We seek professional success and perhaps power to feel fulfilled and accomplished. We have grown accustomed to providing fulfillment in our life by trying to possess some combination of status, wealth, and relationships. Consequently, we have created mental realities where our sense of worth is directly linked to these external tangibles and intangibles. We define ourselves in relation to objects we possess and relationships we have. But, what we fail to realize is that these externals are in no way absolute.
Material wealth comes and goes.
Human dynamics and relationships transform. Status is fleeting. With the death of a loved one, a demotion on the job, or a loss of passion through a failed relationship, we face an emptiness. That which in some fundamental way sustained and defined us no longer exists. And consequently, we become depressed and disillusioned.