Time to Read: 3 mins (or 3 hours if you get nerdy with me š¤)
If you take a peek at my calendar, youāll see thereās always something joyful for me to look forward to. šļø š
Whether big (a travel adventure) or small (a walk with a friend), intentionally scheduling meaningful moments is something I deliberately and intentionally do.
WHY?
Because when you have something meaningful ahead of you, your mind doesnāt stay stuck in the presentā¦
It moves forward.
And that shift matters more than you might realize.
Research shows that when we anticipate future events, some interesting things happen:
- We become more future-oriented in our thinking
- Our brains engage in planning and goal-directed behavior
- We experience greater motivation and follow-through
- We feel a stronger sense of control over our lives
- And overall, our well-being improves
In other wordsā¦
When you intentionally place meaningful moments on your calendar, youāre not just giving yourself something to enjoy laterā¦
Youāre changing how you think and operate today, which primes your brain to start organizing around whatās ahead.
And in response, your decisions naturally begin to align with where youāre going.
The end result? You create forward momentumā¦ on purpose.
And this consistently moves the needle forward!
Yep! There are neurological and psychological levers being pulled every time you give yourself something to look forward to!
š” Practionable Takeaway
So, how can you take advantage of this?
Simpleā¦
1ļøā£ Identify whatās meaningful for you. Make a list of activities that give you energy and feed your soul.
2ļøā£ Scroll through your list and get three meaningful events scheduled.
3ļøā£ Each time an event occurs, replace it with another so there are always three on your calendar.
The frequency, activities, and people you include are all up to you.
For me, having something on the calendar every two to three weeks keeps me in forward momentum.
But it took some experimentation to determine that.
And thatās the point.
This isnāt about copying someone elseās system!
Itās about discovering what creates momentum for you.
And that's self-leadership in action.
š„ Want to Go Deeper?
Thereās something else happening here that most people donāt realize.
Yes, having something to look forward to can absolutely shift your mindsetā¦
But it doesnāt fully solve the problem of stress.
Because even with meaningful things on your calendar, stress still shows up.
Thatās where a different layer of self-leadership comes in.
In this weekās video, I break down a simple 3-step framework to help you lead yourself through stress. And not just when it shows up, but in a way that prevents it from taking over in the first place.
You can check it out here.š
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To Your Success,
Laura šš§”
š¤ P.S. If you want to get nerdy with me, you can read the research studies here (They're quite fascinating!):
Planning for Future Events - https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0882-7974.16.2.206 - Keeping meaningful events planned in the future can increase life satisfaction and perceived control.
Episodic Future Thinking - https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1196/annals.1440.001 - Imagining future events and goals significantly engages the brain's neural networks associated with planning and motivation.
Personal Goals and Future Events - linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1053810018300692 - Personal goals guide the construction and organization of future thoughts, enhancing future orientation and planning capabilities.
Temporal Landmarks and Motivation - https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fa0030477 - Significant calendar dates act as temporal landmarks that structure perception of time and boost motivation.
Characteristics of Future-Oriented Thoughts - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acp.1647 - Future-oriented thoughts serve various functions such as action planning and decision-making and are associated with higher levels of motivation.
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