In response to a question about feeling low due to unfulfilled expectations from oneself and others, Acharya Prashant explains that this issue stems from being unrealistic. He identifies the root of the problem as the ego, which he defines not as pride, but as the limited opinion or image one has of oneself. We do not know who we really are, and therefore, we also do not know who others are. This lack of self-knowledge connects the two parts of the problem: expectations from oneself and from others. He uses the analogy of having a problem with one's eyes; if one cannot see oneself properly in a mirror, one also cannot see the world properly. Acharya Prashant elaborates that while our true nature or potentiality is infinite and vast, our current reality is often limited and miserable. The fundamental error of the ego is to conflate this awful reality with our wonderful potentiality. It pretends to be wonderful while remaining in a limited state. This leads to a vicious cycle of setting unrealistic targets based on a false sense of capability, inevitably failing, feeling humiliated, and then repeating the process. This applies to both personal goals and relationships with others. The solution, he suggests, begins with the honest admission of one's current, pathetic state. This acknowledgment is not a defeat but the start of victory. The focus should be on changing one's reality, as one's potentiality is already perfect. This requires a process of serious self-improvement through what he calls "old-fashioned" methods: discipline, discretion, right company, thoughtfulness, right literature, right livelihood, abstinence, simplicity, and fearlessness. As one develops self-clarity, one begins to set the right targets and becomes unstoppable, finding oneself incapable of missing the target because one has fallen in love with it.
