Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tid is that when you've got something special on the horizon,
Speaker 1: build up the excitement. That way, you can maximize your enjoyment,
Speaker 1: the anticipation, and the experience itself. Over the summer, I
Speaker 1: went to the Olivia Rodrigo concert with my daughter. We
Speaker 1: had a blast. My daughter is an Olivia Rodrigo fan
Speaker 1: and knows her music pretty well. I was not particularly
Speaker 1: familiar with Olivia Rodrigo before the summer. I knew she
Speaker 1: was popular, especially with teen girls, but that's about all
Speaker 1: I knew. So for a few weeks before the concert,
Speaker 1: I gave myself a crash course in her music. I
Speaker 1: listened to her songs anytime I was in the car.
Speaker 1: I looked up the playlist for her concert and made
Speaker 1: sure to focus on those songs in particular, so they
Speaker 1: became familiar. By the time the concert rolled around, I
Speaker 1: too was an Olivia Rodrigo fan, and I could sing
Speaker 1: along with most of her songs. I had way more
Speaker 1: fun at the concert than I would have had if
Speaker 1: the concert itself had been my first exposure to her music.
Speaker 1: I think you might find the same thing to be true.
Speaker 1: So when you have something special coming up, like a concert,
Speaker 1: a trip, a party, a fun outing, make a point
Speaker 1: of actively anticipating it. When you build up the excitement,
Speaker 1: everything becomes well more exciting. There are a number of
Speaker 1: ways that you can do this. If you're going to
Speaker 1: a performing arts event, listen to recordings, say get a
Speaker 1: taste of what's in store. This is true for music,
Speaker 1: but also plays operas or dance performances. You can watch those.
Speaker 1: Reading a play before you see it performed is another
Speaker 1: way to enhance your enjoyment. You'll be aware of the
Speaker 1: subtle word play or foreshadowing in a way you wouldn't
Speaker 1: be if you were just trying to take it in. Relatedly,
Speaker 1: before going to a museum, find out about the collection,
Speaker 1: get to know the artists or topics the museum explores.
Speaker 1: If you're going to a city you've never been to,
Speaker 1: read about the city, talk with friends who have been
Speaker 1: there recently, and identify attractions you'd like to see. In
Speaker 1: addition to planning what you'll do while you're visiting the
Speaker 1: new place, you can read novels, see movies, or listen
Speaker 1: to music from or about the place. This isn't particularly
Speaker 1: hard to do. You can search books by Montreal authors
Speaker 1: or movie suton Paris and come up with lots of
Speaker 1: ways to encounter a place before you get there. Even
Speaker 1: if you are not person only responsible for planning an event,
Speaker 1: try to get some of the details ahead of time.
Speaker 1: That way, you can be intentional about anticipating your experience.
Speaker 1: Preview the menu for a special restaurant, look at the
Speaker 1: RSVP list to a party if you know it's visible,
Speaker 1: and then maybe email a friend who's also on there
Speaker 1: to say how excited you are. Look at photos of
Speaker 1: Hawaii's beaches and flowers before you get on a plane
Speaker 1: to go there. You can also ask anybody who will
Speaker 1: participate in experience with you what they are looking forward to.
Speaker 1: Now this seems straightforward enough, but I suspect one reason
Speaker 1: people might not try to build up the excitement is
Speaker 1: a bit of pessimism. When we are really looking forward
Speaker 1: to something, it can feel devastating to not have it happen,
Speaker 1: so we don't want to jinx ourselves. But there is
Speaker 1: some research finding that anticipation accounts for the lion's share
Speaker 1: of any happiness associated with an event. Your dinner will
Speaker 1: be great, but it will only take about ninety minutes.
Speaker 1: You can look forward to the dinner for weeks. So
Speaker 1: most of the pleasure is in the anticipation. That means
Speaker 1: that even if the event doesn't happen, by anticipating it,
Speaker 1: you will have gotten most of the pleasure out of
Speaker 1: it that you ever would. Perhaps that sounds crazy, but
Speaker 1: if you try adopting that mindset, you might find yourself
Speaker 1: feeling a little more philosophical about the things that do
Speaker 1: get canceled. How do you build up the excitement for
Speaker 1: special events? You can let me know at Laura at
Speaker 1: Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've
Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at
Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.