From the game-winning score to the top of the corporate ladder, we love it when we’re praised for our achievements. On the flip-side, it’s not so great to have to be reprimanded for mistakes. But, if we think on it logically, does praise make the achievement greater than if no one acknowledged it?

Have you noticed a pattern in the things from which we need to be delivered in order to become more humble? The desires all are statuses that move us to the head of the table. The fears all are demotions that remove us from the spotlight and cast us into the fringes of society.

We all want to be loved. It’s part of our DNA and can’t be denied, but sometimes we crave the love of others so much it becomes a constant preoccupation, and the fear of not being loved becomes a chronic source of stress. If we’re constantly worried about whether our actions will cause people to despise us, or whether we’re lovable enough not to be rejected, we sink into that “I” trouble we touched on in Part 1.