Daydreaming has always had
reputation, but now scientific research has revealed that daydreaming may actually improve your mental health and creativity. It can even help you achieve your desired goals.
Daydream a Little
Eugene Raudsepp
"Daydreaming again, Barb? You'll never amount to anything if you spend your time that way! Can't you find something useful to do?" Many youngsters have heard words like those from their parents. And until recently this hostile attitude towards daydreaming was the most common one. Daydreaming was viewed as a waste of time. Or it was considered and unhealthy escape from real life and its duties. But now some people are
taking a fresh look at daydreaming. Some think it may be a very healthy thing to do.
Attitudes towards daydreaming are changing in much the same way that attitudes towards night dreaming have changed. Once it was thought that nighttime dreams interfered with our needed rest. But then researchers tried interrupting the dreams of sleepers. They
learned that sleepers who aren't allowed to dream lost the benefits of rest. They become tense and anxious. They become
irritable. They have trouble concentrating. Their mental health is
temporarily damaged. To feel well again, they must be allowed to dream.
Now researchers are
finding that daydreaming may also be important to mental health. Daydreaming, they tell us, is a good means of relaxation. But its benefits go beyond this. A number of psychologists have conducted experiments and have reached some surprising conclusions.
Dr. Joan T. Freyberg has concluded that daydreaming contributes to
intellectual growth. It also improves concentration, attention span, and the ability to get along with others, she says. In an experiment with school children, this same researcher found that daydreaming led the children to pay more attention to detail. They had more happy feelings. They worked together better. Another researcher reported that daydreaming seemed to produce improved
self-control and
creative abilities.
But that's only part of the story. The most remarkable thing about daydreaming may be its
usefulness in shaping our future lives as we want them to be. Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser believed that much of his success was due to the
positive use of daydreaming. He maintained that "you can imagine your future." Florence Nightingale dreamed of becoming a nurse. The young Thomas Edison pictured himself as an
inventor. For these
notable achievers, it appears that their daydreams came true.
Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick believed that the way we picture ourselves is often the way we turn out. He offered this advice: "Hold a picture of yourself ... in your mind's eye, and you will be drawn toward it. Picture yourself
vividly as defeated, and that will make victory impossible. Picture yourself as
winning, and that will contribute immeasurably to success. Do not picture yourself as anything, and you will drift ......"
The experiences of some athletes seem to confirm this belief. For instance, John Uelses, a former pole-vaulting champion, used daydreaming techniques before each meet. He would imagine himself
winning. He would
vividly picture himself
clearing the bar at a certain height. He would go over all the details in his mind. He would picture the stadium and the crowds. He'd even imagine the smell of the grass and the earth. He said that this exercise of the imagination left memory traces in his mind that would later help his actual performance.
Why would a mental vision of success help produce real success? Dr. Maxwel Maltz, a
surgeon and author, say this: "Your nervous system cannot tell the difference between an imagined experience and real experience. In either case it reacts
automatically to information that you give it ...... It reacts appropriately to what you think or imagine to be true."
He believes that purposeful daydreaming builds new "memories" in the brain. These
positive memories improve a person's self-image. And self-image has an important effect on a person's action and accomplishments.
Can you use purposeful daydreaming to shape your own future? Why not try? Here is how those who believe in
creative daydreaming recommend going about it. Choose a time when you can be alone and
undisturbed. Close your eyes, to permit your imagination to soar more freely. Many people find that they get best results by pretending that they are sitting before a large screen. They project the desired image of themselves onto that screen.
Now picture yourself -- as
vividly as possible --the way you want to be. Remember to picture your desired goals as if you had already attained them. Go over all the details of this picture. See them clearly and sharply. Impress them strongly on your memory. The resulting memory traces will supposedly start affecting your
everyday life. They will help lead you to the
attainment to your goals.
Of course daydreaming is no substitute for hard work. If it's
athletic achievement you want, you also have to get lots of practice in your sport. You have to work hard to develop skills. If it's school success you're after, you can't neglect studying Daydreaming alone can't turn you into your heart's desire. But in combination with the more usual methods of self-development, it might make a
critical difference. It could be the difference between becoming merely good at something and becoming a champion.
If what researchers are
saying is true, a life lived without fantasies and daydreams isn't as rich and rewarding as life can be. So they suggest
setting aside a few minutes each day for daydreaming. By so doing, you may improve your physical and mental
well-being. By
taking a ten-or fifteen-minute "vacation" into the realm of imagination each day, you may add much to the excitement and
enjoyment of your life. And who knows: You might see your own daydreams come true.
关键字:
英语万花筒生词表: