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| "Daydreaming" (1890) by Eugene de Blaas |
Click here to learn more about one of those studies, which also suggests that daydreaming (defined as thinking about something other than what is going on around them) leads to unhappiness.
Do you think of yourself as someone who daydreams more than the average person or someone who daydreams less that the average person? Have you ever made a conscious effort not to daydream? To focus on the task at hand without letting your mind wander? Have you found it to be challenging?
I suppose I would have to consider myself as a person who daydreams more than the average person. Throughout my day, whether I'm hard at work or just relaxing with friends, I find myself daydreaming about work that needs to be done or about conversations that have long since passed. Could that possibly be a bad thing? In the study that you can link to above, scientists tested the impact that daydreams can have on people. They discovered that daydreams can lead to unhappiness. Does this mean that I should put a conscious effort into controlling my daydreams?
ReplyDeleteI also think that I am someone who's mind wanders a bit more than average. I'm basically having internal conversations and inventing new situations 24/7 in my head. Reading the article however has made me realize that many of the things I think about cause me a great deal of stress. Though I like to pride myself at looking at a situation from all angles, most of those angles are negative. What if I'm late? What if my boss fires me? What if I speed and get pulled over? I have tried several times to 'live in the moment', and I find it very difficult. I find myself stuck most often in the past, which I find very negative. I have tried skipping the present and thinking about the future in a positive light, but that doesn't help either. I don't think there is a way to actually control your day dreams, but perhaps there may be a way to regulate happier thoughts (past vs. future)?
ReplyDeleteI think the idea of controlling the positive vs the negative could be how you see the future. Do you see the future as a challenge to be overcome? Or do you see the future as a dreadful place where only the bad can happen? I think we often don't want to imagine the happy far-off dreams coming true because we are afraid if we do, they won't happen. But perhaps if we see the future as a challenge where we could end up better than we started (perhaps not as much as we wanted, but maybe to varying degrees) we may learn to enjoy the present challenges and the small wins that build into that future goal. We can learn to dream short term and build up the positive dreams and the positive mind set that way.
DeleteAnd Miranda, "what if I'm late?" Don't you have enough experience to be able to say oh this will happen :-P
I try to see the future as positive challenge. I do have many problems fearing that if I think to many 'happy thoughts' it will only hurt me later, but sometimes it's better to try to think positive than to keep the negative thoughts of the past.
DeleteAnd I'm not ALWAYS late! :P
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DeleteI am an avid daydreamer. I can't really say that my daydreaming has ever brought about a one-sided effect (positive or negative), because it really just depends on the atmosphere I'm surrounded by. If I'm having a very stressful day, or if I was forced to watch a horror movie, my daydreams are going to carry a negative energy. On the other hand, if I'm enjoying my day, my daydreams carry a very positive weight. At times, I have tried to focus 100% on the task at hand, but my efforts have always been in vain because eventually my mind wanders off somewhere else. I do not mind, though. Some of my best ideas come from my daydreams.
Delete-Sidney Lewis
I find myself daydreaming frequently, usually about upcoming events or places I hope to be someday. Personally, daydreaming helps me escape from a challenging situation, and puts my mind at ease momentarily before returning back to whatever it was that I was doing before. Although daydreaming gives me a temporary break from a challenging or strenuous task, it does decrease the productivity of that task, and I have to try to force myself to stop daydreaming and shift my focus back to reality. However, I think that a wandering mind is often a good thing, as long as it is positive and controlled, because during a daydream you are able to momentarily break free from what may be a harsh reality.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am tempted to say I daydream more than the average person, that statement would probably be false, especially considering the staggering daily average for daydreams. I daydream all the time, just like almost everyone else on this planet. In fact, I glanced at my thumb while typing the previous sentence and fantasized about getting a manicure, and somehow I ended up checking Ebay to see if the game I bought has shipped yet (it has!). Up until now, I had never consciously made an effort not to daydream. Similar to how pointing out that we breathe usually has us consciously inhaling and exhaling for at least a few seconds afterward, this has me noticing just how often my mind wanders. This question, along with those succeeding, caused me to imagine myself trying (and failing) to stop daydreaming. Needless to say, quitting is easier said than done. As I lack the concentration of Eragon and Tibetan monks, I think I’ll resign myself to daydreaming, regardless of negative impact it may have.
ReplyDeleteI view myself as an individual that daydreams less than the average person. I have made attempts to keep myself from daydreaming on multiple occasions, and it has usually worked for me quite easily. I tend to focus on the task at hand.
ReplyDelete- Dillon Rea
I think I tend to daydream way more than the average person. I like to notice my surroundings and think of any random scenarios whether they be scary, funny, or romantic. It is entertaining in a way to think to yourself and imagine anything you want and developing a whole new fantasy with your mind. I have not although tried to restrain from daydreaming. To me it is like a natural instinct to sit down and wonder about just anything you can think of. It is addicting in a way to think of the past events and wished they could stay the same or change, or the future where absolutely anything is possible. There is an infinite loop of sequences that can take place and it is easier to just let your mind wonder because it is just a natural quality we all possess and should make it known. So why bother trying to restrain it? All you’d be doing is holding yourself back to be creative and imaginative.
ReplyDelete-Sutida Hanratanagorn
I have found that some of my best thinking takes place when I allow my mind to wander. That old adage about having your best ideas in the shower rings true in my case. I’ve found that the more I attempt to concentrate on certain tasks the more tempted I am to day dream. While I’ve never endeavored to count the number of daydreams I have a day, I’d estimate that I day dream an average amount. Composing this one post, for example, I’ve noticed myself drifting off into my thoughts over ten times.
ReplyDeleteI think I day dream just as often as every other human being on the planet, which is quite often. I’m glad to know that it is completely normal to daydream often, and I have learned that from this book. Sometimes my day dreams help me get through actual reality whether it’s a stressful day at work, or an uncomfortable confrontation. I have definitely made a conscious effort not to daydream before, and it’s often when I’m in class. I’ll catch myself playing out situations in my mind of different things I’ll be doing the rest of the day. Usually when I’m very tired it’s hard to maintain focus on the task at hand, but otherwise I can usually snap out of my day dream pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say I daydream much less than the average person. When my mind 'wonders', it usually does so to a very unhappy place. Therefore, I spend most of my waking hours trying to keep my mind from wondering, constantly changing tasks to keep my mind focused. And yes, it is very challenging to do so because it is so easy for me to just let my guard down and for my mind to go scurrying off to the newest daydream of how to confront past things, how I should have done this or that differently, and all the outcomes that are possible due to my choices (I can be quite the pessimist when left to my own thoughts).
ReplyDelete-Maranda Clymer
I used to be a fairly focused person, but lately I have caught myself daydreaming more and more. The theme can be vary blissful, or very depressing. Sometimes I start to focus on something and one little detail, like the flowers on the woman's dress in the painting above, will remind me of a flower my boyfriend picked for me, or how my first painting of a flower was, I'll just say, not my best work. I have also discovered ways to better control my daydreams. Not the quantity, but the quality. Once I realize I am daydreaming, I begin to think about what I'm thinking about and try to keep it as fitting to Philippians 4:8 as possible.
ReplyDeleteAshley Houchin
I know I daydream more than the average person does. I find that if I don’t give into my wandering mind, it hinders me from being able to complete the task. But I don’t see the negative effects of daydreaming. So what if you are thinking about all the bad things that could happen? It prepares you in case it does happen. Balance is the key. Yes, daydream about how you would fight off an attacker, but also, imagine what it would be like to jump from building to building with no fear of falling. The only time I try to focus on a task, is when the task is important. Learning in the classroom, I try not to daydream; walking from class to class, I daydream the entire way there.
ReplyDelete-Lauren Tucker
I can honestly say that I day dream less than the average person. I am a very literal person and don’t usually imagine what could happen, but focus on what is happening. As I say this I think to myself “man that seems sad that I don’t really day dream often”, but I rarely find myself looking into the distance thinking of what may or may not happen. When I do happen to day dream I end up day dreaming about things that could possibly happen in the future. I can’t ever seem to day dream about if that attractive fellow who just sat in front of me would turn around, look at me, and tell me I am what he has been looking for his entire life and that he would do anything to make me happy. If I could consciously make myself day dream about stuff that would be in my benefit I would try to day dream more, but since I don’t, I can’t ever imagine an instance where I told myself to stop day dreaming.
ReplyDelete-Abigail Blose
I daydream quite often, but perhaps not more than the average person. I often daydream about the manga that I have read, about politics and ruling the world (but only occasionally), I even daydream about what I want to do in the presence of my family. Lastly, I daydream about how I want my life to be. For me it would be hard to concentrate when I could be daydreaming. I do not often attempt to prevent myself from daydreaming because my daydreams are so vivid to me. As such, I find it hard to really focus on a task once my mind has drifted away into a daydream. Even though this is true, I can prevent myself from daydreaming if I feel the situation deserves my full attention. Even so, I like my daydreams, even though they keep me distracted from time to time.
ReplyDelete-Nathaniel Starry
I definitely daydream a lot. I am constantly rehearsing things that have happened and things that will or could happen, and imagining them with all kinds of different components and outcomes. I daydream about what I want my future to look like, and all the different possibilities that holds. Sometimes I even like to make up fictional stories that I might someday like to write and publish! There are times I try not to daydream. I can do it, but usually only for a little while before my mind eventually wanders. That is definitely a challenge for me! I love reading, and I guess that has done a good job of training me to love the art of story, which makes me a really good daydreamer.
ReplyDelete--Brittany Jolly
From what I have gathered from the other comments, I wouldn’t say I daydream more than the average person. I would place myself about even with the average number of daydreams, which is to say, I daydream a lot. Although, it is hard to distinguish daydreams for normal thought. Often I’ll be pondering an idea and I’ll slowly start to drift away from my surroundings. I don’t even realize it’s happening until I snap back and realize I’ve been staring at my computer screen for at least a minute or two. Given this subconscious origin, I think that any attempt to stem the daydreams, no matter how well intended, would be futile. To be honest I don’t think I would want to. While they can be a distraction when I am trying to do repetitive tasks, my daydream world is a perfect place for troubleshooting. It’s like a big, blank room with no people to distract me or interesting objects to catch my eye. It really just depends on the job I am doing.
ReplyDeleteI think of myself as someone who daydreams much more the average person. My mind constantly wanders even in the most important times, jumping from place to place, idea to idea, and fantasy to fantasy. This is something that I have tried to control, mainly because it tends to give the impression that I am a bad listener or that I cannot pay attention for more than a little while. In some cases this is true, however learning to control it and make the effort not to do it is not an easy task, even when it’s a high desire. Like said, trying to focus on a task without letting the mind wander is not an easy task for those who have an overly active wondering mind. However it is not impossible, to focus and get a task don’t quickly and accurately. It is not always a disadvantage to have a wandering mind, sometimes things are remembered, great ideas surface and the best stories unravel.
ReplyDeleteCompare to all the commenters above, I considered myself as an average person who constantly daydream. I do daydream just like anyone else in the world. It always happened when I’m trying to complete assignments and which is what I did while typing this paragraph. I will be thinking what I will have for my lunch later, either it is the cafeteria or the exchanged meals from the university center. I wondered what kind of food they will be serving in this afternoon because I was expecting some delicious toast like what I had yesterday. However, I tend to withdraw myself from daydream after a while because this assignment has to be done by today. I will pull myself together and focus on what I am working right now. There is not any problem if I really want to concentrate on my work. After all, I can set my mind free after dealing with this for the rest of the day. That is when my mind wandered around the universe until I am up to something else again.
ReplyDelete- Jia Ying Loh