Should You Really Keep Your Head Out Of The Clouds?
I have been told many times to get my head out of the clouds and climb back down to reality. That was easier said than done for me because my ideas and goals are always ten times bigger than my current state. The only place to fit those “bad boys” is in the clouds.
What does that phrase really mean for some people? For most, it means stop daydreaming, fantasizing, or getting distracted. I can see how daydreaming can affect you negatively if you are dodging responsibilities or procrastinating when it is time to work or study for a test. There is a time to focus and get all your tasks at hand completed even if it just takes you a bit longer to concentrate.
What is daydreaming? Daydreaming is when you get those ah-ha moments and your mind uncovers thoughts and ideas you did not realize were inside of you. It is like your mind is finally off its leash and it can roam free in a big space of free thoughts.
“My mind drifts a lot and I can’t help but ponder on my dreams!” I can relate to this comment because I have to remind myself that when I am at work I need to focus. My daydreaming moments are extremely important to me so I give myself time to freely do so. I wake up at 4:00 am and do freewriting or journaling. Freewriting allows your thoughts to flow onto the page without hesitation. A 15-minute freewriting session in the morning is good to capture your dreams and fresh ideas. If you are not a morning person, however, a 10-minute night-time session of freewriting will empty out your mind of all the day’s clutter and help you re-focus on YOUR goals.
People need time to let their thoughts float freely and get away from the restrictions and limitations imposed by reality. This is where some of the greatest ideas have come to fruition. Scientists and science fiction writers have daydreams frequently which may have seemed far-fetched a long time ago but later became life-changing innovations. Sometimes we refer to innovators as “visionaries.” I believe we have graduated the word “daydream” into the term “vision” because it sounds more adult-like. At the end of the day, people have dreams of what they would like to become. For example, they can envision themselves as a best-selling author or a billionaire and work toward those goals.
In Psychology Today an article, The Power of Daydreaming, by Amy Fries gave an example of a famous daydreamer, “Robert Goddard, the father of modern space rocketry, had a very Einsteinesque daydream as a child about a vehicle flying to Mars. This daydream was so important to him that he went to celebrate the day he had it — October 19th — the rest of his life. Though other scientists, including Wernher von Braun, greatly appreciated and used his advanced ideas, he was often scorned and ridiculed in the U.S. for what many considered his ridiculous “fantasies.” Only after his death was he given full credit for his work. Today the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland is named after him. But such is the way for many visionaries. They are ahead of their time and scorned by those who do not understand the creative mind or the creative process, daydreaming in particular.”
Without daydreams, we would not be as innovative as we are. Too many restrictions can defer great ideas. That is why some companies lose out on really good people because they do not allow them to express their ideas or concerns. Innovation has been happening for as long as we can remember. People venture out with ideas that are worth a fortune such as Thomas Edison with the tin foil phonograph. Garrett Morgan with the Three-Light Traffic Light. Bill Gates with Microsoft. Elon Musk with Tesla. I could go on and on but you get the point.
The greatest aspect of daydreaming is that it can be done anywhere. I find my creative thoughts to ease into my mind when I am driving, taking a shower, or walking the dog. Take a voice recorder with you so that you can playback your thoughts or stop and write down your ideas so you can refer back to them later. It is up to you to manage your time appropriately and not do it on the job of course, but yes it does happen there (at work) for me also.