Dear Fellow Daydreamers: A Friendly Warning from La La Land

Hi and welcome back!

Today, I want to talk to my fellow daydreamers for a minute. You know who you are.

We daydreamers have the amazing gift of imagination. If you were like me as a kid, you spent half your life off in La La Land, inventing stories, rescuing villages, or - my personal favorite - writing yourself into a fairytale.

When you looked at the swing set in your backyard, you didn’t just see a swing set. No, you saw a dense jungle where pythons and tigers roamed, and you were the brave explorer keeping them at bay with nothing but your wits and a jump rope.

Our imaginations are magical. They help us problem-solve creatively, see the humor in things, and add a sort of “high-definition” layer to life that makes it more vibrant, robust, and exciting.

But… there’s a catch.

When Daydreaming Turns into a Trap

Over the years, I’ve realized something. My daydreaming habit has gotten… well… a little too comfortable.

Don’t get me wrong - here’s nothing bad about envisioning your goals. It’s great to picture yourself achieving them, to dream about how your life will change, and to get excited for that future. Visualization is a legitimate success tool.

The trouble comes when “envisioning” turns into “thinking,” which turns into “overthinking,” which turns into… well… nothing.

I’ve talked myself out of good ideas by thinking of every possible thing that could go wrong. I’ve also gotten so wrapped up in imagining a goal that I felt like I’d already achieved it - without taking a single real-life step toward it.

Spoiler alert: Imaginary victories don’t pay bills, strengthen relationships, or help you lose 20 pounds. They just make you feel like you’ve done something when you haven’t.

Crossing the Line

Here’s my word of caution to my fellow daydreamers: beware the line between dreaming and stalling.

We want to make sure that when we think through our projects and goals, we’re actually building a plan we can execute. Because no matter how vivid the dream is, it still takes real-life steps to make it happen.

You can’t just dream your way into reality - not in this dimension, anyway. And you definitely can’t be satisfied living in the alternate dimension where you’ve already “done” the thing.

Our job is to bring the dream here. Not just visit it “over there” in La La Land and then come back to an unchanged reality.

My Recent Wake-Up Call

This hit me like a splash of cold water recently. I caught myself doing it - stalling in my head - on a couple of my own goals. And once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it.

Another coach shared this perspective with me, and it was exactly the kick in the pants I needed. So now I’m passing it along to you.

If you notice you’re living a little too much in your head about a goal, here’s my advice:

• Phone a friend. Talk through the goal with someone you trust.

• Sign up for coaching. Yes, shameless plug - but accountability works.

• Set one small, immediate action. No overthinking allowed.

So tell me: how have you gotten stuck on a goal in your head? And more importantly, how have you gotten it out of your head and into reality?

I’d love to hear your tips. And remember - bring your dreams here, to the life you’re actually living. La La Land is fun, but reality’s where the party is.