What If Everything You’re Chasing is a Distraction? – Gita Reflects
Manika | Jul 02, 2025, 18:00 IST
( Image credit : Timeslife )
Highlight of the story: I remember rushing to check my to-do list right after waking up.Emails. Deadlines. Notifications. Reels. Tea. More tea.Every hour accounted for. Every conversation half-heard.I was doing everything “right”—chasing growth, goals, the next big thing.But inside?There was a quiet discomfort. A whisper.“Why are you running so fast—and where are you even going?”I ignored it.Until burnout hit.Until I achieved what I thought I wanted, and felt… nothing.One night, in search of something real, I opened the Bhagavad Gita.That’s when it clicked:Maybe the chase itself… is the distraction.Maybe I’ve been missing life while trying to build one.
1. The Modern Race: Always Doing, Rarely Being
“When the mind follows wandering desires, it carries away the understanding—just as the wind carries a boat on the water.” — Gita 2.67
Let’s be honest. We’re constantly running:
New job
Better phone
Healthier body
More likes
Faster delivery
But somewhere in this hyper-efficiency, we’ve become strangers to stillness. Krishna says:
We think distractions are outside—social media, people, noise.
But the biggest distraction?
The restless mind, always needing the next thing.
2. Chasing Goals Isn’t Wrong—But Forgetting the Self Is
Be at peace
( Image credit : Pixabay )
The Gita never says don’t act.
It says—don’t lose yourself in action.
We chase outcomes—titles, fame, validation—because we think they define us.
But Krishna reminds Arjuna:
What you do is not who you are.
You are not your productivity.
You are not your resume.
You are the soul watching all this unfold.
3. So… What Are We Actually Distracting Ourselves From?
unresolved pain unmet needs
uncomfortable truths
It’s easier to scroll than to sit with silence.
Easier to hustle than to heal.
Easier to plan five years ahead than to ask:
Krishna tells Arjuna to pause.
To reflect.
To return to his dharma, not the world’s definition of success.
4. How to Know You’re Distracted, Not Devoted
| Behavior | Distracted Self | Aligned Self |
|---|---|---|
| Motivation | Fear of missing out | Inner purpose |
| Speed | Rushed, reactive | Steady, deliberate |
| Outcome | Craving success | Detached from result |
| Mindset | “Not enough yet” | “I am enough now” |
| Energy | Drained & anxious | Centered & focused |
Krishna didn’t ask Arjuna to quit the battle.
He asked him to align before acting.
Your chase is not the problem.
But if it disconnects you from yourself, it’s a distraction.
5. Krishna’s Call: From Restlessness to Realness
Take Krishna's advice fro
( Image credit : Pixabay )
When Arjuna collapses in confusion, Krishna doesn’t say:
He says:
Because the solution to modern exhaustion isn’t more action.
It’s awareness.
Translation?
Pull back. Retreat from the noise. Reconnect with why you’re doing what you’re doing.
6. Are Your Dreams Yours—Or Are They Borrowed?
Many of us chase goals that were never truly ours:
Parental expectations
Society’s definition of success
Instagram’s highlight reel
We confuse visibility with value. But Krishna says:
What if the real reason you feel lost… is because the dream you’re chasing was never yours to begin with?
7. Action Without Awareness is Just Motion
“Are your actions pulling you closer to peace?”
“Or just further into performance?”
True karma yoga is:
acting with presence
acting without attachment
acting without anxiety for outcome
When your actions are rooted, they stop being distractions and start becoming your path.
8. How to Recenter (Without Giving Up on Life)
Pause before reacting → Ask, “What would I do if I wasn’t afraid?”
Reflect daily → Even 5 mins of journaling: “What felt aligned today?”
Meditate → Start with breath. Add Gita verses. Reconnect with stillness.
Detach from result → Focus on the process. Let go of the scoreboard.
Serve selflessly → Even one act of kindness reorients your energy.
9. The Freedom of Not Chasing
Be like a kid
( Image credit : Pixabay )
There’s a kind of joy that comes not from achieving—but from arriving.
From choosing intention over impulse.
From knowing: I am not behind. I am not late. I am exactly where I need to be.
This doesn’t mean laziness. It means clarity. Your power doesn’t lie in running faster. It lies in knowing where you’re going—and why.
You Were Never Meant to Chase. You Were Meant to Choose.
Let the Gita guide you back:
To presence over performance
To awareness over ambition
To being over chasing
Because what if everything you’re chasing… was just blocking the view of what you already are? And what if peace was never at the end of the road… but waiting silently within you, all along?
Explore the latest trends and tips in Health & Fitness, Travel, Life Hacks, Fashion & Beauty, and Relationships at Times Life!