For All Those Who Have Stopped Daydreaming!

As a child, daydreaming was one of my favorite activities. Or should I say my ‘me-time.’ I spent hours alone at my tuition classes with random thoughts wandering through my mind. I loved to think about patterns, people, and the mysteries of how things were connected. My tuition teacher believed I was by-hearting the answers.

She was little aware that half the time I would either daydream about why my parents kept me in baby-sitting cum tuition or keep checking the clock and wait for them to come and pick me up.

The other day, I read a lovely and thoughtful page from a magazine. The title said – “Letter To A Child Who Is Leaving Home” and pieces of advice to smooth your life’s journey.

I was so excited to read it that I almost pounced on it and began reading. Each point was thought-provoking and well written.

The one that had my attention was about daydreaming. The author says, “Daydreaming has been proven as fountainheads of creativity.”

This sentence gave me a sort of kick, and I quickly jotted down the next topic for my blog – “Daydreaming.”

The reason being I don’t see anyone doing this activity anymore.

Sigh.

The sheer thought behind writing this blog is to wake you up from your sweet comfy sleep, move your eyes around, and look how beautiful is the world around you.

1.Sit in the train and daydream

I remember, when I traveled to college, I carried my earphones every day and disconnected myself from the world around.

But today when I travel to the office, I made a subconscious decision(I don’t remember how and when) to keep my earphones at home when I leave the house.

And now when I look around, I feel guilty for I was also the same a few years back. To worsen the plight, now there is YouTube – the second largest search engine after Google and flowery, engaging Web series for people to hook on.

According to my daily observation, around 90 to 95 percent of women (as I travel in the ladies compartment) are busy watching videos on YouTube or their favorite daily soaps on the separate apps.

Guys, it is not a waste of time to sit on the train and daydream. When was the last time you stared out of the window and thought about your childhood, your old school friends or about your good old self?

When was the last time you just sat on the train or in your house and daydreamed (i.e., not check your phone)? It is not a waste of time to sit on the train and daydream. It is a way of letting your brain feed you ideas.

“I’m not much of a maths or science guy. I spent most of my time daydreaming in school and managed to turn it into a living,” says George Lucas,  the famous American filmmaker, and entrepreneur.

2. Don’t make your phone your comfort zone.

All the 90s kids, in India, are quite happy and proud that mobile phones weren’t as much popular as they are today until we completed our schooling.

It is but natural, now, if you’re a student to check your Insta feed when you have a few minutes. It is fine. But consciously try to set aside some time without your phone.

Instead of spending time on your mobile phones, when you’re bored with studying, why not sit alone and daydream about your future?

Do you know what happens in those hours of daydreaming? You explore associations. You make connections. The scattered dots, at last, get connected and form a path for you. You also search for possibilities and discover solutions.

‘Paradoxical though it sounds, daydreaming is what makes us organized,’ says Eric Klinger, professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota.

3. Don’t stop your children from daydreaming

The other day, we had an informative and fun conversation with our Boss, wherein I got to know about the zero-screen time suggested by the doctors for children until they’re two years old.

My Boss is blessed by twins and to keep them away from them any screen; their entire family has stopped watching Television. Neither do they use their cell phones in front of their babies.

I asked him a doubt that was always in my head, “Do doctors tell this to all the parents?”

He said, “Yes. But parents are too overwhelmed by their children’s ability to operate a smartphone that they sideline the doctor’s advice.”

I was stunned at this information. So I decided to research more on this, and I found this –

For parents concerned about their child’s screen time, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated that a couple of years ago based on recent research. Their suggestions include:

-For children under 18 months old, no screen time.
-For children 18 to 24 months old, parents should choose only high-quality media and watch it with their child.
-For children 2 to 5 years old, less than one hour per day of high-quality programming is recommended, with parents watching along. (For details read here)

Oh My God! Such a critical piece of information this was. Because when I look around, every mother is busy feeding their children with the help of their smartphones.

As a parent, sit back and think about your childhood days when you painted the walls with crayons and made the wall your canvas. Remember the mess you created all over and enjoyed every bit of it.

Don’t you want your children to enjoy the purity of their childhood? To be creative? To think out of the box and also lead a healthy life?

Well, then let them daydream. Let your children explore their thought process. Let them ask questions to you (Please don’t hand over your phone to them and get rid of the pestering). Because daydreaming is a critical aspect of creativity, self-awareness, and how we find meaning in life experiences.

According to Klinger, an Australian former first-class cricketer, ‘Daydreams help us to get the most out of our brainpower, and are an essential personal resource for coping with life.’

The benefits and pleasures of daydreaming can be endless. Encourage your child to enjoy their wandering minds!

For most children (and adults), daydreaming is not only a good thing, but it’s also essential to your creative flourishing as human beings.

4. Enjoy the reading process

Do you read a beautiful sentence, close the book in your hand, and ponder on the author’s words? Isn’t it the awesome moment while you read?

Well, that’s the thing with daydreaming. It’s beautiful.

Related Blog – The Day I Forgot To Carry My Companion Along…

I hope you liked this piece of mind about daydreaming. Did you do that activity and pondered on my blog?

If you did, well, that is a good sign.

Do let me know in the comment section below how often do you daydream and how do you feel after that activity. I would love to know.

Love,

Shradz

P.S. You can also daydream in the toilet every morning is you have no time later during the day. Unfortunately, some people carry their phone in the restrooms too.

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