Do you miss daydreaming like you did as a child?
Researchers from the University of Florida and Harvard made some interesting discoveries while testing people’s capacity to have a pleasant experience daydreaming.
Erin Westgate, Ph.D, ran a series of tests to find out why adults seemed to have a harder time daydreaming in the same way as children, for pleasure.
Test subjects who were told to think ‘meaningful thoughts’ said it was less enjoyable than ‘unguided thoughts’, because when given an open slate most adults think about ‘heavy’ topics.
But when they were given prompts to think about ‘fun things’ it was discovered people were much more satisfied with the result.
So, the key to being able to daydream like those happy children is to focus on things that make you happy, a childhood memory, hopes for the future, anything fun, and avoid thoughts that bring you stress.
Some tips:
- Trust that it’s possible to have a good experience if you prime your brain with topics you’ll find pleasant
- Don’t confuse planning things with thinking for pleasure
- Choose the right time to try
