Nearly whole world is infested with habit to guess! On an average, more than 50% our life is consumed with guessing game – what has or would happen to me and what could happen to others!!
If our sound sleep is broken by a phone ring in the morning, first thought is to guess a bad news. As Football World Cup 2014 is kicking off, guessing game is kissing new peak from fitness of famous players to fashion and features of their celebrity wives or partners! Before Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, U.K. delivered her 1st baby in July 2013, media and British people were hysterical to guess sex of the child!!
Employees before annual salary rise or students during examination results are abuzz with guessing game. If you complain to your spouse of stomach pain more than once, her/his prediction would be you have acidity or appendicitis problem with you!
That is how life goes on. Guessing, predictions, foretelling and betting – all can be put in same bracket; but what is interesting is to know that “anticipation” is way different than “guessing”!
“Guessing” versus “anticipation”
Following would clarify the difference:
- Guessing is mostly driven by emotions; but anticipation is driven by analysis.
- Guessing has spontaneity; on the other hand, anticipation has sobriety and system.
- Guessing is thoughtless; anticipation is accompanied by thoughtfulness.
- Majority of guessed thoughts are negative or neutral by nature; anticipation is driven by logical conclusion – could be either positive or negative.
- Guessing is effortless and hence always alluring; anticipation does entail efforts.
Many tend to confuse guessing with gut-feel, instincts or inner voices. Guessing is a result of multiple thoughts in our mind; whereas, gut-feel etc. comes from single thoughts.
From above 5 points, it becomes clear that though some amount of guessing in inevitable in humans, beyond a point it not only damages our ability to anticipate correctly but also spoils sanity of our thoughts and chances to impact our environments!
Put your faith and weight behind ability to anticipate
You need good ability to anticipate for more than one reason:
- To develop successful business strategy
- To out-maneuver your rivals and win – be it football, other sports or any profession
- To save yourself from avoidable difficulties
- To maximize the impact on your audience
- To be an effective communicator
- To be a great boss
- To strengthen your emotional intelligence (EQ)
Key points to develop your ability to anticipate are:
- Never be presumptuous.
- Don’t be a paranoid.
- Be a good or sharp observer.
- Develop desire for details and analysis.
- Practice to focus on single thoughts – one at a time.
Your ability to anticipate is directly proportional to degree of your focus. - Believe in self.
- Be a self-driver.
- Do not guess first and then start to anticipate. You would do a bad job!
More you guess; less would you anticipate and vice versa.
When you follow the above, you would emerge an optimist and strategist, subtle and smart, and your power to comprehend would multiply. You would not only develop strong ability to anticipate, but also start to influence incoming moments through state of your mind!
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