About this quote

Our private imaginings shape how we act and what we accept as real. Treat a dream or sudden image like a piece of information: notice it, write it down, test it against what you can actually do. Ask yourself whether a recurring image calls for a small experiment. Try sketching it or talking about it with someone you trust, then decide which ones deserve your time.

When to use it

• Design meeting at work: when the team laughed at a weird feature idea, I quoted Lennon and said, 'Let's prototype it and see,' and we found a simple tweak that improved onboarding.
• Writing my thesis: I kept an odd hunch about the data, told myself, 'Maybe it's real,' and ran one more test that changed my conclusion.
• Parenting at bedtime: my kid invented a whole world and I used Lennon's line to take it seriously, asking questions that turned those stories into ways we talk about feelings.
• Recovering from a bad dream: I sketched the scene and showed it to my therapist, saying, 'This felt real to me,' and we used it to plan small steps toward better sleep.