The Art Of Daydreaming
You know what's great about daydreaming? It's sometimes the only time you can really escape from the monotony of everyday life. You don't have to worry about anyone or anything, you can just go wherever your thoughts lead you and let them take over.
Think of it as a meditation — when done right, it'll offer relief from both anxiety and stress and help your mind focus on more positive aspects of yourself and your life! So take a break, relax in front of a movie or show, watch the trees sway while taking a walk outside, listen to some relaxing music...
If you're not careful, your mind can even get caught up in outer space. Sure, it can be nice to imagine anything and everything — but the key is to remember when your daydreaming turns into an obsession.
"Obsession?" you say. "I'm the farthest thing from obsessed."
How could you think of yourself as obsessed? After all, daydreaming is a natural way to relax and rejuvenate — not a strange urge that you have to suppress or go against! You have no reason or excuse to treat it like such! Relax, take off your shoes...
The first step in dealing with this kind of problem is acknowledging that there's something that needs fixing.
"So what?" you ask. "I just want a break from the real world, so I can think about stuff that interests me."
It's true — you don't have to be a crazy obsessive about it. There's no need to dive deep into your psyche and attempt to analyze your thoughts. But even if you're willing to let things slide, it's still important to figure out why you have this problem in the first place.
You may already have a clue — perhaps you feel like daydreaming is starting to take over your life. Maybe it's more than just a bad habit that makes you waste time, and the only way to break the cycle is to confront it.
"Forget it," you say. "I don't need to know."
Maybe not, but think of it this way: When you start treating something as normal and natural as meditation, then you'll find yourself naturally picking up on your thoughts from a deeper level than ever before. Eventually, they become less obvious or intrusive — until one day when you look back and realize how much worse things were without even realizing it!
"Okay," you concede. "Maybe I do have a slight obsession... But I've been trying to break it for years and nothing has worked."
While it's true that worrying about daydreaming only makes the problem worse, dwelling on it won't necessarily help you overcome the problem, either. The trick is to understand what causes this bad habit so you can stop doing it and move on with your life.
As you sit there reading this, what are some other things that come to mind?
Maybe you're trying too hard to control your thoughts or emotions and being way too strict with yourself. Maybe you secretly harbor resentment towards somebody else and need to relax more. Or maybe you never really learned how to meditate in the first place and daydreaming is your way of trying to escape being alone with your thoughts...
"Wouldn't it be great if I could just meditate on my own terms?" you ask.
Great — because after all, the whole point of daydreaming is to help you relax and clear your mind by focusing on what really matters to you. Sure, there are times when it's okay to let your imagination get away from you and wonder about things that don't matter — but most of the time, that's not how it works.
If we look at this from every possible angle, eventually we'll see a pattern emerge. All we need to do is keep looking.
Even if you're not looking for one, it's possible that the answer is right in front of you — but maybe you're just not aware of its existence yet. After all, when a problem has been festering in your mind for so long and has grown so big that it's impossible to ignore any longer... Well, then it might be time for something drastic.
"That sounds pretty drastic," you say. "And I don't want to go outside my boundaries like that. I'm comfortable with my life."
It's nothing to be afraid of. In fact, the truth is that you already have what you need to fix this problem — and it's not even as scary or difficult as you might think. As long as you're willing to understand what daydreaming really is, it shouldn't take much longer for it all to start making sense.
"Why should I throw away all of my progress?" you ask. "I should just keep trying. I can be more accurate and precise with my daydreaming if I just try more."
That's a great idea! Once you have a better understanding of the underlying reasons behind your bad habit, it'll become much easier to keep it under control. It's like playing a jigsaw puzzle — after putting all of the pieces together, you'll be able to put the puzzle back together in any form that you want to. And when your daydreaming is different or better than ever before... Well, there's nothing else you need to do!
All you need to do is relax and focus on what really matters — which sounds nice right now...
["Oooohhh... I'm so relaxed, I can't believe it..."]
["Aaaaahhh... I'm so happy, this is heaven..."]
["I feel like a freaking rockstar," you say. "I didn't even know this was possible."]
["You're the best, baby," she says. "Thanks for spending time with me."]
["You're my everything," you say. "I love you, sweetie."]
["Oh, my God, you're really amazing," she says. "Thanks for helping me."]
"This is better than any kind of fantasy," you say. "I could never have imagined this."
Sitting there in the library with a smile on your face... Well, maybe it's time to go out and enjoy life in the real world again.
No matter how bad things get within your mind, it'll always end up working in your favor if you use it as motivation to stop daydreaming. After all, if that's how well it works...
Conclusion
This story takes place in a futuristic world where people have access to computers that can control their thoughts. I know that someone might think "Well, of course that's possible, but I've never seen anybody do it successfully...?" But my point is that this particular technique was based on real-life experiences and observations — not some magical power or super-spiritual ability.
That's why I chose to write it as a story with a fictional backstory and make it seem like there was nobody around who could help you do the same...
But there are plenty of modern-day coaches, therapists and hypnotherapists who can help you deal with your daydreaming.
Tags:
The Art Of Daydreaming