November 12, 2021

I don’t remember when it started, and maybe it’s just innate, but overthinking has simply become a part of my daily life. Of course there are days when I let it overwhelm me - in fact, some days I am frozen with the prospect of everything that could go wrong in each and every decision I do or do not make. Ah, the beautiful curse of overthinking. I think we all struggle with it to an extent, but I have realized that there is a way to transform this empty space in our head that we fill with anxiety into a more productive thought process that will lead us to our passions through daydreaming. 

I discovered the importance of making the distinction between overthinking and daydreaming in my high school freshman English class. I absolutely adored my teacher. He was always there to remind me that sometimes we should let our minds run off into our wildest daydreams. One of our projects was an analysis of the album The Suburbs by Arcade Fire. 

My teacher told us, 

“Just wait until you’re in college, this album will make sense,” 

And now, living in a time where I and everyone around me is desperately scrambling to make sense of this life we live, I know he’s right - especially when it comes to the song “Wasted Hours”.

This song lulls to a low hum as they sing: “All those wasted hours we used to know / spent the summer staring out the window / the wind it takes you where you want to go”. Each time this tune rings, a little bit of the world's weight is lifted off of my shoulders, as I am reminded of the importance and power that meandering thoughts hold as they emerge from moments of nothingness and periods of emptiness. Instead of thinking of them as a waste of time, we can “[make them] new / and [turn them] into / a life that we can live”. 

That message has stuck with me ever since I heard it for the first time - and when my anxiety heightened during the pandemic, I came to rely on it more than ever. 

When I mentioned the anxiety I was having to my mom, she sent me a Forbes article about daydreaming and letting ourselves think for pleasure instead of seeing thinking as a dangerous part of anxiety; now I was not only able to reconnect with “Wasted Hours” and its message, but really learn more about daydreaming and its benefits.

Ruminating and harboring worrying thoughts are daydreaming’s worst nightmare: daydreaming is an opportunity for us to explore meaningful and fulfilling realities that lead to improved problem solving and overall happiness without being plagued by negative thoughts. In order to distinguish between rumination and overthinking, daydreams need to be structured so that one’s imagination does not completely run away with reality. 

A productive daydream can be used to face an obstacle. Let’s say you feel stuck, as if you are being blocked in front of a figurative brick wall (I’m sure this is a feeling not so foreign to us all) Now, engage in a daydream. Climb up and over that wall. Knock the wall over. Run through it with all of your might. When you engage with a daydream like this, when you overcome a metaphorical obstacle, you feel motivated and capable. Just like that, with this meaningful daydream you created by your mind alone, you may now feel not only more comfortable, but obligated to overcome that obstacle in real life. 

So, the next time you find yourself ruminating on the negative, instead of letting this feeling consume the waking minutes of your day, stop for a second. Harness that anxiety and take a breather. Visualize yourself overcoming an obstacle or basking in the glow of your success. These hours are only wasted if you let them. The wind will lead you down your path but sometimes, our minds have to direct the winds of life in the right direction.  

Want to learn more about daydreaming? Read more here