The archetypal man (or woman) who chases, seduces and even captivates their romantic ‘prey’ then rapidly loses interest may mirror the entrepreneur for whom chasing wealth is more satisfying than actually acquiring it.

In a recent article about brain cells, Joshua Freedman a U.C.L.A. neuroscientist, noted that a monkey feels maximal reward not when he eats a grape but rather when he gets it in his possession, anticipating he can eat it.

Getting people to purposely think of something calming could dampen the arousal around anticipatory acquiring (of a desired object/experience) almost in half. Good news for those if us who seek to treat addictions through psychological mean-see: How hypnosis helps people stop smoking

On the other hand knowing that positive expectation can be more rewarding than the actual experience anticipated perhaps we should go easy on offering our loved ones too many pleasant surprises-after all having three weeks to look forward to your surprise party may be a gift in itself.

But imagine if you could take anticipation totally out of the addict’s dependency psychology! For a reminder of how powerful anticipation is see: Placebo hypnosis

Mark