You’ve probably found yourself daydreaming at some point recently, with thoughts like “what if I dropped everything and moved to Hawaii?” or “what if quit my job and opened a café instead?” For me this is a weekly habit.
For a while I tried to stay away from this, as I saw it as a waste of time. I was well immersed in the area of personal growth, and had learned that to accomplish shit, you have to take action. Dreaming about success won’t get you anywhere in life… right?
After coming across Derek Sivers’ blog post on “Possible Futures” (opens in new tab), I decided to let go of my negative perspective, and started embracing my daydreaming sessions instead. I created a document on my computer where I wrote all my dreams down, just as Derek had done, and didn’t think much else of it.
While I didn’t notice it at the time, looking back at it now, I can clearly see the effect it had on my overall look on life. By no longer suppressing my dreams and hopes for the future, my belief in the possibility of fulfilling them increased. I now felt more inspired to put in the actual work required to accomplish these visions.
Feeling good for success
In his book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Scott Adams talks about how the success of your actions is determined by your attitude, and if you feel good, you’ll have a better chance of achieving your aspirations. This sought after feeling is similar to the one you experience after getting back from an intense workout, that many of you can probably relate to; a sudden positive and energizing outlook on life.
Daydreaming sort of works in the same way. By imagining a better future—because that’s often what daydreams consist of—you introduce happy and exciting thoughts into your everyday life. And don’t let the probability of you actually achieving those dreams concern you, because you never know what the future holds.
Don’t let reality control your imagination. Let your imagination be the user interface to steer your reality. — Scott Adams
This new level of optimism will in turn boost your energy levels, which I’ve found to be a key factor in staying productive. While it may not be the one method to completely change your life, embracing daydreaming can certainly help you along the way. Watching the occasional motivational video on YouTube can also have the same effect, but like everything else in life, keep it within moderation.
Like most people, I have a long list of things that I would like to do before my time is up, and I believe that ambition should be encouraged, not neglected. Allowing yourself to practice this act of creative imagination can only be for the better.
But I don’t know, maybe I’m just dreaming…