About anticipation and expectation

Vorfreude: Pleasant anticipation

^this is one of the best feelings ever: Actually there is no exact word in english for that... none that matches 100% anyways....

I was thinking about anticipation and expectation, so similar and at the same time so different! It's like the good and the evil of the same thing. I guess anticipation is when you already know it's going to happen, like looking forward to something that has been confirmed already, while expectation is not, it's just something you want , you hope and expect to happen but you really don't know if it'll happen or not.

Expectation sucks.... So I'm trying to adopt this new philosophy, not expecting anything... I'm so used to "expect" something as a consequence of what I do that I have to actively remind myself NOT to expect. That's a tough one, but so worth it!

I read about that principle 100/0, like giving everything expecting nothing about a week ago. I started putting it into practice and it seemed to make me feel quite good. :) ... then, by not actively thinking, I went back to old patterns (=expecting) only to feel disappointed and sad...So a couple of days ago I told myself to stop and rewind, and focus on not expecting.... it's hard, but that's what it's all about. i'm re-wiring my brain and trying to avoid old patterns of behaviour, cause.... simply... I want to be happy. Happiness is often an option, you can chose not letting bad things get to you and allow the good things get to you . You don't need to be numb or just switch off the feelings completely...just embrace the good ones and make the best you can out of the bad ones.... don't expect, just give and be willing and open to receive, then any good thing that comes your way will seem more valuable. It's easy to let yourself sink into depression and let the bad feelings take over...i'm an expert on that! but it is in those moments that you have to stop and get focused again. It happened to me recently that I noticed I was feeling down and a bit disappointed...why? because expectations lead to disappointment, so I stopped and thought.... "the principle! apply it again, girl!" and I did...and it's difficult not to expect when you really want something or when you're giving but...kinda rewarding....liberating....