Facing the truth is the key to inner healing and peace

Often times the main reason why people fail in life is that they evaluate things wrongly, or to put it simply, they are not honest with themselves. The problem is that humans have psychological defense mechanisms which can temporarily provide emotional comfort, but have the net effect of self delusion and the avoidance of reality.

Reality can be painful, but reality will not go away. Reality is all we have to go on. If we do not follow the rules of reality, we lose. Therefore, be completely honest with yourself. Be objective to the core. Ask people whom you respect how they truthfully think about you and your plans. Take in the good with the bad. You will only improve from the experience.

Knowledge and reason are the tools that will bring you what you desire. Having a solid knowledge base is integral to being honest with yourself. In the dark ages scientific knowledge was few and far between. People filled up these gaps in knowledge with fairy tales and delusions. Still today, people fill in their knowledge gaps with fairy tales. They focus on hopes and wishes instead of looking at the cold hard facts and getting down to business.

Objectivity should be our highest virtue. When we are not being objective we are only fooling ourselves.