The Christmas lights have finally admitted defeat. The diaries are suddenly full of meetings that could, with a little courage, have been an email. And yet, underneath the routine returning, there is still that faint fizz of possibility.
Anticipation is a seriously underrated psychological tool.
Not the flimsy kind, like “Maybe this year I’ll take up ice baths and become a new person.” You won’t. And that’s fine. I mean the robust kind, where you give your brain something specific to move towards. Something to look forward to. Something that quietly upgrades your internal weather.
There is solid research behind this. Studies published in journals such as Applied Research in Quality of Life show that people experience increased happiness not just during positive events, but in the anticipation of them. In other words, the looking forward to it gives you a lift before anything has actually happened.
Further research, including work published in Frontiers in Psychology, suggests that anticipating future positive experiences improves wellbeing, resilience and motivation.
When the brain has something good to lean towards, it copes better with the present.
Which brings me to the slightly cheeky question I want to ask you this week.
What are you looking forward to in 2026?
Not vague hopes. Not “sometime this year”. I mean three real things. Written down. Named. Ideally parked in a diary, or at least held in mind like a reservation at a restaurant you actually want to eat in.
Because here is the trick. When your brain can see something coming, it behaves differently in the present. It becomes more patient. More resourceful. More tolerant of the nonsense. It is far more willing to do the hard thing today because there is a reward waiting down the line.
Even our neurochemistry has a soft spot for this. Anticipation is closely linked to the brain’s dopamine system, which is why planning something pleasurable can be energising in its own right. The chase really does matter.
So yes, the serious point is this: we all need something to look forward to.
But this is Humourology, so we are not going to light a candle and stare meaningfully into the middle distance. We are also going to laugh, because laughter is often the quickest route back to perspective.
As John La Valle, President of the Society of NLP, once said on The Humourology Podcast:
“If you can’t laugh at yourself everyone else will do it for you.”
That line should be printed on lanyards and handed out at the first meeting of the year.
Because anticipation is not just about external events. It is also about internal permission. Permission to be a work in progress. Permission to get a few things wrong. Permission to enjoy the build-up rather than obsess only over the outcome.
If you are a leader, this matters even more.
Your team will take their emotional cues from you. If you are future-facing, they breathe easier. If you are permanently firefighting, they tighten up. If you can offer them a credible “next”, even a small one, you give them fuel.
Which leads neatly to three takeaways you can use this week, whether you run a school, a department, or simply your own nervous system.
Three Humourology Takeaways for 2026:
- Schedule three “look-forwards” like they are strategy.
One personal. One professional. One playful. Give them dates, even if they are provisional. Anticipation works best when it has a shape. - Future-pace people, not just their targets.
Goals are useful. Moments are powerful. Give people something to anticipate that is not a deadline. A celebration. A showcase. A learning moment that feels like a privilege, not a punishment. - Use humour as a signal of safety.
If people can laugh, they can breathe. If they can breathe, they can think. If they can think, they can learn. Humour is not a distraction from performance. It is often the gateway to it.
And now, a small personal confession.
One of my own “look-forwards” happens next Tuesday
I’m not saying that one of the things on your list has to be the launch of Season Eight of The Humourology Podcast… I’m just saying that if you enjoy anticipation, warmth, and the occasional laugh, you might want to leave a little space in your diary for something rather lovely landing next Tuesday.
I know I have.
Until then, write down your three look-forwards. Give them daylight. Let your brain rehearse the good stuff. Anticipation is not childish. It is intelligent.
See you next Tuesday.
Warmest,
Paul x
