Not thinking clearly once lucid

Hello all :) I have recently regained interest in dreams and the world of lucid dreaming. In the week back I've had four LDs, which I'm very happy about, but there's something that is bothering me a bit.

I am not thinking clearly. As soon as I go lucid, despite me telling myself during the day not to, I pretty much run off and do whatever instantly comes to mind, ignoring stabilizing and my dream goals. These dreams are still cool, but I'd like advice on how I can get myself to slow down and think before I start flailing about.

Thanks!

I have this problem as well. I will realize that I'm dreaming and quickly take advantage of that freedom, which usually leads to me flying to a more interesting place. Usually I get so caught up in observing everything that the dream ends early. However, I have one method of controlling the situation when this happens. If I am near a coarsely textured object such as a tree or the wall of a house, I run my hands across its surface while continuing with what I was doing. This helps me to better integrate the dream and it brings into play sensory awareness. However, this technique seems only to stabilize the dream for a short time, and is more like a last effort for me.

Another thing that helps me stay with the dream is to stop for a moment as soon as I become lucid, take in the scenery, and observe my behavior before becoming lucid (what was I thinking about, how was I acting) . If I continue to play along with the dream and act similarly to how I acted before becoming lucid, the dream will not fade - unfortunately it then becomes harder to not get carried away and lose awareness.

My problem isn't that my dreams end quickly, it's more that I don't seem to stop and think. These are however good ideas for stabilizing that I will keep in mind.

hmmm, I'm sure any type of awareness / attention focusing exercises would help you specifically with this problem.

If any time during the day I feel a strong emotion or strong random desire to do something, I try to take a deep breath, ground myself, and then focus my awareness to what is at hand. I try to observe these emotions instead of being attached to them.

I've found it helps me when I become lucid..... instead of immediately running off in my new, crazy lucid excitement, I can calmly take a deep breath and just FEEL this extreme emotion, instead of becoming consumed by it

This post summarizes my entire LD "Career".

Why not take the time and tell yourself your name, when and where you were born and your address?
This should work nicely for clearing up.
Next step then - what did I do the previous day and what are my plans for the dream?

It's on my to do list for trying out, but I guess it would work quite well in order to come to grips with one's situation.

I have a similar problem. Whenever I become lucid in a dream the first thing I do is wake myself up. This has been true for almost every single lucid dream I've had. The last lucid dream, I realized I was dreaming and then to prove that I was I woke myself up ( xD ), like a reality check. It's almost become something like an instinct whenever I become lucid; It's pretty frustrating.