🧠 Put your brain in an "anticipatory state"

I think people really underestimate how attractive it is to be passionate and real instead of trying to be everyone’s cup of tea.

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- Case Kenny

1. Proof that optimism works

There’s a study from researchers in Amsterdam who followed people through an entire vacation: the planning, the departure, the trip itself, and the return home. You’d assume the peak of happiness would happen mid-trip - feet in the sand, margarita in hand. But the data showed something else.

People were happiest before the vacation even began. It wasn’t beaches or perfect weather that created the biggest emotional lift. It was the anticipation - the imagining, the possibility, the belief that something enjoyable was ahead.

The human brain responds to the future it expects.

This is the foundation of optimism. It’s believing something good is ahead and letting that belief change your posture, your patience, your resilience today. Your brain doesn’t need certainty. It needs direction. It needs language that points forward. Say “I’m stuck,” and your brain searches for walls. Say “I’m transitioning,” and it searches for doors.

That’s the power of an anticipatory state. When you give your mind something to look forward to - even something small - dopamine releases before anything improves externally. You feel the emotional effects of change simply because you believe change is possible.

Optimism isn’t pretending life is perfect or always having something BIG to look forward to it. It’s training your brain to expect movement rather than stagnation. Because when your mind rehearses possibility, your life starts aligning with it.

You don’t just create a better future. You create a better present.

2. A green flag

The sixth love language is when someone takes candid pictures of you without you needing to ask.

3. It happens to everyone…

When you find yourself amidst a universal human experience, see it as a sign to take action. Here are 5 experiences and what to do.

You sit across from someone and feel lonelier than when you’re alone. That’s your sign to leave the table.

You look at your life and nothing feels aligned anymore. That’s your sign to rearrange your life until your life feels like yours again.

You lose something you thought you couldn’t live without. That’s your sign to know you deserve better.

You catch that quiet nudge that says, “There’s more for you.” That’s your sign to take the leap of faith.

You realize you’re the only one trying to keep the relationship alive. That’s your sign to stop pouring into cups that never pour back.

Some things I’m excited about…

New podcast episode

758 - Proof that optimism works In this episode, I talk about putting your mind in an "anticipatory state" and how this can attract the life and love you want.

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Keep going…

One day the tables turn. Your crazy ideas are the reason you’re thriving and the people who doubted you are asking how you did it.

My name is Case. I’m passionate about the language of optimism.

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