Growing up, my dreams kept me going. The dream of finally one day escaping that horrible shit town, the gossip, the not fitting in, the shame, the lack safe places – you bet. But also the dream of a future filled with a few possibilities and a couple of pretty mad things I just knew were going to happen, however ridiculously far-fetched and logic-defying they may have been.

Interestingly enough, it was the particularly mad ones that took up most of my time – I suppose because they were so far from my own reality that they didn’t feel tainted, somehow – and they’ve been the ones to actually come true once I did get out of that place.

Don’t worry, today’s post will be short and sweet (?), because I’ve realised I’m meant to be on holiday this week – might as well give you lot a little time off from the usual doom spirals as well.

Regardless. I think it’s time I put the same amount of passion, overthinking and incessant manifestation I leant to those “impossible” scenarios to some hopes and dreams that would vastly improve my existence if they came to be. Not unlike last week’s post, this is a bit of a mindset change situation. But the 6am sunset I witnessed this morning lit a spark. Perhaps I’m ready now, to let the good things in.

If we’re to say that, in general and within reason, hopes and dreams (the daydreaming kind) are good for us, not many research articles will disprove that claim. I didn’t find many anyway, but I didn’t dig very deep. Click here if you want to read about how hope “kills your chance of happiness”.

What I did find to support my own theory, though, were a few interesting pieces on the matter. This editorial on the psychology of hope is one of them. This is a quote from said article: “[sic] hope seems to act as a catalyst in transforming negative experiences into growth opportunities“.

Forbes published some findings about the psychological basis of hope in this 2021 article, where you can learn more about hope theory and positive psychology (essentially, hope=motivation), as well as the detrimental effects of hopelessness.

What I gather from what I’ve found, it’s safe to say that hope can get us through the bad stuff in life. However, you’ll need to use your hope to map out a route towards your goal(s), starting with a clear indication of what it is you’d like to achieve. Otherwise, it’d be a bit like hoping to win the lottery and not buying a ticket.

Yes, I saw that episode of My Lottery Dream Home as well, where somebody won because they found a ticket and/or a scratcher, but I don’t want to go into fate/luck/karma blah, blah, blah. Love the show, though!

I feel as if there’s some stigma attached to both hopes and dreams, but I’d like to change that for myself. The shame attached to my daydreaming is someone else’s and not my own. Like in Field of Dreams, or better yet, Wayne’s World II, or the first one (at 9:17 ish);

if I build it, it (or, I, hah) will come. Hope will be my tool.

I hope to see you next Tuesday. Until then, here’s a lyric from a song by a band of my favourite dreamers (link to full song in the YouTube video below):

“When sadness fills my days,

It’s time to turn away

And let tomorrow’s dreams

Become reality to me”

B. Ward, G. Butler, T. Iommi, O. Osbourne, 1972