How to Master the Art of Detachment Using Chanakya Niti
Riya Kumari | Jan 14, 2025, 22:45 IST
Detachment, in the Chanakya Niti style, is like taking your emotional baggage, throwing it out of a moving car, and then driving away with a smile. Simple. Except it’s not. The next time life tries to hand you a hot mess of drama, just take a breath, look at it like it’s an adorable puppy in a rainstorm, and say, “Not my circus, not my monkeys.”
Another day, another opportunity to make bad decisions, overthink every single interaction, and, for the love of everything that’s holy, drown in emotional baggage. Welcome to life. But here’s the thing: if you’re tired of being emotionally exhausted, constantly tethered to the whims of other people and your own neurotic self-talk—it's time to take a deep breath and learn the art of detachment.
1. Don’t Get Too Attached to People
Chanakya wasn’t playing around when he said, “Don’t keep company with a fool; don't even share your secrets with them." Sure, the whole “be kind to everyone” thing is cute, but here’s the truth: some people just aren’t worth the emotional investment. You know the ones. The energy vampires. The drama kings and queens. The ones who treat your feelings like a season of a reality show—constantly manipulating the narrative for their own benefit. Now, does that mean you go full-on cold-hearted? Nah. It just means you stop investing your time and energy in people who make you feel like you’re the sidekick in your own story. Imagine the freedom of having only people around who genuinely get you. Revolutionary, right? You’ll be too busy basking in your own awesomeness to care about what anyone else is doing.
2. Accept Life’s Inevitable Chaos
You know those moments when life feels like a garbage fire on a roller coaster? Chanakya was like, “Get used to it.” Why? Because life is not some perfectly scripted rom-com where the lead always gets what they want, when they want it (oh, and the soundtrack is always playing exactly the right tune at just the right time). Nope. Chanakya understood that life is a messy, unpredictable, beautiful disaster. Once you accept that, you can stop stressing over things you can’t control. You can stop holding onto grudges, fears, and “what-ifs” that are essentially like trying to juggle flaming swords while blindfolded. Just... let go. It’s not easy. But the first step to mastery is acknowledging that you can’t predict the chaos. You can only decide how you react to it. Spoiler alert: the less you react, the more control you’ll have.
3. Detach from Materialism
Chanakya, being the OG influencer that he was, didn’t waste time on superficial things. He knew that emotional attachment to material stuff is like dating someone who’s only interested in your Instagram followers—superficial, unsustainable, and, frankly, a waste of energy. Sure, we all love our shiny gadgets, but here’s the kicker: no object is going to be there for you when you’re feeling down. You want the real magic? Start investing in experiences that make you feel alive. Buy fewer things, but make more memories. Start caring less about what other people think about your material worth, and more about how you spend your time. You’ll be surprised how many “must-have” items lose their appeal when you realize your happiness isn’t tucked inside a shopping bag.
4. Self-Reliance Is Your New Best Friend
One of Chanakya’s gems was, “Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions—why am I doing it, what the results might be, and will I be successful?” The subtext? You’re the boss of your life, and nobody should define your worth or your choices. Let’s be real: we’ve all been in situations where we’re like, “Do they like me? Am I doing this right?” Spoiler alert—they probably aren’t thinking about you as much as you think. They’re too busy obsessing over their own lives. Detachment means no longer needing external validation like a plant needs sunlight. You cultivate that inner strength, and soon enough, you’ll be walking through life like you own the place. Which, let’s be honest, you do.
5. Learn to Let Go
And finally—one of the hardest, most freeing lessons of all. Detach from the past. From mistakes, regrets, bad relationships, or missed opportunities. Chanakya would tell you: “The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.” Let that sink in for a second. You can’t change what happened. So why are you still dragging that baggage around? You can’t undo the breakup, the failed project, the time you tripped in front of your crush. What you can do is live right now, in the present, fully detached from the anchors that weigh you down.
1. Don’t Get Too Attached to People
Breakup
Chanakya wasn’t playing around when he said, “Don’t keep company with a fool; don't even share your secrets with them." Sure, the whole “be kind to everyone” thing is cute, but here’s the truth: some people just aren’t worth the emotional investment. You know the ones. The energy vampires. The drama kings and queens. The ones who treat your feelings like a season of a reality show—constantly manipulating the narrative for their own benefit. Now, does that mean you go full-on cold-hearted? Nah. It just means you stop investing your time and energy in people who make you feel like you’re the sidekick in your own story. Imagine the freedom of having only people around who genuinely get you. Revolutionary, right? You’ll be too busy basking in your own awesomeness to care about what anyone else is doing.
2. Accept Life’s Inevitable Chaos
Free
You know those moments when life feels like a garbage fire on a roller coaster? Chanakya was like, “Get used to it.” Why? Because life is not some perfectly scripted rom-com where the lead always gets what they want, when they want it (oh, and the soundtrack is always playing exactly the right tune at just the right time). Nope. Chanakya understood that life is a messy, unpredictable, beautiful disaster. Once you accept that, you can stop stressing over things you can’t control. You can stop holding onto grudges, fears, and “what-ifs” that are essentially like trying to juggle flaming swords while blindfolded. Just... let go. It’s not easy. But the first step to mastery is acknowledging that you can’t predict the chaos. You can only decide how you react to it. Spoiler alert: the less you react, the more control you’ll have.
3. Detach from Materialism
Fun
Chanakya, being the OG influencer that he was, didn’t waste time on superficial things. He knew that emotional attachment to material stuff is like dating someone who’s only interested in your Instagram followers—superficial, unsustainable, and, frankly, a waste of energy. Sure, we all love our shiny gadgets, but here’s the kicker: no object is going to be there for you when you’re feeling down. You want the real magic? Start investing in experiences that make you feel alive. Buy fewer things, but make more memories. Start caring less about what other people think about your material worth, and more about how you spend your time. You’ll be surprised how many “must-have” items lose their appeal when you realize your happiness isn’t tucked inside a shopping bag.
4. Self-Reliance Is Your New Best Friend
Journal
One of Chanakya’s gems was, “Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions—why am I doing it, what the results might be, and will I be successful?” The subtext? You’re the boss of your life, and nobody should define your worth or your choices. Let’s be real: we’ve all been in situations where we’re like, “Do they like me? Am I doing this right?” Spoiler alert—they probably aren’t thinking about you as much as you think. They’re too busy obsessing over their own lives. Detachment means no longer needing external validation like a plant needs sunlight. You cultivate that inner strength, and soon enough, you’ll be walking through life like you own the place. Which, let’s be honest, you do.
5. Learn to Let Go
Leave
And finally—one of the hardest, most freeing lessons of all. Detach from the past. From mistakes, regrets, bad relationships, or missed opportunities. Chanakya would tell you: “The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.” Let that sink in for a second. You can’t change what happened. So why are you still dragging that baggage around? You can’t undo the breakup, the failed project, the time you tripped in front of your crush. What you can do is live right now, in the present, fully detached from the anchors that weigh you down.