Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You. I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good besides You.” (Psalms 16:1-2, NASB)
David obviously recognizes his fragility. Seeking preservation from a source outside of himself shows that he knows he is not enough. So he seeks preservation in the Lord. What's more, he declares to the Lord that he has nothing good besides Him.
We all look outside of ourselves for preservation. We seek validation from others, possessions, riches, comforts, pleasures, etc. In doing so, we all, like David, testify to our own fragility. And we expose the self-empowerment culture we live in for the lie that it is. Why would self-empowered people have to rely so heavily on things outside of themselves? Self-empowerment is self-defeating.
The most important thing is not whether you look outside of yourself. We all do that. It is where you look. David looks to the Lord because He is the only truly reliable source. All other sources will let him down.
Is it the Lord preserving you today or are you finding refuge in other sources?