By Barbara Hunter, Counsellor at Truest Reflections
How many times a day do we spend daydreaming? How many times a day do we wish we were elsewhere instead of where we currently were? Do you daydream? What do you daydream about?
One might argue that daydreams are a waste of time, energy wasted on pleasant thoughts we would like to achieve in the future. One might argue that daydreaming is a bad coping strategy to escape any current circumstances.
Sure, during work or completing chores, I may envision myself on a Pacific island wading in blue waters with no worries except what I will eat for dinner. Or I may see myself walking the cobble stone streets of Tuscany. Aren’t those healthy resting states of the brain? Are we not allowed to dream big in our lives? I have heard it time and time again, why would I dream big when my life is in shambles? What a great question. My answer would be why not? I’m not saying dream to the point of completely disregarding all that is going on in your present life, but if we don’t have dreams, what is our purpose in this life?
I have taught vision board and vision statement workshops and it always is interesting to me that many of us struggle with creating a vision we want to live by. A few reasons for this come to mind: we feel stuck, feel fearful of moving towards our dreams, experience guilt for wanting something else in this life, and wonder how we can make changes happen.
Our minds are a creative, resourceful place where we form new ideas and create images that inspire us. Our imagination is a powerful tool. Do you remember as a child when we used imagination to play? I can remember playing with my brother in the front yard, full of leaves and holes and garden gnomes where we would build forts for his G.I. Joes and my Barbies. We would build a city, where battles would happen and we used rock walls to defend ourselves against the squirrels and birds. We used our imaginations to make decisions for that city. Little did we know then, we were creating neuropathways to build our ability of the mind to be creative.
I bet you can see where I’m going with this now. When we create neuropathways with our imagination, we create what I call a new carpet to walk on. Our decisions, behaviours, and responses all come from beliefs, experiences, and old resources that have us pacing up and down the same carpet. When we use our imaginations, it creates a new carpet to walk on.
Wouldn’t that be fantastic, having more options where we don’t feel stuck, where new images can be embraced, and we enhance the ability of the mind to be more resourceful? What is keeping you from using your imagination to create the life you want? Should you need help in creating your neuropathway, feel free to reach out. I’d love to show you how.
For more information or to book an appointment, visit www.truestreflections.com or email truestreflections@gmail.com.
READ MORE: Truest Reflections: Trust Me