Have you ever had what I call a “Fairy Tale” dream? One in which everything seems more surreal than usual. Things are bright and sunny, pretty and larger than life. If you had to describe it, you would probably use the words “like a fairy tale.”

In these dreams, you may or may not be a prince or princess and there isn’t always a castle and moat! Yet there’s something distinctively “fairy tale” about the dreams.

So exactly what do these “fairy tale” dreams mean? In a word: ESCAPE.  That’s not to say you want to escape your life altogether but, make no mistake about it, there’s some element of your life or a particular date on your appointment calendar that you do want to escape from.

Oddly enough, the people who have this sort of escapism dream are the ones who are going along, acting as though everything is great, and coming off as though they haven’t a care in the world.  The girl with a school assignment that she’s sweating bullets over acts as though it’s a breezy cake walk.  Because she’s in such denial, the stress builds up.  She’s a perfect candidate for an escapism dream such as fairy tale dreams.

The man who refuses to face his relationship problems, trying to cover them up any way he can is another candidate.

Sometimes just admitting that we aren’t perfect and that we have worries and insecurities can free us up to find solutions.  Whether the solution is studying harder, preparing more, or talking things out with a loved one – the solution is always a HEAD ON approach and never a HIDE FROM approach.

If you’ve had a fairy tale dream recently, ask yourself what you could possibly be trying to escape from. It could be any of the following types of situations:

• an upcoming test
• a dental appointment
• meeting someone in particular
• work evaluation
• a project at work or school
• a confrontation
• vacation
• an interview
• etc!

Meet your fear and reservations head on – admit them, then prepare for them.  Create your own fairy tale ending.