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Good morning. I recently read a piece about a man who stopped feeling fear, after having his adrenal glands removed. He described how his body and emotions simply didn’t respond as they would normally, even when he was in life-threatening situations. As if his emotions had flatlined. He said he could no longer rely on his feelings to assess risk. Sometimes my patients who’ve had clinical anxiety, which has been successfully treated, tell me that their reduced anxiety leaves them with less of a drive for life. Where they were endlessly trying to stop things from going wrong, they now need to find a new source of motivation. In modern life, we often measure our success by how we think we’re seen by others. It’s stressful, and maintaining the right impression can cause a lot of anxiety. There must be a better way to be the best version of ourselves. We get so used to relying on worry, to keep us on track, that sometimes people even tell me they end up leaving things until the last minute, because the risk of missing the deadline motivates them. It’s a hard way to live, and surely there are other ways to do our best, without relying on anxiety. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna answers these very same questions for Arjun, a warrior who’s seeking motivation in battle and trying to contain his anxiety. He suggests that Arjun should open himself up to the natural and fearless motives, born of his spiritual identity. Krishna says this develops Vairagya - an inner state of equanimity where we let go of our concern about what other people think, and instead find strength from within. When we’ve developed high levels of Vairagya, emotions, thoughts and all things human are still present, but we’re not dependent on them or primarily driven by them. Many of us are troubled by anxiety and might simply wish it would just go away. But as the man who had his adrenal glands removed discovered, even if the triggers for anxiety are reduced, it doesn’t automatically lead to a more peaceful or satisfying life. For me, Krishna’s advice suggests there are deeper sources of motivation and strength, that are much more secure than the question of what others might think. This is a wonderful kind of freedom.