Our best thinking happens when our mind wanders. A wandering mind is our brain’s default mode and left to its own devices, it may go to the beach if it isn’t focused on work.
A neurological study from 2009 found that half of our thoughts are daydreams and when our mind drifts away from the task at hand, it may be wandering towards a solution for an unresolved problem. Sometimes we are so overwhelmed by a problem that we don’t dare to consciously think about it, but when we are tired and half asleep or bored by a report we have to work through, our mind wanders towards that intimidating mental challenge and with that, we unthinkingly execute our best thinking.
Sure, a wandering mind can impair our focus on the task at hand, but the time our brain spends on tackling tough challenges definitely makes up for the reduced productivity. Think of daydreaming as an incubator for the mind because when we are hyper focused, more often than not our ability to come to an ‘Aha’ moment is reduced. However, when we daydream, we shut off our internal censor and we reach our highest level of creative, original thinking.
Science is now on board that daydreaming is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to increasing imagination and creativity and comes with a myriad of other bonus benefits. Here are our TOP 10 reasons why you should embrace daydreaming and a wandering mind.
#1 Boost Creativity
For a long time, daydreaming has been linked to creative insight and many works of art have been born out of an artist’s daydream, but how does a wandering mind make us more creative? According to the latest research mind wandering activates the parts of our brain that are associated with creativity, so daydreaming is like an incubation period, in which your mind can figure out its creative process.
#2 Sharpen Your Mind
We all know that being a strong critical thinker and knowing how to make a sound judgment call, think rationally and know how to analyze information is very important to succeed in life, but did you know that one of the best ways to improve your logical side is to let your imagination run wild? Studies found that the area of our brain that is associated with solving complex problems is activated when we let our mind wander. While we daydream, our thoughts have the time to process information in the back of our minds and with that give a boost to our brain to generate innovative ideas and solutions.
#3 Hone Your Intuition
Did it ever happen to you that your best ideas and solutions come to you when you are not thinking about a certain problem, but simply enjoy a relaxing shower? The truth is, there is no magic trick to this. Those seemingly sudden flashes of insight are really the end result of our brain’s long mental process and even if we are not consciously thinking about the situation, our brain is still working in the background. When we let our mind wander and daydream, those spontaneous insights or ‘Aha’ moments are much more likely because it encourages our brain to engage in the same mental process.
#4 Discover Your True Self
The answer to discovering who you really are may lie in your daydreams. Struggling to be authentic happens to the best of us as we all want to be loved and respected and fit in, whether that’s with our personal social circle or society at large. And whenever we try to fit in, we lose a little bit of who we really are and what our values and beliefs are. However, letting our mind wander and daydream can help us to get back in touch with our true self and with our emotions, feelings and thoughts. When we let our mind wander in daydreams, we tap into our subconscious mind and all our hopes, dreams, ambitions, desires and deepest, darkest emotions and feelings are revealed to us. If you want to uncover who you really are and what you really want, let your wandering mind tell you.
#5 Learn Better
Whenever we receive new information and need to save it for a later point in time, we use our working memory, which is our mental capacity to retain and recall information while at the same time juggling multiple thoughts. Even though daydreaming has been known as a distraction, it actually strengthens our working memory and helps us to concentrate and at the same time improve our math and reading skills. Research found a strong correlation between working memory and daydreaming as those participants who daydreamed performed better on cognitive tests than their non-daydreaming counterparts.
#6 Improve Social Skills
Adding a little more compassion to our social skills can be something that a lot of us should work on and daydreaming can help us get there. It may seem strange that a solitary activity like daydreaming can improve our social skills, but when we let our mind wander and engineer imaginary conversations with others, we prepare ourselves for a similar situation in real life. Additionally, brain studies found evidence that there is a link between empathy and daydreaming because it helps us to consider the points of view of others.
#7 Lift Your Mood
In our daydreams we oftentimes create our ideal life or replay happy memories and with that it is quite understandable that as a result we feel a lot more positive and much happier. Just think about it, daydreams are usually very optimistic and paint a beautiful picture of the life we want to live, the partner we want to have, the job we would like to work in and the travels we are about to embark on. And all these daydreams will give a big boost to our mood and attract those things and people into our life.
#8 Reach Your Goals
Daydreams don’t just have to involve imaginary, fancy getaways or future family dreams, often times they are centered around the here and now and deeply grounded in reality and with that extremely helpful in improving our lives. Studies show that daydreams help in planning for the future. We all know that visualizing our future can help us reach our goals and daydreaming has the same effect when it is focused on upcoming important events.
#9 Face Your Fears
Fears are often times a hard thing to conquer, but daydreams may help you control them. Fact is that during daydreams we are completely safe and in control of what’s going on in our mind and with that we have the freedom to explore the things we fear the most as well as the underlying root cause behind them. Then just let your wandering mind and imagination find a solution. This won’t just magically happen after one daydream, but over time, you will be become a lot more confident that overcoming your fears is attainable and you will develop the strength in real life to face them.
#10 Be Healthier
Studies show that daydreaming is similar to a low-level self hypnosis and with that you may experience a lot less stress, which translates into a physiologically healthier you. Daydreaming also works as a preventative measure to avoid higher levels of stress in the future. For example you have a stressful presentation at work coming up. Don’t let your nerves get the better of you, but use your wandering mind in daydreams to visualize the best possible outcome and you acing that presentation with flying colors. Besides a healthier body due to reduced stress levels, daydreaming is also associated with a healthier brain and can help us to sleep better.
Research shows that daydreaming is the key to achieving our goals and in order to connect the dots in a new way to solve a problem, our brain needs to wander. Allowing our mind to run free and daydream on a regular basis increases our odds of succeeding in life and will bring about more original ideas and innovations you haven’t even thought possible before.
DAYDREAMERS CAN BE SUPERACHIEVERS
Joschi & Monika
#BoldNaked