Floored by fakes.

On two occasions over the past six months, I threw myself out of bed while sleeping. The result in both cases was the same: me abruptly falling to the floor, my head bouncing off the end table on my way down. 

My first fall happened when I threw a right hook to fend off an attacker; the second time was me jumping away from a snake that was lunging at me. (Feel free to share your dream analyses if that’s your thing.) In both cases, I had a real-life physical response to an imagined threat. 

While the explanation is straightforward - I was dreaming - these falls got me thinking about how many of our responses in waking life are based on imagined, incorrect, or insignificant information. 

Advertisers, social media, politicians, and pundits are all working hard to shape our perception of reality. It’s up to each of us to regularly refocus on our own truths and priorities. That’s the best way to ensure that we’re seeing the world clearly and not reacting to imaginary attackers or snakes! 

By the way, I now sleep in the middle of the bed.

UPDATE: My recent appearance on the No More Bad Events podcast, hosted by Scott Bloom, has been climbing the charts and is now the 2nd most popular episode in the podcast’s year-long history (and closing in on #1). I hope you can check it out!