just a short while we will be visiting both London and Tuscany. The anticipation has been a powerful motivational factor.

For more than a year now we have been planning, dreaming, and saving for this trip. We are using gifts we have received and the help of dear friends to make this dream a reality. The trip is going to revolve around the 60th birthday of a great friend. We’ll be able to share our experience with people we love, and will miss others who won’t be able to make it.

I don’t know about you, but for me, anticipating something is more than half of the fun. It’s such a blast to picture the places we will soon be. And then it will be fun to compare the way we pictured it with how it really is. The anticipation is so great that I almost don’t want our trip to start. But it must. And it will.

And it will make memories that will last the rest of our lives.

Here’s what anticipation’s secret power did for us:

1. It helped us save. Goals are great things. When you anticipate something big it brings the willpower to cut back on certain things, put money in the bank, and delay the gratification.
2. It helped us plan. Anticipation is a great motivator when it comes to education. It’s been so much fun to learn, to read, and to study the places we will be visiting.
3. It drew us together with friends. We have come to know new friends amongst the group who will be traveling together. It will give a group of people shared memories and topics of conversation for a long time.

If you don’t have something to anticipate right now, try to find something. It’s a powerful way to keep life interesting. It motivates growth. Looking forward to something keeps you moving toward goals.  It will help you save money or move ahead in life. Anticipation even draws you closer to people.

What is it that you are anticipating today?