exposure practices in which you have a pretty good idea of what is likely to happen. 
Some situations, however, are inherently unpredictable. For example, if you decide to 
ask another person out on a date, it may be impossible to know how the other person 
will respond. In these cases, you can make the situation somewhat more predictable by 
considering in advance all of the possible outcomes that could occur. For example, the 
person might accept your invitation, turn it down, or put off responding for the time 
being (for example, by not returning your call or saying, “I’m not sure, let me get back to 
you”). The person may be warm or may come across as cold or uninterested. By antici -
pating as many outcomes as possible (as well as how you might cope with each outcome), 
you will be less likely to be surprised.