Acharya Prashant addresses the question of how to stop taking things personally by reframing the issue. He explains that the fundamental problem is not that one takes things personally, but that one takes the "person"âoneselfâseriously. This "person" is the entity that experiences all the events, and the first problem is taking this person seriously. If there is no person, there is nothing left to be taken personally. The speaker defines the "person" as a collection of attributes such as age, knowledge, background, gender, aspirations, dreams, and physical and mental characteristics. He argues that this personhood is largely accidental and not something one chooses. Aspects like gender, religion, parents, and even choices like college or partners are heavily influenced and not truly free. These are described as natural and accidental occurrences. The person is a random collection of experiences and influences. The core of this issue is the ego, the "I" or the self, which is a fictitious central entity that claims agency over these random events. The entire purpose of wisdom is to get rid of this fictitious entity. When one stops taking oneself seriously, it becomes very difficult for the world to cause hurt. The one who can be hurt can also be possessed and controlled. The "person" is controllable, but the real "you" is not. Ultimately, the speaker asserts that the person is a myth, a joke. When one realizes that their personhood is a myth, they become like the open sky, which cannot be hurt. If you do not exist as the person you believe you are, then barbs thrown at you will simply pass through. The person is a bit of a joke, and one should learn to take oneself with more than a pinch of salt because nobody is ever truly important.
