{"id":61846,"date":"2022-02-28T20:05:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T00:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=61846"},"modified":"2022-03-14T14:50:03","modified_gmt":"2022-03-14T18:50:03","slug":"external-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/external-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"External Reality & Success: Why You Might Be Anxious"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On what do you base your success? Is your quest for success making you fearful and anxious?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people measure success in terms of how much they achieve or accumulate. According to best-selling author and world-renowned well-being practitioner Deepak Chopra, this definition of success\u2014based on external reality\u2014limits you and keeps you trapped in a cycle of achievement and accumulation that creates more anxiety than success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s why an external focus creates a constant state of anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Problem With Identifying With External Reality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chopra claims that, when you don\u2019t feel connected to the spiritual realm, you assume there\u2019s nothing more to your reality than what you perceive. This narrow point of view encourages you to identify solely with what\u2019s happening outside of you (the external reality), creates feelings of anxiety, and compels you to develop fear-based responses to your experiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecting to God Leads to Inner Peace and Fulfillment<\/strong>

Chopra\u2019s claim that your lack of connection to the spiritual realm leads to external identification, feelings of anxiety, and difficult life experiences lies at the heart of many dominant religions. For example, Pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life<\/em><\/a>, explains that God created you to fulfill a specific purpose, which underlies the meaning of every aspect of your life. 

According to Warren, when you don\u2019t trust that God has assigned you a specific purpose, you fail to understand the meaning of your life. This lack of trust allows a variety of factors\u2014external (materialism), emotional (fear), and moral (false beliefs)\u2014to motivate your thoughts and behaviors. Warren argues that these motivations destroy the possibility of peace in your life: You always feel anxious and unsure about your purpose<\/a> on this earth, which causes you to find challenges in your life exceptionally difficult or meaningless.

On the other hand, when you believe that God has a purpose for you, you feel at peace. Warren claims that this is because instead of relying on different uncertain motivations, you can follow a single clear motivation: to fulfill God\u2019s purpose<\/a> for you. As a result, you understand the meaning of your life because you’re able to appreciate the significance of your every experience. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s clarify why your external focus creates a constant state of anxiety that leads to fear-based success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You Allow Yourself to Be Influenced by Other People\u2019s Opinions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Chopra explains that identifying with physical or external reality compels you to follow other people\u2019s definitions of success and how they believe you should<\/em> think, feel, or behave. As a result, you fall into the trap of trying to accumulate external symbols of success<\/strong> such as power, status, or wealth because you falsely believe that acquiring these things brings meaning to your life and creates long-term success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Jay Shetty (Think Like a Monk<\/em><\/a>) sheds light on how external identification compels you to chase unsatisfying symbols of success. He explains how your family, friends, and culture influence you to conform to their expectations and make <\/strong>them<\/em><\/strong> happy<\/strong>: Since other people are nicer to you when you make them happy, you unconsciously conclude that your happiness depends on pleasing them. As a result, you tailor your behaviors and goals to fit their expectations. However, this preoccupation with pleasing others keeps you from choosing goals that make you<\/em> feel happy.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Attempts to Control Your External Circumstances Make You Feel Anxious<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Chopra argues that the success you feel from acquiring and basing your identity on external symbols is fleeting because you feel successful only as long as they remain in your possession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n