Why You Can’t Accept Reality (And What to Do About It)

Accepting reality is like trying to embrace a tornado:

It’s messy, destructive, and ultimately, pointless if you think you’re in control. But most people? They spend their entire lives clinging to the illusion that they are, in fact, driving the storm. Spoiler alert: they’re not. Let's get into why that tornado is so persistent…

…and why you're stuck spinning inside it.

Maya: The Grand Illusion That Won’t Quit

Reality, as most know it, isn't real.

It’s Maya, the grand illusion, a virtual reality on steroids. You think you’re looking at the world through your eyes, but really, you’re looking through a projector playing an endless loop of nonsense. You’re the audience, convinced it's real.

The catch? The moment you glimpse that it’s all just smoke and mirrors, Maya’s got a contingency plan—she doubles down. You start thinking, “Wait, this can’t all be fake, right?” Wrong. Maya throws every illusion in the book to keep you in line, crossing her fingers that you'll develop sudden amnesia and dive back into your usual routine like a sitcom rerun.

Here’s the trick: once you see through it, you can’t unsee it. But it’s easier to ignore that fleeting glimpse of truth than face it head-on. After all, facing reality means stepping out of your comfortable delusion, and nobody wants to trade their cushy lies for the cold hard truth…

…and that brings us to the next big problem.

Ego: The World’s Worst Wingman

Now, if Maya is the illusionist, the ego is her devoted hype man.

The ego is attached to your identity like a barnacle on the Titanic. It has no intention of letting go, even though it knows it's headed straight for an iceberg.

Why? Because your identity—the roles you play, the stories you tell yourself, the ideas you cling to—are all it has. Accepting reality means the ego has to face extinction, and that’s not something it’s interested in. So, what does it do? It digs in. It tells you that you need control, that losing your grip on your perfectly curated life is a fate worse than death.

And here’s the kicker: you believe it. You believe that by accepting reality, you lose yourself, when the truth is, you’re not real in the first place. But shh, don’t tell your ego that…

…it’s scared enough as it is.

Society: The Blind Leading the Blind

If Maya and the ego weren’t bad enough, society’s here to pile on.

Every belief system, every rule, every tradition is a well-crafted safety net that makes sure you don’t stray too far into existential danger.

Society thrives on keeping you asleep, teaching you to fear anything that doesn’t fit neatly into the pre-packaged, ready-to-serve version of life it sold you. Step outside that, and suddenly, you’re the crazy one. You see, society is just one giant loop of validation. You’re not supposed to question it. Why? Because everyone else is busy not questioning it either.

It’s the blind leading the blind. And anytime you start to wake up, society is right there with a warm cup of delusion and a pat on the back, saying:

“Don’t worry, you’re doing just fine.”

The Only Way Out

Accepting reality means giving up the illusion of control, and that’s a terrifying prospect for most.

It’s no wonder people avoid it at all costs—anything to keep from facing the void. The truth is, accepting reality isn’t about conquering some external force; it’s about stepping aside and letting go of the illusion that you were ever in control in the first place. The journey begins when you stop running.

Sit down, stop playing the game, and see what happens when you stop pretending you’re in charge. Spoiler alert: you’ve never been. Once you realize that, reality isn’t something to be feared or avoided—it’s the only thing you’ve got left…

…and trust me, it’s a hell of a lot better than the dream you’ve been stuck in.