Acharya Prashant explains that guilt is the feeling that says, "I am better than how and what I did." It is a belief that one is better than their actions or thoughts. He uses an analogy of a person who believes they are a resident of the tenth floor but finds themselves on the second floor. The belief of belonging to the tenth floor is a self-certified presumption, a declaration one makes to oneself. The fact, however, is that one is operating from the second floor. Guilt is this conflict between the presumption and the fact, the feeling that "I am actually better, but I am not living as per my sublime self." This feeling of guilt can work in two ways. It can either encourage you to improve and "really move upstairs," or it can be used to console and comfort you into remaining where you are. In the latter case, one might think, "When I actually do already belong to the tenth floor, it's alright if I accidentally happen to be spotted on the second floor. These are minor accidents." This turns guilt into an alibi against improvement, where faults and shortcomings are seen as accidental and not a true reflection of oneself. Guilt can be a great excuse against improvement because the lapses are not seen as who you are, but as things happening despite you. Acharya Prashant challenges this notion by asking if these so-called mistakes are truly mistakes or if they represent one's standard state of being. He uses another analogy: if a vehicle is always found with two tires, would you call it a car with two missing tires or a scooter? A mistake is a deviation, a rarity, not a regularity or a default mode of functioning. If one is frequently mistaken, one must ask if these are mistakes at all, or if they represent what one really is. For most people, what they call mistakes are not mistakes at all; they are their standard state of being. He concludes that far better than guilt is the realization of one's actual state. Self-improvement cannot happen alongside self-deception. One must first honestly appraise and acknowledge where they really stand. You don't need to announce it to the world, but you must know it for yourself. This silent, honest realization has great transformative power, and it is what leads to sublimation and true change, not guilt.