Let's talk about what fantasy is. Many sincerely believe that they correctly understand the meaning of this word. But it is worth digging deeper, and it turns out that the majority did not come close to the truth.
In order to fix this, let's finally understand what fantasy is. What are they needed for? And how to cope with them?
What are fantasies?
We will not beat around the bush and immediately understand the interpretation that gives us a dictionary. According to him, fantasy is a thought process through which a person is able to imagine in his head various places and objects that do not exist in reality.
Fantasies can be created both consciously and unconsciously. And if in the first case a person is the master of his imagination, then in the second he can be completely absorbed in it. For example, some mental disorders are associated with the fact that a person completely switches from the real world to the illusory.
Imagination and fantasy: what is the difference between them?
Well, let's start with what imagination is. According to the psychological dictionary, this is the ability of the mind to model certain situations. For example, to plan the daily routine, build logical and illogical chains, restore pictures of past years, and so on. Simply put, imagination is considered to be all thought processes that are displayed in the form of images.
Then what is fantasy? These are the same images, but absolutely not related to personal experience. After all, if imagination is the manipulation of any information, then fantasy is something unreal.
Here is a simple example: the memory of a cat sitting on a tree is an imagination, while the image of a pink cat floating freely in the sky is already a fantasy. Based on this, it is safe to say that fantasies are part of the human imagination. But at the same time they obey certain laws, because of which they are distinguished as a special category.
Why do you need fantasies?
What is more important is why a person needs imagination. Why is the human subconscious creates images that simply do not exist in reality?
In order to understand this, let us turn our eyes to such a category of people as artists. Undoubtedly, many of them are realists and depict ordinary landscapes, portraits and still lifes in their paintings. But there are those whose paintings are a complete mystery, because they depict characters and figures hitherto unknown to man. And such works greatly captivate the audience, because they are able to open the door for people to an unknown space.
Moreover, fantasy is not only important for artists. The same writers, designers and musicians are not able to do without it. So this property of our brain is extremely important for people in creative professions. But now the following question arises: how to fantasize? More precisely, how to make your brain regularly come up with new images?
How to develop the ability to fantasize?
Developing creative abilities is best in childhood, as during this period the mind is most malleable for learning. But even in adulthood, you can improve your imagination skills, for this you should use the following techniques.
- Mental exercises should be performed several times a day. In this case, you need to imagine objects and places that in reality do not exist.
- The ideal way to develop your imagination is to draw. As in the previous version, you first need to focus on fictional images. For example, you can draw non-existent animals, crossing among themselves very real species.
- Another good way is to replace properties. For example, we take the remote control from the TV as a basis and come up with a number of fantastic possibilities: time management, switching emotions, teleportation, and so on.
Using these techniques, you can quickly increase your fantasy skills. And if your work is related to creativity, then such a practice will sooner or later help to achieve general recognition.