Attachment is natural human emotion, requiring no special skills. Even a baby gets attached to his mother, and will start crying when held in a stranger’s arms. Detachment, on the other hand, is an advanced quality of character that is acquired by practice, self-restraint and discipline.

The power of detachment is immense. It is hard to win over a person if you can earn his affection. It is equally hard to distract or disturb a person from his path if you cannot arouse his anger or hatred.

Equanimity

An individual who can remain detached from the external surroundings, and maintain his inner calm, he becomes invincible against the ups and downs or the rollercoaster of life. That person is constantly in a state of equanimity – with a complete mastery over his senses and emotions. He can remain logical even when the whole world around him is going haywire with mass hysteria.

A classic example of detachment and equanimity in our age is Warren Buffett. He currently sits on a mountain of more than a hundred billion dollars of unproductive cash, but a bullish economy because of lower taxes and less regulations, exciting job data, and the constantly rising stock market fail to move his emotion.

Buffett, as he has repeatedly done in the past, will act when the proverbial sky is falling and everyone is running for cover. He is detached now from the market’s euphoria. He will be detached then from the market’s doom. Both are irrational emotions.

The rational man will remain detached from them, and act purely on the basis of cold logic. Detachment – that is the secret sauce of sustainable success of men like Buffett.

Remaining Immune to Public Reaction

Masses are emotional (just see the 60s on that!). When they like you, they will worship you like a god even though there is only one God. And when they dislike you, they will vilify you and lynch you to death. Both are irrational extremes. The detached man remains immune from both, and stays steadfast and unwavering on the path of his larger purpose.

Abraham Lincoln, during the flames of Civil War, endured mass vilification from all over the country. There were cries that Lincoln was unfit to be President or just plain stupid. As the war grew darker, Lincoln became more detached and immune to public outcries. “Necessity knows no law,” he argued.

Lincoln adopted one severe war measure after another, and tried civilians in military courts without a jury. At least 14,000 people were thrown into prison. When the public contempt for his actions rose, he said, “My only regret is that I didn’t arrest General Lee when I had the chance.”

Due to his ability of detachment, Lincoln successfully led the country through its most traumatic phase. History has been kind to him, and Lincoln is now seen as one of the greatest American heroes ever.

Personal Detachment

When you practice detachment, you may still manage to detach yourself from the outside world, but the hard part will be detaching yourself from your loved ones, if the need arises. In Lincoln’s case, he left his father’s home at 21 as he realized that the uninspiring environment at home would not let him grow intellectually or spiritually.

Lincoln did not invite his father, Thomas Lincoln, to his wedding. When his father died, Lincoln did not attend the funeral. There was no ill will, anger, or malice in Lincoln’s heart for his father. He was simply detached. While on the surface it may appear that Lincoln was heartless, but those who understand and practice detachment, will recognize that Lincoln had to be like that in order to be true to his own destiny that awaited him.

Great Goals Require Detachment

If your goal is to earn a livelihood for you and your family, the path of detachment is not for you. But if you have set greater goals for yourself, whether spiritually, intellectually, financially, or in public life, you cannot achieve them without practicing detachment.

When you are detached, you can touch the lives of a large number of people, not just your own self and your family. You can create new knowledge, create new wealth, or create world peace if you are detached. Detachment creates, attachment consumes.

Detachment includes detachment from the wealth that you generate in the process of your creation. Material pleasure and personal consumption becomes secondary to your goals. You are driven by a larger purpose to change lives, to transform humanity. Detachment comes by conscious practice and by consciously setting higher life goals and pursuing them with a plan.