It can be really hard for me to stay present. Like, really hard! My mind is prone to wander and  I could literally spend hours daydreaming and not get bored. I attribute some of this tendency to my introverted, artist brain who would rather live in fantasy and watch the clouds roll by, thinking in detail about all the vacations I want to take, the clothes I’ll wear, how I’ll feel, what art I’ll be making, and who will be with me on my adventures… than actually do anything that others would qualify as “work” or “practical” things, or “adulting”. But honestly a lot of this tendency to daydream is still due to the effects of trauma.

Daydreaming and living in fantasy land is a way that I dissociate. It’s a way that I find myself automatically zoning out in an attempt to seek pleasure. It’s a go-to when I’m tired, restless, anxious, or sick. It feels better than being overwhelmed or feeling guilty because I’ve procrastinated so much. In those moments, I’d rather dream about a beach vacation, or the next big art project, than actually take action to help me achieve that thing in reality. But, if you’ve been around here long enough, or have done any kind of therapy or coaching yourself, then you know that this dissociation ultimately doesn’t serve me very well. And it doesn’t serve you either.

Daydreaming itself can be good, to a certain extent, in the sense of helping me create a vision for the future, and visualizing my future and feeling the feelings of having already achieved those goals can help me get in the energy of who my Future Self will be. But at some point I simply have to be able to return to the present and take action. 

Today, I’m sharing all about my practice of learning to be present, along with a few other important “P” words… pause, persistence, and patience.

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