The doctor made small talk as he procured his rubber hammer.
The chattiness was part of his bedside manner. A way to get through all the awkward tests that were part of a physical exam. All while keeping the patient relaxed and at ease.
I was playing along, to a degree. But I was also on guard.
So, as the doctor flashed the hammer in my direction, I jolted my right knee backward. The hammer hit nothing but air.
Impressive reflexes, the doctor remarked. But much like his hammer, he hadn’t quite hit the mark.
This wasn’t about reflexes. Not by a long shot.
It’s long been known that humans have five senses.
Sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch are each critical. They shape how we perceive the world. And they serve as guardians of our survival.
However, I believe there’s a sixth sense out there. Not in an M. Night Shyamalan movie sort of way. Rather, something more tangible and impactful.
I’m talking about anticipation.
Anticipation is more than a gift or an attribute. It’s an acute sense — with a twist.
You see, anticipation takes our traditional five senses to a new level. It mixes their recorded inputs with situational awareness. All in a manner that can prime prediction.
Anticipation puts us on the front foot. It allows us to think a step ahead, and to act accordingly.
This is more than a nice-to-have. In a world full of lethality, the signals of danger often arrive too late for us to avert them. We need to see the flames, smell the smoke, and feel the burn before first spark ignites. That way, our fight-or-flight response can activate in time to save our skin.
We need anticipation, plain and simple.
And like a fine wine, anticipation gets better with time. With more data in our brains, and more experience in our bones, our power proliferates. We’re less likely to be caught off-guard, and more likely to jump into the fray in a flash.
This was the case when my knee jolted at the doctor’s office. After all, I’d been through a physical or two before.
I understood what that rubber hammer meant. I knew how it would feel when it slammed against my kneecap. And I wasn’t inclined to sit around and let it happen again.
It was a display of anticipation. One by design.
He’s playing 4D chess.
We’ve heard a phrase like this plenty before. Often when a master tactician, such as a military leader or a football coach, takes strategic execution to another level.
The implication is that these masterminds have unique ability. They’re able to think several steps ahead and process dozens of hypotheticals in real time.
In other words, they have uncanny senses of anticipation.
How did this come about? Were these hallowed leaders born this way?
No. In their earliest days, these feted geniuses were just as feeble as the rest of us.
But as they grew up, their paths began to diverge from ours.
They put their minds to the test, time and again. They paid meticulous attention to detail. And they set themselves up to seize opportunities before they happened.
Make no mistake. Anticipatory dominance is built, not bequeathed. It’s forged with tools available to all of us.
I don’t believe enough of us realize this fact. I sure didn’t.
For years, I drifted through the roaring rapids of reality. I was never quite prepared for the jagged rocks, the dips and drops in my path. I would react to life after it happened.
This pattern continued into early adulthood — a time when I could least afford it.
I had just started my career as a TV news producer. It was a position built on elite anticipation and quick decisions. But I had neither in my arsenal.
The results were predictable. News broke across town late one night, and I was slow to react. My station’s coverage was subpar. The competition wiped the floor with us.
This colossal meltdown wasn’t all my fault. But it wasn’t a good look. And I took this failing hard.
I knew I couldn’t let my colleagues and my viewers down like that again. I needed to be ready for the next big story — which could break at any time.
This was the inflection point. It’s what spurred me to hone my focus, to stretch the limits of my senses, to sharpen my resolve.
It’s what taught me how to anticipate.
These days, anticipation is my most treasured attribute. I relish the opportunity to initiate the action. To remain prepared and to put myself in position for success.
It took a while to get to this point. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Several years ago, I attended a boxing match.
A headline bout hogged the marquee. But several undercard brawls led up to it.
On one of those undercards, a fighter connected on a vicious cross — his oversized glove battering the top of his opponent’s head. He followed up that blow with a hook to the jaw.
The one-two punch was too much for the other fighter to absorb. He dropped like a rock. The fight was over.
The crowd gasped in horror, stunned by the flash of brutality they’d just witnessed. But I was less stunned than perplexed.
How was the stricken fighter so unprepared for what felled him? Why did he not have his hand up to protect his face?
This was a basic tenet of self-defense that even I knew about. Yet, it had gone begging.
The lack of anticipation carried a brutal toll for this brawler. But the cost is steep for us as well.
Make no mistake. Anticipation is not a nice to have. It’s a need to have.
We cannot expect to get ahead in life by waiting for the action to reach our doorstep. Heck, we can’t even get by that way.
We need to steel ourselves for what lies ahead. To synthesize our past and predict our future. To make moves before the picture comes fully into focus.
This is hard work. It’s uncomfortable work. But it’s necessary work.
Sustainable success is within our range. Let’s prepare ourselves to grasp it.