World can be broken down into a system of two types of information: information that is in alignment with our self-concept and information which threatens our self-concept.
Sources of threatening information are unavoidable and abound everywhere, as we are constantly reminded (as the musical artist Sting sings) how fragile we are.
The healthy personality is one that mitigates the anxieties of life by interpreting and using potentially threatening information in a way that maximizes real-world effectiveness.