Even if you don’t win, playing the lottery can give you a different sort of payoff — an emotional one. The anticipation and excitement and hope of a lottery win activate exactly the same parts of your brain that an actual win does!
Neuroscientists have been investigating the power of anticipation, and when it comes to the lottery and other cash prizes, you’ll still win big even if you don’t hit the jackpot. Think about it for a second — buying that lottery ticket kicks your imagination into gear. Whenever I buy a ticket, I spend a lot of time daydreaming about what charities I would help. I came up with this grand plan to pick a low-income apartment complex in town and donate a month’s rent for every resident. I perused the lists at Modest Needs and thought about all the people I could help. I made mental lists of friends who were planning weddings or starting families.
I haven’t ever won more than a few bucks playing the lottery, but the daydreaming makes me feel good. It’s the hope and potential and excitement — they’re just as valuable as that slim chance of winning. When the Powerball was so high a few weeks ago, I did a LOT of daydreaming.
If you don’t have the spare cash for a lottery ticket, there are other ways to get that warm fuzzy feeling of hope. Look for free sweepstakes and giveaways. Publishers Clearinghouse is free to enter, regardless of how many times they ask you to buy a magazine subscription. Valpak (the coupon mailing service) is having a $20,000 sweepstakes this month — you can enter online every day if you sign up for coupons by email. And if you don’t want the extra emails, you can still enter once.
So what would you do with twenty thousand dollars? Think about it — the power of positive thinking can do you a world of good.