&quot;Even the fear of losing respect of your equals (coworkers, friends, family), although maybe just a fantasy in your head, can still be argued to be external.&quot;<p>How could that be? It is not maybe, it is a fantasy in your head.<p>This fantasy could be very similar to reality, so I prefer the word &quot;simulation&quot;, as this is what it is: you simulate the future in your head with the knowledge you got in the past.<p>In the past you got trained like a Paulov dog about what society expected from you, for example being raised as a catholic could mean sex with other people = bad, liking money= bad,being humble=good, sharing=good, competing with others=bad.<p>If you don&#x27;t get out of your original society your prediction could be very accurate, specially if you accept it without resistance.<p>In the past I faced all my environment(friends, family and lovers), but instead of accepting it I fought it, and interesting enough they were the ones who in the end accepted it.<p>“Whether you think you can, or you think you can&#x27;t--you&#x27;re right.”H.Ford