> Basically the idea is that your brain has a hard time telling the difference between the fantasy and reality

When it's "fantasy" the experience of reward "sucks out the energy and drive".

I'm referring to there being a difference between fantasy/daydream and mental visualization as the deliberate construction of detailed mental imagery of a desired performance or outcome [0] When you do it while lost in fantasy it's not deliberate, but when it's an intentional process it becomes beneficial.

The brain having a hard time telling the difference between real and imagined is neutral, the how and intention behind that imagined activation tells if the outcome is positive or depleting

[0] https://www.simplypsychology.com/articles/visualization-tech...