Did you get told off at school for daydreaming in class when you were supposed to be paying attention? I did.

What classes did you daydream in? I bet, if we took a poll, we would all have different classes we daydreamed our way through. Mine, especially, were languages. It may sound funny, because I loved English, but French and German utterly defeated me. I would escape into a fantasy world of my own which was much more pleasant than German grammar and French vocabulary. It wasn’t just French and German however, it was most of the other lessons too.

Inevitably, I suppose, I was found out and had to endure a humiliating interview with the headmaster. After that, and not least because I had to sit at the front of the class, I paid attention. 

But this is more about daydreams than school.

What are your daydreams now, and how do they differ from the ones you had as a child? Did you make up elaborate stories where you were a princess or had a pony (I did), or were a pilot flying a supersonic aircraft – or even a spaceship? Do you dream now of holidays with golden sandy beaches, or the freedom of retirement, or just being healthy enough to carry out those tasks that others take for granted.

Are daydreams good for us, or not? I come down firmly on the side of good, so long as they are seen as an indulgence, like cream cakes, and they don’t take over your life. My fantasy land did take over my life when I was twelve and, if it had not been for that headmaster, I might have sacrificed my whole school career.

Terry Pratchett said, “If you trust in yourself… and believe in your dreams… and follow your star… you’ll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren’t so lazy.”

Are your daydreams of things that might be possible if you put the work in, or are they the kind of impossible fantasies which could never come true?

If the former, then do you want that dream enough to put the work in? If so, you need a plan. If it’s a castle in the clouds, then you need to treat it as – well – a treat. I love to go to sleep with my childhood fantasy still. Of course, things have changed with time, and I no longer have a magic cloak which enables me to fly!

My other daydream is a real dream, of walking the Southwest Coastal Path. That one I am prepared to put the work into. I need to increase my fitness levels and practise walking uphill. I need a plan for that and to put in the hard work to get fit enough, and then book those B&Bs along the walk, and actually go for it.

Now, that’s a daydream worth having.

I’d love to hear about your daydreams, whether possible or not.

Mary

A Moodscope member