Looking Forward: Days 11 to 15

It's been a busy few days, which is unusual for me, because I prefer my days to be quiet and chill. The arrival of some new people at work usually means lots of fun events to get to know them. And the arrival of the warm, sunny spring days means that there are plenty of activities to keep me busy.

One thing that I've learned over the past few days is that looking forward to something is not the same as expecting that something you attended last year is going to be just the same the following year. Doing that is setting yourself up for big disappointment. It's much better to be open to the day than to expect that they day will bring you exactly what you want.

Yesterday, I volunteered at a big local event, and I had had such a great time the previous year that I'd built up some pretty big expectations for this year. It was a great time, but the first hour or so for me was a little tense: I was working with some new people and had a few situations that threw me for a loop. I almost resigned myself to the idea that I was not going to have a good time. But after I let go of all the unrealistic expectations and just allowed myself to have fun, it ended up being just as an amazing day as it was last year. Not the same... just different.

I think that I'm going to try to look forward to general happy things, rather than specifics. You never know what's going to be around the corner, but if your attitude is in the right place, what's around the corner is bound to be a good time!