Concentrate on the real battle, and ignore the random ones || Acharya Prashant (2019)

Questioner: I get very tensed whenever I face any conflict. I find that definitely there is an underlying fear that I will lose something, which causes anxiety. But, just being able to pinpoint doesn’t help much.

Very often, my mind says that I should let go of, whatever I am afraid of, and get rid of that anxiety. But another part says that doing so is cowardly, and I should fight. This feeling that I am acting as a coward, does not leave me.

Kindly guide me on, how to go about the situation.

Acharya Prashant: Bravery is not about fighting against just any random thing, or obstacle. If I go about banging my head against this pillar (pointing to the pillar present in the room), determined to bring the pillar down, is that bravery?

Bravery is when you have a Real Battle to fight for a Real end. The Real end really is – the annihilation of your own self. Therefore, bravery does not lie in fighting against this or that. Bravery actually lies only in conquering the self.

Don’t pick random battles. Don’t just pick battles arbitrarily, clashing here and there.