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Friday, December 5, 2008 at 11:38 am
Tags: Anxiety, BlackBerry, Business Life, Cell phones, bingstuff, electronic communications, nightmares
I was in a strange room, having slept there because I could not find my way home. I thought maybe I had had too much to drink the night before and fallen asleep on an alien bed. When I awoke, it was bright day, and I was hyper-aware that time was a-wasting. I had a powerful sense that I needed to get in touch with the office or something terrible would happen. This is no surprise, I think. Something terrible is happening pretty much every day now, and not in dreamland, either. I got dressed and went looking for my BlackBerry and cell phone. They were both dead. I realized I was in an unfamiliar place and there might be a huge issue finding chargers for my electronic devices. I saw on a table in the living room of the place a jumble of chargers. I started looking through them. Each held promise, but when I got to the service end of it that was meant to interface with my phone or BlackBerry, it was the wrong type. I tried one. Then I tried another. None of the chargers fit. Somewhere in there somebody came to the door of the apartment. It was a guy from High School I haven’t seen in a long time and had no desire to see now, particularly in this desperate situation with the chargers and everything. He started to talk to me about insurance. I left him in the hall and continued looking. Finally I realized there was still a tiny bit of charge in my BlackBerry, because it was ringing. I answered it, even though I hate to use those things as a phone. They always remind me of Maxwell Smart talking to 99 with a shoe in his ear. “Hello?” I said into the dying BlackBerry. “You need help,” said a voice I didn’t recognize. “We’re all worried about you.” Then I woke up. I wonder what it means. I’m glad I told you about it, even though I don’t feel much better. In fact, I now realize that my cell phone is downstairs and it’s getting kind of late. I wonder if I charged it last night. I fear I didn’t. See you later. Bing, I’m no dream interpreter, however I pay attention to my own dreams. Especially when it seems like I’m falling off a cliff in my dream. It usually tips me off to some issue in my real life, something that needs quick attention. More often than not. In the case of your dream, it could be that we are all falling off the cliff. A strange room. All those chargers, not just one. Yet none of them fit. The high school classmate, selling insurance, at a bad time. The voice on your failing Blackberry, “You need help.” Yikes. Let’s hope that your dream is not an omen. And yet, it could be. Posted By Bill, Laurel, MD : December 5, 2008 1:30 pm
Sounds creepy…I find that the dreams that make me wake up screaming (my wife loves when I do that) start out with non-specific strangeness like your dream did…maybe its good you woke up after the Blackberry call, that sounds to me like the beginning of the cresndo into the sleeping screamers. It’s ok Stanley, we’re here for you… Posted By Robbie P, Endicott NY : December 5, 2008 2:38 pm
Bing, thanks for sharing. Posted By Counting Blessings, Dreamland, USA : December 5, 2008 2:43 pm
Hmmm…sounds familiar. The Blackberry is the economy, the wrong chargers are the bailouts, your buddy is the FDIC, and you, no offense, Henry Paulson. Have nice nightmare Bing! Posted By J.C.Martini, Reseda CA : December 5, 2008 3:40 pm
Wow are you in luck, I just remembered I have a diploma in Dream analysis, that I bought over the internet. Relax and let DR Hammond fix you up. It’s obvious, that you are under a lot of stress, that part about not knowing where you are is about your own sense of not knowing what the future holds and how to deal with it, the fear of dead batteries, is the fear of not having the energy to start over should you lose your job. The strange voice on the phone saying you need help is yourself reconizing that for all your daily bavado you are not fooling yourself, things are troubling out there and more so than you want to believe. Bottom line: take each day one day at a time, if we all knew what the future really holds, we would all be lined up on some tall building waiting to jump. Enjoy this life it’s the only one your ever gonna have. Posted By Jack Hammond Canada : December 5, 2008 3:57 pm
Mr. Bing- Mercifully, when I go to bed with a snootful I can’t remember any of my dreams in the morning. Posted By Matthew in Los Angeles : December 5, 2008 4:00 pm
“Hello?” I said into the dying Blackberry. That sounds like the opening line of the next Peter King book. Or the next winner in the “It was a dark and stormy night” competition. You know, sometimes a dream is just a dream, like a cigar is just a cigar. Then again, there is a lot of stress in the air. We just had the worst monthly job loss numbers since I started working. But at least I’m working. Let us know if you have recurring dreams about seven fat Blackberrys followed by seven thin Blackberrys. We’ve seen that one before and we know how it turns out. Keep up the good work. You’re our sanity check. Posted By Jerry, Alexandria, VA : December 5, 2008 4:07 pm
You are worrying a lot about things that you know you can not control, happened to me few times until I came to terms to the fact that I control what I control and can not control what I can not, powerful, isn’t? Early this year I lost my job, I was in the building materials industry (do I need to elaborate?). It was the first time ever in my life I had lost my job, having access to the company’s financials, I saw it coming but I had hope. The most amazing thing thing is that nothing happened, somehow my family and I survived, three months later I found another job with a good company and the lesson I learned as that there is absolutely no point in worrying about things you can not control, everything ends up working out just fine, just have faith. Posted By Isaac, Culver City Ca. : December 5, 2008 4:34 pm
Funny, I had a very erotic dream.. no nightmares, no high school friends, no batteries (well, none that I remember, toys will be toys). Maybe I’m expecting a bountiful future, I must be a glass half-full kinda guy. Cheer up, be positive, consider self-fulfilling prophecies.. “if you build it, he will come” (it – investments, he – positive returns). I’m forward thinking, 2-3 years.. today has an impact on my outlook, however it’s marginal… don’t let it get to you. Posted By Ryan, Houston, TX : December 5, 2008 5:10 pm
Your dream can possibly be that you’ve got a list of needs and checking it for priority in your daily life. The battery chargers can represent paths to fullfilment of that list of needs outstanding. The chargers don’t fit probably because your list of needs became scrambled. You’re too stressed to see accurately; in real life, you wouldn’t have those chargers and you couldn’t sleep in a strange bed. Tis’ the season to be jolly. But, being jolly costs the fruits of your labor. It could be that your anticipation of the holidays is blind siding you into getting multiple tasks out of the way so that you won’t have work hangover into your jolly time. You must not let your love of labor give way to your love of pleasure, or, vice versa. Posted By Bob Shelby Twp. Mi. : December 5, 2008 6:26 pm
Mostly I have good dreams….you know…destroying my enemies, hearing the lamenting of their women….the usual sort of stuff everybody dreams. On occasion I will dream I am 19 years old again, back in the Marine Corps, rolling with heavy military grade weapons…ah..the good old days. But nowadays, in reality, writing a really aggressive memo to upper management will have to suffice. Posted By Mike, Spokane, WA : December 5, 2008 8:35 pm
Two Words… Ambien and iGo Sweet Dreams…. Posted By Jack, Lancaster, California : December 5, 2008 10:45 pm
Haha, there’s actually people interpreting this as a real dream! Fantastic Posted By Mr. Kahn, Sweden : December 6, 2008 4:03 am
After recent nightmares I find it helps to look at my investment portfolio. The nightmare doesn’t seem so bad. Posted By Solfest, Stettler, Alberta : December 6, 2008 8:33 pm
Talking about nightmares. Hopefully we wake up after one that lasted 8 years. Now the problem is that waking up it could be even worst than the nightmare itself. Posted By JC, Los Angeles – California : December 8, 2008 1:07 am
“It was a guy from High School I haven’t seen in a long time and had no desire to see now, particularly in this desperate situation with the chargers and everything. He started to talk to me about insurance. I left him in the hall and continued looking.” Phil?? Phil Connors? It’s me Ned! Ned the head, needlenose Ned! Do you have insurance? Because if you do you could always use a little more! Am I right or am I right? Right? Right? Posted By Bill, West Chester, PA : December 12, 2008 11:59 am
Dreams or some unusual instances might cause anxiety when we think about them. One should try and relax their mind. Some other natural anxiety remedies to look into are St.John’s Wort, SAMe, L-Theanine, and Tryptophan. There’s also cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and programs like Panic Away and The Linden Method, to name a few. Hope this helps! Posted By Anthony Diclemen, USA : July 22, 2009 2:07 pm
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Stanley Bing
Stanley Bing is a Fortune columnist and best-selling author of business books noted for their wisdom as well as their sharp, slightly acrid sense of humor. He is also the only writer on business and the workplace who still puts on a suit and tie and goes to do battle with the dragons that breathe fire at corporate America every day. This blog captures what remains of his brain after it has exploded in all other directions.
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I had a dream last night. More of a nightmare, actually. I woke up trembling and very cold, even though the room itself was quite warm. I thought perhaps if I told you about it, the sense of unease I still carry with me without dissipate somewhat. 
Bing, I have those dreams as well and wake up holding my Blackberry…and I don’t have a job that is that important to my day to day business. I believe there are two reasons for such dreams…one, there is some kind of insecurity within and two, there is an urgency or job left undone the day prior…go by out and by an extra battery for your BB and cell and you should be fine. The other aspect of my diagnosis may take deeper action on your part. I’m not a doctor, but I play one on the internet.