Acharya Prashant explains that fear is like a tree where individual fears, such as the fear of low marks or losing loved ones, are merely leaves. Plucking individual leaves is futile because they will grow back as long as the root remains. He identifies the root of fear as 'cultivated incompleteness' or 'learned inadequacy.' This is a man-made, social conditioning rather than an existential fact. From childhood, individuals are taught that they are fundamentally unworthy and must acquire external things—money, qualifications, relationships, and respect—to fill a non-existent hole in their hearts. Because these external acquisitions are given by the world, they can also be taken away by the world, which creates a constant state of fear.