Anticipation
The word of the day is Anticipation. The inspiration for this
blog comes from an article I read yesterday in one of the many magazines (OK it
was Time) I get for nothing for one
year’s time.
The article told of an
experiment you may have heard of whereby a group of small children were faced
with two marshmallows set in front of them. They are told they can have both of
the marshmallows is they but wait for 15 minutes. If they can’t wait that long
they are told they may eat just one immediately thereby succumbing to instant
gratification.
The children who waited
were found to be more successful in life later on and scored better numbers on
their SATs.
Have we become a society
who insists on instant gratification? How do you anticipate things in your
life? Do you go for instant gratification over perhaps even more gratification
if you wait just a bit? You must agree that there are good things to anticipate
and also bad things to anticipate. For instance: If you were one of those kids
who spent a lot of time waiting in a chair outside the principal’s office
because you acted up in class and were sent to the principal for your
punishment, that is obviously a bad
anticipation. I was never one of those kids thank god, but the principal in
the first school I taught in down in Kittery in the 60s had a big ruler in his
office which he used on kids who acted up. Corporal punishment had not yet been
banned in schools.
The trick my principal
and other principals used that was much worse than the actual slaps with the
ruler on their back ends was the punishment of anticipation. Kids sent to his office were made to sit in that
chair outside the office for at least 15 minutes. You know what they were
anticipating right? They did a lot of squirmed believe me.
Similarly, although not
a punishment per se, kids didn’t like to sit and wait for the dentist either,
myself included. A lot of dentistry was done without Novocain in those days by
the way. Ouch.
So what are some of the
good things to anticipate? How about Christmas Eve when you were a kid and
thinking about what the next day would bring? How about the last day of school
for the year? Or maybe you anticipate a vacation coming up or a special time
with your friends and/or family like a wedding perhaps. How about the new season of Downton Abbey? Good things, right?
Have we become a society
who must have instant gratification all the time? Take this small test to find
out if you grasp at instant gratification or if you are an anticipation
spoiler.
Have
you ever:
Skipped to the end of an
Agatha Christie mystery to find out who dunnit.
Eaten a snack too close
to dinner thus spoiling it.
Binge watched
Secretly opened a
Christmas present and wrapped it up again before the big day.
Had a slip of the tongue
and told a secret to someone before the secret should be known.
Gone to a movie you’ve
seen before with someone who hasn’t seen it and told them the end before the
movie is over thus spoiling their anticipation.
Told someone who won the
game they are watching, which they taped previously to be watched at a more
convenient time, again spoiling their anticipation.
If you answered “yes” to
one or more of these questions, you may be an anticipation spoiler and an
instant gratification seeker. By the way, this quiz is not scientific in any
way because I just made it up; but you get the idea, right?
Anticipation is one of
those things that make life more interesting and happier. Hold on to your
dreams and anticipate only good things ahead. This is my wish for you in the
coming year and throughout the rest of your life. Here’s to Anticipation!
Thanks for listening.
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