Got Workmares? (Nightmares about work)
Workmare
(n)
- A nightmare about work.
- A fear-based dream about your place of employment, roles and responsibilities, co-workers, clients and conflicts.
Ex. I had a workmare last night about a Nerf-gun war at work where the Nerf darts were full of truth serum. When I got hit with a Nerf bullet in my back side, I told my boss he was a bosshole!
I woke up before the end of the dream but I was sure I got fired.
Many of us have had them: dreams about how you failed or will fail at work.
I still get workmares. They come, only sometimes, when I am about to speak with a group of people who don’t know me. I unintentionally focus on fear or doubt about what people think about my approach to life and leadership, ‘cuz it isn’t very mainstream. And mainstream is popular and comfortable, and predictable. And I am not. 🙂
But science reminds me that I sometimes get workmares when my Reptile brain uses its colourful imagination to create something I don’t want.
Have you ever had that happen? Have you ever noticed your mind inventing or replaying a conversation or a situation using doubtful words like: What if you…? You should have done….? Why didn’t you….?
These “what if” and “should have” conversations aren’t super helpful when you can’t rewind the clock to change the situation. But we entertain these conversations anyway leaving us wanting and wishing and hoping for things we CAN’T control. These conversations are so darn sneaky…they are a habit that we don’t even know is causing us more internal pressure and pain, taking us out of the present moment where all our control lies.
If being present isn’t a practice you choose because maybe you don’t see the value…try this one on and see if it creates pressure or pain, or if it just gives you that little dose of relief you were looking for, to get on with your day:
Smile, it’s contagious
Did you feel that? You just let your smiling muscles contract, waking up your brain’s reward system and your happy hormones are having a party. And you can invite anyone to the party, with a smile as the entrance fee.
I love this! A smile knocks me right back into the present moment, giving me the relief I need just for a moment…so I can access the brain juice I need to create the things I CAN control.
Smile. Pass it on. It’s free. It’s free-ing…
…and so worth the wrinkles.:)
With peace and ease…
Dale