I recently created a note on my phone called “Upcoming Exciting Things.” In it, I’m keeping a list of all the stuff I’m looking forward to in the near future. And ever since I started the list, I’ve found myself going back to it occasionally and get excited all over again. It’s been a great mental exercise for me.

Granted, most of items on my list are nerdy products that Apple announced at their most recent events. But as silly as that may sound to you, keeping this list and checking it has actually helped me avoid a pandemic-induced funk.

This crisis has gone on much longer than any of us expected, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking this is what life is going to be like forever. But the truth is that it’s not.

This pandemic will end. Life will not always be this way. Things will get better. And thinking positively about the future reminds us of that.

This doesn’t just apply to COVID, by the way. This is true in every phase of life. No matter what any of us is going through at any given moment, there is always something good to look forward to. And that’s what gives us hope when we don’t feel like we have the strength to carry on.

Thinking positively about the future keeps us from despair. It’s also just plain fun. And it can be a great starting point for making a plan to where we want to be.

Do you have something in your life that you’re looking forward to? We all need it. But it’s something we have to choose to seek out.

The current state of world can bring out the pessimist in all of us. I never knew what a downer I could be before now. And you may be feeling that way, too. But I’m here to remind you that life, at its core, is good. And there’s always something better ahead for you.

Positivity isn’t some blind, baseless belief that your story will have a fairy tale ending. It’s making the choice to believe that life can be better than it is today. It’s the choice to look forward to something, get excited about it, and allow that excitement to fuel you as you move forward.

My encouragement to you is simple: Choose something that you’re looking forward to, and remind yourself of it on a daily basis.

Maybe it’s getting together with friends at a restaurant once that’s safe again. Or maybe it’s a family event that you’re planning to attend when that’s an option. Or maybe it’s a nerdy gadget that you’ve been itching to try. (Okay, that one’s mine.)

Regardless of what it is, we all need something to look forward to. And we all have something to look forward to if we’ll just choose to seek it out. I hope you will, because I’ve found it to be really helpful in my own life.

Be well, friends. We’ll talk again soon!