I have always enjoyed, and even craved, looking forward to something. It can be something as simple as anticipating a day off or a special meal. I always look forward to having lunch with a friend at a restaurant because we can just sit and talk while other people wait on us. It is an easy way of adding enjoyment to one’s life. Just looking forward to savoring a favorite food is something I relish.
The reason looking forward to something is such a good thing to do is that it encompasses anticipation. Anticipation always adds to the pleasure of the experience. That’s why instant gratification is often disappointing. It is beneficial to see that waiting can have the added bonus of excitement leading up to the anticipated thing or event.
That is not to say that disappointment won’t ever occur when looking forward to something. Things just don’t always go as planned. But that is just the reality of life. Disappointment is part of life too. But to me, that only makes looking forward to something new, and having it happen, more gratifying.
Whenever I plan something I love to do, I always try to have a backup plan that I can use when things go wrong. That way, if I don’t get to do or experience the planned event, I still will have a second alternative to counteract the disappointment.
When my children were very small, I always waited until the day of an outing or other activity I had planned because they were too young to understand that things can change at the last minute. But as they grew older, and they were able to see the value of delayed gratification, they learned the benefit of looking forward to something.
As I get older, delayed gratification in the form of looking forward is part and parcel of my life now. So many things can get in the way of the plans I make. But that is okay because I have learned if a person waits longer for something that was looked forward to, the enjoyment of it is that much more savored in the end. It is one of the benefits of growing old. And for that, I am eternally grateful.