I flipped channels last night until I flipped to Wayne Dyer on PBS. You probably see Dr. Dyer on your local PBS station during a pledge drive. He tapes a lecture that PBS broadcasts then sells his tapes and books at break as a way to make money for your local PBS station.

Dr. Dyer is a self-help guru who focuses on the power of your thought. I like to watch him because he’s very calm. And, he seems to know that I can do it, especially when I’m thinking: I’m not so sure I can. I’ve read one of his books, The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-Create Your World Your Way, and often remember a suggestion he offers in the book: When life’s journey seems to be changing rails, hang on for the ride.

Last night, Dr. Dyer focused on “Excuses Begone,” one of his latest books. During his lecture, he offered this suggestion:

Before falling to sleep, let your imagination go, landing on what you want in life. In your imagination, for instance, you have the help you want, the love you want, the money you want, the resources you want. Be in your imagination just as it may really be in your life. Enjoy the life your imagination provides. (Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo and I spoke about the power of visualizations during an April episode of Your Caregiving Journey. You can read more here and listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post.)

He suggested we do this because, he says, we often do the opposite. As we fall asleep, our thoughts focus on the difficult moments of the day (or of our life): The hurtful words said to us, the lack of appreciation given to us, the lack of opportunities presented to us.

If we fall asleep with thoughts of what’s wrong in our life, our mind focuses on that and then takes hold of that. More of what’s wrong occurs, which we focus on before we sleep, which increases our belief that our life is just wrong.

Oh, my! Over the past few months, my thoughts, as I fall asleep, fall to the difficult moments I’ve experienced. Over the past few months, it all just seems to be getting so hard. And, I mean all.

So, last night, I let my imagination go. Then, I said my three “I’m grateful for” and fell asleep. It was a much better way to spend my last five minutes of the day.

So much of our time during the day seems to be controlled by responsibilities, tasks and others’ needs. The last few moments of our day can be ours. Isn’t it nice to know we can use them to make tomorrow better?

Program Note: Your Caregiving Journey airs today at Noon CT (1 p.m. ET, 10 a.m. PT). Cindy Laverty, a former family caregiver, tells how her caregiving experience became the inspiration for a caregiving business. You can listen to the live show (and download the podcast for later listening) here.

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