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The next few days will be spent exploring the benefits of fantasy. Dr. Seuss says in the quote above that fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. Do you agree? Or do you consider fantasy a waste of valuable time? Write about your thoughts.
Fantasy has to do with complete creative play. When you fantasize, you allow yourself to ponder improbable or impractical events. It doesn’t matter if what you are thinking about is totally unrealistic. Fantasy removes all limits to your imagination.
Why would you spend your time dreaming about stuff that has no basis in reality? Well, there are lots of reasons. Fantasy gives you permission to go so far outside the box that you may come up with real-life solutions that you never considered before. Another reason is that you honestly don’t know what is realistic and what is not realistic until you give your ideas a try.
One final reason is exemplified in Dr. Seuss himself. When Dr. Seuss first tried to get his children’s books published, he was rejected by twenty-seven publishers before one of them accepted his first book. It took a long time for the rest of the world to recognize Dr. Seuss’ creative genius, but he knew his fantasy could become a reality, and he never lost hope. At the time of his death in 1991, Dr. Seuss had published over forty-four children’s books in more than fifteen differently languages. There are more than two hundred million copies of Dr. Seuss’ fantasy world floating around the world today. Fantasy became reality.
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Fantasy does not have to ever turn into reality. Think of it like an exercise bike. When you ride the bike at the gym, you don’t actually go anywhere. You stay right in front of the big TVs watching CNN or ESPN SportsCenter or whatever you choose. You don’t have to get from Point A to Point B as a result of your effort. You stay right where you are, but you have stronger legs, fewer calories in your body, and maybe a little more information on why they fired your favorite football coach when you’re finished. That half hour on the stationary bicycle doesn’t complete a journey, but it is very useful.
The same is true of fantasy. When you engage in fantasy, you are exercising your brain. You are letting your mind come up with things that no one has ever considered before. You don’t have to walk away with something at the end of the exercise. It is simply engaging your brain in a new way, so that in the future your mind will be open to greater possibilities.
Your assignment today is to fantasize. If you’re not sure how to get started, pick three unrelated objects and write them down on a piece of paper. Now create a story that uses those three objects. It should not be in any way realistic. Let your imagination go crazy. You will not be turning this exercise in to a teacher. You can even burn it when you’re finished so that no one ever uses it as evidence against you. What you get out of it is the opportunity to remove the rules and exercise your brain without any limits.
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Judith was not in the job she wanted, but she was not the least bit discouraged. She continued to show up at work and did a great job, but every time Judith had the chance she fantasized about the real career she wanted. She daydreamed about what her office would look like and what kind of clients she would have. Judith even fantasized about where she would eat lunch in the city when she was fabulously successful. She had her wardrobe, her office furniture, and her client list all picked out—in her mind.
Is Judith a silly dreamer, or is she cleverly planning her destiny? You be the judge. It might be important to get a little more information before you make that call. Judith might be a silly dreamer if she does nothing but fantasize. On the other hand, if she is backing up her fantasies with solid work in the real world to obtain her goals, then she is brilliant.
