What a Day for a Daydream
Do you beat yourself up because you daydream too much?
"Daydream, imagine, and reflect. It’s the source of infinite creativity.”
~ Deepak Chopra
I was holding a ladder for my husband. The sun was on my back, my hands were tight on the ladder; the ladder leaned precariously. The sensor light that he was trying to install was not being co-operative and it was all taking much longer than anticipated. I couldn’t check my phone, my hands were on the ladder; I couldn’t walk away, the ladder might fall; I was stuck there, unable to ‘do’ anything and had to be present to keep my husband safe. I was bored. And in this space of focused inaction, my mind drifted and I began to daydream … and suddenly I got the inspiration for a new book. The cover appeared in my mind’s eye, I heard dialogue, I felt characters. I got so excited! I wanted to run inside and take some notes … but there was still that damn ladder to hold …
I was floating on my back in the sea near my house; I was the only one on the beach. The sun was on my face and I drifted aimlessly. I had to be focused so I wouldn’t sink or float too far out, but I didn’t need to ‘do’ anything. I was in a state of focused inaction, and my mind drifted and I began to daydream … and suddenly I got the inspiration for an online workshop. The whole content just seemed to download into me. I started to shake and quake, almost as though a stingray had stung me (some do occasionally visit our beach). I jumped out of the water and ran up to my house shaking with excitement. I started telling my husband what had happened and he asked what I was going to do with this new info. I burst into tears and said, “I have no idea!” The idea had downloaded but I had no clue how to move forward with it. Creative thought and logical next steps don’t always coincide. But the creative idea had come and I had to trust that eventually all would become clear.
I was curious—was this focused inactivity a precursor to creative thought? I did some research and found that boredom and daydreaming do indeed open us up to creative thought.
“When you pay attention to boredom, it gets unbelievably interesting.”
~ Jon Kabat-Zinn
If you want to learn more about how daydreaming has been proven to be a precursor to creative thought, you can read about it in my recent article on Thrive Global. And if you want to watch a powerful video about the neuroscience of boredom and daydreaming, check out my latest blog post.
|