Daydreaming or fantasizing about another life or lifestyle is a great way to explore other options, escape the routines of daily life, and find outlets for intense emotion. But sometimes even our daydreams get stuck in a rut.
Everything you expose yourself to in life has the potential to kickoff related daydreams. That means if you’re watching Speidi on “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here,” you may find yourself having Speidi-related daydreams or some other spinoff daydream related to grade Z reality TV.
Movies, TV, music, the news, ads, books….all are fodder for fantasy and influence consciously and subconsciously the choices we make in life. That’s why it’s good to try to trace the source of your daydreams and see if they’re really helping you move in a direction you want or are they just junk food for your brain? Don’t get me wrong—junky daydreams are fun and whatever you do—don’t feel guilty about them. But if you want to expand your daydream material, here are my top seven suggestions:
1) Improve the quality of your movie/TV viewing and reading. More provocative topics will have you thinking more creatively.
2) Try something new—listen to new music, visit an art gallery, go to a comedy club.
3) Travel—even if it’s just a local half-day trip. Travel is a great way to jump-start new daydreams.
4) If you want to be more creative in your job—sign up for trade magazines, meetings, organizations, etc. People feed off each other’s ideas.
5) Exercise. Studies show that you daydream more while moving and that the creativity burst lasts for up to 2 hours after you’ve stopped.
6) Try a fantasy camp—the choices are endless. There’s even a gladiator fantasy camp in Italy. Or volunteer at some job you’ve always dreamed about—like playing with dolphins at the Baltimore aquarium.
7) Be wary of bad news and scary movies—they will definitely spark frightening daydreams. Those have a “planning” element to them, i.e., what would I do if someone broke into my house? But getting stuck in that fantasy rut can make you paranoid.
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1 year ago
I think it's definitely true that you daydream more when you exercise. Sometimes I think it's your bodies way of motivating you through the routine. When I'm running, I often envision myself getting to the end, or achieving the results I want. It helps me push forward.
ReplyDeleteI also love the idea of trying a fantasy camp! When my best friend and I opened up a time capsule we made, we found a brochure for a camp where you work with chimps. It was always a little daydream of ours and we held onto that idea for years until we opened the box at our graduation!