If you push guilt away and daydream about freedom from lust, you'll overcome it sooner than you think.

In this post, I want to focus on the power of daydreaming.

“We become what we think about.”
– Earl Nightingale

It’s been said that we become what we think about. If you dwell on how bad or messed up you are, you’ll stay stuck. But if you start dreaming about living without pornography and those unwanted desires—imagining it in detail—it will become your reality.

Let me explain why.

The Power of Imagination

The ceiling of who we can become depends on how far we can imagine ourselves walking it out.

One of my favorite quotes from Psycho-Cybernetics explains this:

“Both experimental and clinical psychology have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the human nervous system cannot tell the difference between an actual experience and an imagined vividly and in detail.”

From Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz

When you imagine something, your brain believes it's happening. This makes imagination incredibly powerful. You can imagine yourself completely free from pornography. The more details you add, the more real it becomes and the sooner you start walking it out.

So why spend hours feeling guilty when you could forgive yourself, decide to get away from pornography and spend all that time daydreaming about freedom? There’s no guilt or shame in that—just the path to real freedom.

We Are Tempted by Desire, and Daydreaming Increases It

Temptation comes from desire.

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. (James 1:14, ESV)

If you don’t want something, you can’t be tempted with it. And if you don’t want to desire something, you can change that desire.

You're not a victim of your desires.

The answer again is daydreaming.

When tempted by pornography, notice how many images flood your mind. No wonder it becomes harder to resist—the desire is growing. The more you daydream about something, the more you want it.

Why not flip this and use it to your advantage?

Daydream about what it’s like to be free from lust. Picture yourself going through your day without ever being drawn to open explicit websites. Imagine yourself putting all your energy into building up yourself and others. The more details you can create, the better.

Let your daydreams increase your desire for freedom until you’re tempted to live away from pornography.

Guilt Destroys Desire, but Imagining Freedom Fans the Flames

If you want to destroy a desire, guilt is the best way to do it.

However, imagining freedom stirs up the desire for change. Worry is hard to shake because we dwell on it as if it's all we can think about. Paul wrote to rejoice always and not to be anxious. He then urges believers:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8, ESV)

It's not beneficial to let your mind dwell on the negative. When we worry, Paul encourages us to think about the positive aspects. Guilt and worry only empower sin.

Daydreaming about freedom and positivity will lead you there.

Final Thoughts

I hope you will try daydreaming and see what it does for your heart.

Spend five minutes a day imagining yourself free. When temptation strikes, picture yourself free and let the joy of that freedom pull you away from the things you don’t want to do.

When you try, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do this sooner.

Thank you for taking the time to read this! It means a lot to me!

• Know someone who would benefit from this post?
  Forward it to them.

• Need someone to help you walk through this?
  Contact me at [email protected]

• Want to get more useful tips?
  Subscribe to my newsletter (it's free).

• Covenant Eyes (30 Days for Free) to help you and the ones you love live porn-free through accountability relationships. (Affiliate link)