--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You go to work the next day pretending…" description: "\"You go to work the next day pretending nothing happened. Your co-workers ask if everything's okay and you tell them you're just tired. And you're tryin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a90/richard-siken-4133_co-worker_you-go-to-work-the-next-day-pretending-n_2398525.png" --- # You go to work the next day pretending nothing happened… ![“You go to work the next day pretending nothing happened. Your co-workers ask if everything's okay and you tell them you're just tired. And you're trying to smile. And they're trying to smile.” quote by Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a90/richard-siken-4133_co-worker_you-go-to-work-the-next-day-pretending-n_2398525.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a90/richard-siken-4133_co-worker_you-go-to-work-the-next-day-pretending-n_2398525.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a90/richard-siken-4133_co-worker_you-go-to-work-the-next-day-pretending-n_2398525.png) > “You go to work the next day pretending nothing happened. Your co-workers ask if everything's okay and you tell them you're just tired. And you're trying to smile. And they're trying to smile.” [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. After a traumatic event, the narrator pretends normalcy at work, masking pain with fatigue and forced smiles, while colleagues do the same. **In simple terms:** I hide my hurt behind a tired smile at work. Key Takeaway Acknowledge pain, seek support. Themes trauma masking social expectation Mood somber empathetic Type psychological social When to use this quote - workplace - aftermath - mental health - interpersonal Key Concepts coping emotional labor authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What would happen if I shared my true state? - How can I support others hiding pain? A Different Perspective Pretending may delay healing and strain relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smile/) [Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workers/) ## Related quotes > [I think when you're in the middle of a piece of work, there are things that bleed over into your life. You're spending a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-evans/i-think-when-you-re-in-the-middle-of-a-piece-of-work-there-are-things/) [Shaun Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-evans/) > [I just want one day to go by where I'm not pretending to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-just-want-one-day-to-go-by-where-i-m-not-pretending-to-be-happy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Reclaimed by the small-time day-to-day, pretending life is Back To Normal, wrapping herself shivering against contingency's winter in some threadbare blanket of first-quarter expenses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/reclaimed-by-the-small-time-day-to-day-pretending-life-is-back-to/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [I cant go another day pretending to be something I'm not. Im not always happy actually I'm ususlly not happy at all I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-cant-go-another-day-pretending-to-be-something-i-m-not-im-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Marlon once said to me about being an actor: Can you imagine going to work every day and pretending to be someone else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-medavoy/marlon-once-said-to-me-about-being-an-actor-can-you-imagine-going-to/) [Mike Medavoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-medavoy/) > [Im tired of pretending.im tired of trying to fit in.im so tired.can't you atless accept me as I am?the really I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/redeyeen/im-tired-of-pretending-im-tired-of-trying-to-fit-in-im-so-tired-can-t/) Redeyeen > [You are the only person with the ability to make me smile without even trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/you-are-the-only-person-with-the-ability-to-make-me-smile-without/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [How do you do that? How do you make me smile without even trying?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basedgodkam/how-do-you-do-that-how-do-you-make-me-smile-without-even-trying/) BasedGodKam > [If I'm feeling down, I'll fake smile. I'm trying to trick my brain into being happy. It might work one out of 50 times,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wall/if-i-m-feeling-down-i-ll-fake-smile-i-m-trying-to-trick-my-brain-into/) [Paul Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wall/) > [You make me smile without even trying. If I said I didnt feel anything for you, Id be lying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-make-me-smile-without-even-trying-if-i-said-i-didnt-feel-anything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love you with all my heart, I gave you my all I always did everything I could just to see a smile on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-chavez/i-love-you-with-all-my-heart-i-gave-you-my-all-i-always-did/) Wendy Chavez > [You make me smile without even trying, and if I said I didn't feel anything for you, I'd be lying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-make-me-smile-without-even-trying-and-if-i-said-i-didn-t-feel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She makes me smile without even trying!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-makes-me-smile-without-even-trying/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Trying to smile just to prevent tears from coming out when I see you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumika/trying-to-smile-just-to-prevent-tears-from-coming-out-when-i-see-you/) [Bhumika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumika/) > [“...dancing with someone who is causing you pain is a bit like trying to smile while having a tooth extracted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kapka-kassabova/dancing-with-someone-who-is-causing-you-pain-is-a-bit-like-trying-to/) [Kapka Kassabova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kapka-kassabova/) ## More by Richard Siken > [“Personally, I’m a mess of conflicting impulses—I’m independent and greedy and I also want to belong and share and be a part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/personally-i-m-a-mess-of-conflicting-impulses-i-m-independent-and/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) > [Here I am in a rabbit run, here I am in a valley of pine, waiting for you to find me. I could pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/here-i-am-in-a-rabbit-run-here-i-am-in-a-valley-of-pine-waiting-for/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) > [“We're shooting the scene where I swallow your heart and you make me spit it up again. I swallow your heart and it crawls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/we-re-shooting-the-scene-where-i-swallow-your-heart-and-you-make-me/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) > [He was pointing at the moon, but I was looking at his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/he-was-pointing-at-the-moon-but-i-was-looking-at-his-hand/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) > [You play along, because you want to die for love, you always have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/you-play-along-because-you-want-to-die-for-love-you-always-have/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) > [“Here we are, at the place where I get to beg for it. 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I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/knot-the-tie-and-go-to-work-unknot-the-tie-and-go-to-sleep-i-sleep-i/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) > [“want to tell you this story without having to confess anything, without having to say that I ran out into the street to prove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/want-to-tell-you-this-story-without-having-to-confess-anything/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) > [Here is the repeated image of the lover destroyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/here-is-the-repeated-image-of-the-lover-destroyed/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) > [“You cannot get in the way of anyone's path to God. You can, but it does no good. Every spy knows this. Somesay God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/you-cannot-get-in-the-way-of-anyone-s-path-to-god-you-can-but-it-does/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) [Explore all 115 Richard Siken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) ## More Co worker quotes > [For many of us, work is the one place where we feel appreciated. 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