Expectations are powerful indicators of your future. Positive expectations strengthened with enthusiasm help you to access your deeper desires and create a path for more abundance to come your way.
Let me share a great example:
When I was writing Day 6 of The Smile Diet in my book, Living with Enthusiasm: How the 21 Day Smile Diet Can Change Your Life, I was looking for a way to explain how you can increase your enthusiasm for an activity you’ve scheduled in the future to help maximize and increase the enjoyment of the experience.
I created the example of anticipating a massage that you would schedule a week after doing your daily reading for Day 6. I suggested doing a conscious 16-second savoring smile every time you think about the upcoming activity to increase the pleasure of the experience, but then deleted the story because of space.
Because of the synchronicity that happened two days later, I added it to a later chapter and still marvel at how Life is always giving us clues and gifts to help us live richer (in all meanings of the word), healthier, and more inspiring lives.
Sandra writes down that her favorite activity is to get a massage. After she finishes reading the action step for the day – to schedule an enjoyable activity within the next 24 hours – she goes to the phone and schedules a massage. She doesn’t think she’ll be able to get an appointment for at least a week, but as it turns out, she is able to get in the next day on a cancellation. She’s delighted. She notices that she feels happy and takes a break to do a 16-second smile, letting herself enjoy her delight instead of moving on to the next task right away. She thinks, “This is great! I got an early appointment I didn’t expect. I feel happy.” Endorphins shoot through her body. By the time she gets to her massage the next day, she enjoys it even more because she’s added the technique of savoring a positive expectation.
After I finished writing this example, I thought, “I really want a massage. I really need a massage.” But instead of following up as I had described Sandra doing, I just kept writing, noticing every once in a while my body ached from sitting too long, and thought, “I should really get a massage.”
The following day, I called my friend Ellen to go for a walk. A voice I didn’t recognize answered the phone saying that Ellen was in the middle of a massage. I smiled and asked who it was. The voice said, “This is her massage therapist, Sandy.”
Sandy! That’s amazing! I thought. I just wrote about a woman named Sandra who gets a massage. “I need you!” I said. “How soon would you have time available for me?”
“I can see you in two days.”
I made an appointment on the spot and delighted in my good fortune. Each time I thought about getting that massage, I did my conscious 16-second smile and took a long deep breath imagining how much I was going to enjoy it. That’s maximizing positive expectations. You can do that with anything you’re planning out in the future!
When I finally received the massage, I told Sandy what happened. She said, “That’s amazing. I’ve come to Ellen’s home for three years and in all that time, I’ve never answered her phone. The only reason I did that day was because she was waiting for her daughter to call and asked me to get it.”
I love the way the Universe works! If you haven’t had these kinds of “coincidences,” yet, you will increase your chances of experiencing more synchronicity, fun, and meaning in your life when you create positive expectations and savor them with enthusiasm when they pop up in your mind.
What could you schedule for yourself in the next week and savor along the way? What do you already have scheduled you’re looking forward to? Think of it now and smile for 16 seconds. Notice your energy and post your insights in comment box below.
Remember, energy flows where attention goes. Watch for synchronistic, seemingly coincidental moments. They’re out there, waiting for your attention, and by turning on your enthusiasm, you’ll discover more of them faster and create the future of your dreams sooner.
Ready for more good feelings and positive results? Subscribe to Living with Enthusiasm updates and receive for FREE the first 4 weekly sessions of the Living with Enthusiasm Self-Coaching Guidebook and Joy Journal. If you want even better results, call or email me for a complimentary coaching session on how to maximize enthusiasm in the place you feel most stuck in your life (work? relationships? money? health?). Really. Please contact me and leave a comment or question in the comment box. I’d love to help you. Mary
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