The importance of daydreaming, or why mindfulness is BS
Declaring war on Headspace
Over the last 6 months, I’ve spent a fair amount of time getting my shoulders pulled from their scapula, my trachea squeezed like an underripe lime, knees and elbows jabbed into every fold of delicate muscle imaginable.
Brazilian Jiu-Jistu is referred to as the ‘Gentle Art’. I don’t know from which baseline this art appears gentle, but here I am 6 months later, returning to the mats week after week.
I’m lucky that I’m in a class with many beginners. I’m unlucky in that I get to see people with the same or less experience outpace me in learning speed. This sometimes happens in life, and it’s no more evident when a group of novices come together to learn a new skill.
This rate of learning is often chalked up to two things talent and effort. Jack is a better footballer than you because his dad was a footballer, he genetically has more bodily intelligence. The fact he spends his weekends drilling his dribbling around cones with his old man also helps. Nothing new here.
But last week my Jiu-Jitsu instructor made clear to me another variable –one that counts just as much as ability and effort
“Anything you can do outside of the dojo will help you. Watch YouTube videos, think about the movements we go through in class. In bed play through the sequences in your head before you fall asleep.”
After saying this, people in the class nodded, sharing thoughts on what they did outside the class. That’s when I realised why I wasn’t learning at their speed. I did none of this. Jiu-Jistu is something I think about with intense focus for the 4 hours or so a week that I train it. But outside of the class, I’m not giving it a moment’s thought. As soon as I leave the dojo Airpods are in, All In Pod is loaded up and my mind immediately starts wandering to my startup. To be honest, that’s the only thing my mind ever settles on.
I think at any one point in your life there is a default idea or interest your mind is going to settle on. When it’s exam season, it’s likely going to be exams, when you’re looking for a job it’s likely that, I imagine when you have a child it’s likely them. Probably some people are more or less obsessive than others, one person's mind might naturally settle on one of two or three things while for others a single idea will grip them for a time. I think as much as effort or ability the amount of space an idea takes up in your mind while it’s ‘daydreaming’ is a good indicator of how fast you're going to learn or how well you’re going to execute in a particular area.
Just think about it, look back on your life. How many of your great ideas or huge bursts of productivity came at a time when your mind obsessively wandered to a single topic? This doesn’t just apply to intellectual stuff, one year at uni I reached 8% body fat, ran at a pace I’ve never since run, and played the best rugby of my life, because that what where my mind rested. Maybe then the equation for skill looks more like
It’s not just your natural talent and the effort you put into deliberate practice, it’s the thousands of periods from a few seconds to a few minutes when your mind is playing with an idea, visualising a technique or planning the next practical steps to take.
Ok, so what? Let’s assume this is true and the amount you daydream on a topic is going to affect your skill, by nature, this isn’t something I can consciously control so what difference does it make? No, this knowledge can make a difference, but to understand it we need to look at the inversion, not the things that can make us daydream more, but those that can cause us to daydream less.
Stop viewing a lack of presence as a weakness. From childhood, we’re generally taught that not being present in the moment is a negative. If you were a kid like me who was forgetful (I still am), often doesn’t listen to the words coming out of the mouths of the people around them (I still don’t) or embodies a number of other symptoms correlated with a general lack of presence to your immediate surroundings, you’re made to feel this is something that needs to be addressed. If only you’d learn to address these problems you’d appear less rude, less disorganised. The problem with this school of thought is it doesn’t understand what correcting these issues sacrifices. If you are constantly training yourself to be ‘mindful of your surroundings’ you’re also training yourself to interrupt your stream of consciousness. Not that there is anything wrong with being present. It’s a huge advantage in many walks of life, It’s just if you are naturally a daydreaming type maybe you shouldn’t feel guilty about it, it might be a trait that one day enables you to do great things.
Stop obsessing over mindfulness. This is kind of a lead-on from the above. Mindfulness is the practice of becoming present in your surroundings. When you are walking be walking. When you are washing the dishes, be present washing the dishes. While I’m a fan of meditation I’m not sure I’m a fan of the idea of constantly being present in the moment of every single thing you do. Listen to Headspace, Waking Up or any other mindfulness app and you’ll be lectured on the benefits of going through your day with exacting attention paid to every action. I’m sure this is a benefit for mental well-being, enjoying life and more, but I’m pretty certain Einstien was not fully absorbed and present in the pendulum of the Berns Clock Tower when he theorised the theory of relativity, his mind was operating a number of abstractions removed from his present moment.
If you’re reading this newsletter you’re probably someone who doesn’t go mad for the idea of working for someone else for the rest of your life. You’re probably someone who values building something of their own highly, and someone who puts a big emphasis on freedom. I’m also willing to bet your mind is a hive of ideas and you struggle with staying present in the moment.
Don’t believe the hype mindfulness and presence are only a virtue, there are always two sides to a coin. If you’re a naturally present and focused person, sure, double down on that. But if you’re not, why try and be a square peg in a round hole?
What I’ve been reading
Been on a physics/science binge recently, a few of my favourites from the last few weeks below.
When we cease to understand the world, Benjamin Labatut. 9/10
Love this one. A blend of fiction and non-fiction documenting some of the most important discoveries in physics.
Physics and Philosophy, Werner Heisenberg 7/10
I read this in an attempt to understand quantum theory and the uncertainty principle. I didn’t understand it before reading this book, and still don’t. I think if I did I’d probably lose my mind
Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence, James Bridle
Probably the most holistic book I’ve ever read on the word ‘intelligence’. Will completely change your perspective on how you view what it means.
As always, if you enjoyed this, please forward to a friend!
WAGMI,
Tom x
I totally agree with the benefits of daydreaming, and I'll raise you one: how about the benefits of not thinking?
I have this notion that most of the time I'm either repeating thoughts or thinking about "shoulds", and that if I simply daydream (which I'm not that good at rn), or simply just feel the moment by not thinking (not talking meditation here), then novel ideas and thoughts rush in. It does happen. It's like having ideas in the shower, or while washing your hands. But if they don't rush in, that's still better than having spent that time on repeating thoughts or "shoulds"