Savor experiences before they happen through anticipation

Spend time looking forward to a positive event in vivid detail — the anticipation itself is a source of well-being.

Why it works

Positive anticipation activates reward-circuit activity similar to (and sometimes exceeding) the experience itself, because the brain treats vivid future images as partially real. Anticipatory savoring extends the hedonic window of a positive event backward in time — a meal looked forward to for a week produces more total positive affect than the same meal encountered unexpectedly.

How to do it

1. When you have a genuinely positive event coming up, schedule five minutes to vividly imagine it.
2. Be specific: picture the setting, who you’ll be with, what you’ll do, how you’ll feel.
3. Resist the urge to plan logistically during this time — this is imagining, not preparing.
4. Revisit the anticipatory image two or three times in the days before the event.

Evidence

Anticipatory savoring is recognized in Bryant’s framework and supported by research showing that positive anticipation independently predicts well-being, and that waiting for a pleasant event can be as enjoyable as the event itself in some contexts. (mechanistic)

The relationship between anticipation and subsequent enjoyment is complex: very high anticipation can set expectations that the experience fails to meet, producing disappointment.

Sources

• Loewenstein (1987), "Anticipation and the valuation of delayed consumption," Economic Journal — waiting and positive affect

Common mistake

Escalating anticipatory savoring into excessive expectation management — "this will be perfect" — which sets the real event up to disappoint.