If someone tries to wake you up, it will annoy you. The ego hates being shaken. When someone challenges your worldview, you cling to it even more. You don't want the truth, you want to feel safe. But the security you're searching for doesn't exist. Everything is impermanent. People change, circumstances change, you change. If you base your happiness on external things, you'll always live in anxiety about losing everything.

To wake up, you first need to realize you're asleep. Observe without judgment how you react, how your thoughts are automatic, how your emotions arise without your choosing them. Ask yourself: Do I truly see reality, or just my interpretations of it? What would happen if I stopped identifying with my beliefs, my personal history, my role in the world?

The first step to awakening is recognizing that you're trapped in a dream.

Key Point Two: The Trap of Conditional Happiness

You've always believed that happiness depends on something. Since you were a child, you learned that if you got good grades, you'd receive approval; if you behaved well, you'd be loved; if you achieved certain goals, you'd be considered successful. Everything in your life has revolved around the search for something external to make you feel good. You've been conditioned to believe that without certain things or people, you can't be happy.