Published August 7, 2026
" We all live one life "or at least that’s what we think. But in reality, we live two lives: one in the real world, and another in our minds.
And sometimes, the one in our minds feels even more real.
Every day, we experience reality-school, people, conversations. But at the same time, we’re thinking, imagining, remembering and overthinking.
Our minds create scenarios that haven’t happened. We reply moments again and again. We imagine the future, sometimes with hope, sometimes with fear. And slowly, we start living more in our thoughts than in reality. This can be powerful, because our mind helps us reflect, learn and grow but it can also become overwhelming. We can turn small problems into big ones, we can feel emotions that come only from our thoughts, not from what’s actually happening.
That’s why it’s important to find balance. To think, but not too much. To feel, but not get lost in it. Because life is not only what happens in our minds…it’s also what happens in front of us.
So yes, we live twice-in reality and in our minds. But maybe the real challenge is not to stop thinking , however to learn when to come back to reality, because the present moment is the only place where life truly happens.
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Hello hibalyazidi! And welcome (slightly late) to YWS!
The idea about the comparison of life in reality and in our heads is quite popular and understandable to most people since we all replay scenes, imagine situations, and overthink things that have not even occurred yet.
What I enjoyed the most was that you did not portray our minds as a solely negative entity. On the contrary, you described the way that our thoughts allow us “to reflect, learn and grow,” while at the same time pointing out the fact that sometimes it may get out of control.
This line is among my favorites as far as it perfectly describes the theme of the entire essay. I like the way you concluded the essay as it once again stressed the importance of living here and now and not indulging in your thoughts.
I would suggest you to proofread some parts of your essay in terms of punctuation and spacing as, for example, you do not use any spaces when placing dashes in the text and the sentence "not to stop thinking, however to learn" does not flow naturally. All of which 4evgreen has already suggested.
I look forward to reading more of your works!
Thank you so much for the warm welcome and for reading! 🤍
I'm really glad the line about the mind feeling "even more real" resonated with you — that's exactly what I was trying to capture.
And thank you for the proofreading tips! I'll go back and fix the spacing and dashes. I appreciate you taking the time to give such thoughtful feedback. Looking forward to being part of YWS!
Hello! What a lovely little essay you have written here. I like the overall message of it, and I think you are right in what you are saying. We definitely live twice. I think I am often more in my mind than I am in the real world! I think maybe you could use some examples to highlight your argument. Is there a moment in your own life when you realised this? When have you been in your head, and how is it different from the real world in your own experience? That would really elevate the piece.
Here are just some punctuation things to fix that I picked up on:
Should be "We all live one life,"
Should be: we experience reality: school, people, conversations.
I think you meant, replay here!
Might be more emphatic to use an em dash here: To think -- but not too much. To feel -- but not get lost in it.
Should be: So yes, we live twice; in reality, and in our minds.
Should be : thinking, however . I also think you could make this ending my dramatic by cutting it into two sentences: But maybe the real challenge is not to stop thinking. Maybe the real challenge is to learn when to come back to reality;because the present moment is the only place where life truly happens.
Thank you so much for this thoughtful review! 💙
I love how you understood the message of living in both worlds. You're right about the punctuation — I'll fix those.
And that's such a good point about adding a personal example. I'll think of a moment where my mind and reality totally clashed and add it in. Thank you for helping me make this better!