The Sunshine Report Excited for the Future! 'Karen and Jay share thoughts on the excitement of anticipation.’ Good things about to happen. That’s ‘anticipation’ in a nutshell. It’s excitement. It’s a feeling of wanting to speed up the future. And interestingly, while you’re experiencing this sense of anticipation, you’re generating positive energy. We anticipate because we have faith – faith that some future event is going to happen. And this very faith and positive energy that it generates helps ensure that the anticipated outcome will actually occur. A sort of a virtuous cycle and self-fulfilling progression. I wonder if you can identify with these following experiences. You know that feeling when you’ve got an exciting trip coming up that you’ve been planning for weeks, maybe even months? Or perhaps it's not a trip, but after a long week of work, looking forward to spending time with friends or family. Whatever it may be, we all know that magical feeling we get when we’re looking forward to something. Having anticipation for things has an incredibly powerful impact on everything from our decision making, to our physical and mental health. What we choose to be excited about, or worry about, greatly influences how we navigate the uncertainties of life and can be a decisive factor in our own long-term happiness and well-being. You might be asking, well, how does looking forward to something that hasn’t happened yet, and that I haven’t even experienced yet, positively impact my mood, stress levels, my health? When we have things to look forward to, we’re subconsciously expressing gratitude for what we have. We’re telling ourselves that we’re on the right path, increasing our motivation to complete a task, look at the future more optimistically, maybe both. This too can make us more patient and less irritable in moments when the alternative would be the easier choice.  When we visualize what we have ahead of us with positive outcomes, even in negative situations, generally that’s what we’ll end up receiving as a result. When we anticipate something with anxiety or stress, and with negative outcomes, the same too can be said. The wild thing is that there are now whole bodies of research that have looked into the psychology of human anticipation. As one study reported, when we’re able to positively anticipate what’s ahead of us, and not just when we’re going on a long-needed vacation for example, but even in high stress situations, it helps us envision positive outcomes, which in turn guides our decision making in that direction. It also helps us improve our coping mechanisms in the event something doesn’t go our way. As we’ve discussed in previous editions of the Sunshine Report, challenges or obstacles can also be leveraged as opportunities to learn, grow, and overcome. What’s important to remember here though is that the choice is, once again, ours and no one else's. We can choose to guide our behavior in a direction where each and every day, we can anticipate something with a sense of excitement. And it doesn’t have to be some big event, it can be even the smallest of joys. As one researcher put it, “Anticipating a smattering of small, delightful experiences can be as enjoyable as looking forward to one big event.” It could be something as simple as anticipating your first cup of coffee of the day after a warm shower or going to see a movie you’ve been looking forward to. When we start anticipating and enjoying the small things, we develop the underlying habits that guide us toward a succession of positive outcomes. In a real sense, it is anticipation – that magical phenomenon - that leads us to a life of success and ultimate fulfillment. So, what is it that you are gleefully anticipating as you think about later today, next week, next month, next year and beyond? Read The Report Zipping around New Hampshire and the World! Read More Anticipating a Birthday – Portsmouth’s 400th! Read More Positive Profile of the Week: Rich Girard - Sunshine Communications Gets Brighter! This week I am proud to announce that newsmaker and local political legend Rich Girard has joined us to lead the team at Sunshine Communications. Rich is the right persona at the right time to lead our Sunshine Communications team as we expand our reach and capabilities and promote the positive stories that are making a difference in our local communities. We are delighted to welcome Rich aboard, and we are also delighted to highlight Rich this week as our Positive Profile of the Week. If you have been around the Manchester political and public policy scene, then undoubtedly, you know the name Rich Girard. A native of the West Side of Manchester, Rich has the Queen City’s values running through his veins. Rich worked in the office of the late Mayor Ray Wieczorek. Then, in 1997, Rich was the first elected Alderman at Large under the city’s charter revision. He helped push the downtown revitalization, the SNHU arena, and all the while holding the line on taxes. Rich would go on to serve on the city’s charter commission and on the Manchester School Board. It's quite a resume when it comes to public service and one that is hard to match. But it's Rich’s transition to marketing and community news coverage that has helped him build an unparalleled base of experience to lead Sunshine Communications. Rich founded ‘Girard At Large,’ a media company committed to local news - his catchphrase, which is perfect for Sunshine Communications, has been "News from our own backyard - connecting local people, places and things." Meanwhile, It wasn’t just his radio presence serving southern New Hampshire that reported the news, it was the team he built and the model he established via an online presence that made the difference. What started in a cramped conference room in downtown Manchester with a small radio signal quickly grew to a large listening audience via a state-of-the-art studio in Pinardville. It was an experimental and first of its kind approach to reporting and providing community news in southern New Hampshire, and it’s a formula we are excited to leverage as a blueprint for success in our Sunshine Initiative communities. Rich will be leading a set of publications that include the Eagle Times, which is based in Claremont and serves western New Hampshire and parts of eastern Vermont, as well as the Newport Times Online and the Newport Argus Champion. And this is only the beginning.  Rich and his wife Jenn have raised an amazing family in Manchester. They are loyal to the Queen City and are committed to making a difference in the Granite State and beyond. I'm honored to call Rich a friend and excited to have him as the leader of Sunshine Communications and as a key member of our growing Sunshine Team! Quote of the Week “Anticipation leads the way to victory, and is the spur to conquest” -Nicolas Chamfort     Jay Lucas | www.JayLucas.us  Share This Email Share This Email Share This Email Jay Lucas | 7 Portwalk Pl, Portsmouth, NH 03801 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]