Your Overthinking Isn’t the Problem, Your Ego Is - Gita Says Not Everything Is About You
Riya Kumari | May 12, 2025, 20:13 IST
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )
You ever have a full-blown spiral about a text that just said “K”? Like, your brain pulls out a whiteboard and starts connecting red string to every traumatic memory from the third grade. Congrats—you’ve just overthought yourself into a metaphysical crisis. But here’s the plot twist: it’s not your anxiety. It’s not your sensitivity. It’s your ego. Yes. That thing in your head that whispers, “Everything is about you.” Even when it’s definitely, absolutely, comically not.
We’ve all been there. You send a message. They don’t respond immediately. Your mind spins: Was I too forward? Am I annoying? Maybe they’re busy? Or maybe they hate me? A simple situation becomes a mountain, and you’re at the summit, wondering why no one else sees the view. Here’s the truth: It’s not that you overthink. It’s that your ego keeps thinking that everything around you is connected to you. But when we start believing that every look, every word, every missed message has something to do with us, we’re stepping into dangerous territory—where we make ourselves the center of a universe that’s bigger than our own narrative.
1. The Ego: The True Architect of Your Overthinking
Let’s break this down. The ego is not the voice that tells you to treat yourself well. It’s not the voice that encourages self-love. That’s your intuition, your true self. The ego is the one that wants you to be the star of every story, the one that makes everything about you. It’s the voice that says, “That person looked at me weird. What did I do wrong?” The Gita doesn’t mince words when it comes to the ego. Krishna tells Arjuna that in times of fear and doubt, your actions are not meant to be guided by attachment to their results, nor by the desire to control how others perceive you. He asks him to act without ego.
Without thinking of the outcome. Without clinging to whether or not people approve. It’s a tough ask, right? Especially in a world where everything feels like a reflection of who we are. But think about it: the real cause of your overthinking isn’t your fear of failure, or your tendency to get lost in the “what-ifs.” It’s the belief that the world exists to validate your worth, that everything revolves around you. What if it doesn’t? What if you don’t need to obsess over every action, every interaction, every perception?
2. The Freedom of Letting Go of the Need for Control
One of the most powerful lessons the Gita teaches is detachment—not from life, but from the need to control the outcome of everything you do. Krishna tells Arjuna to act, but not to worry about the results. That’s where peace comes in. Because here’s the thing: No matter how many times you replay a conversation in your head, no matter how many ways you try to figure out what that "K" in the text really meant, the reality is simple: you can’t control how people respond to you. You can’t control their mood, their mindset, or the fleeting thoughts that cross their mind when they hear your name.
Your ego wants to create a story where you are the protagonist, but in truth, you’re just a character in everyone’s narrative. The world doesn’t need to revolve around you for it to be meaningful. And the most freeing part of all of this is that when you step out of that need for control, you realize that everything actually becomes more meaningful. The pressure to be everything to everyone, the constant striving to read minds and decode every interaction—gone.
3. What Happens When You Stop Making It About You
It’s liberating, really, to realize that you don’t have to be the center of the universe. In fact, the universe can breathe better without that constant tension you create by assuming everything is a reflection of your worth. What if you stopped overanalyzing and just lived in the moment? What if you took people at face value and stopped trying to decode every word, every glance, every text, every silence?
When you let go of your need for validation, something changes. You start seeing things for what they are, not through the lens of your ego. You start to truly listen, not just to respond, but to understand. You stop assuming the worst in people’s actions, and start accepting them as they are, not as they relate to you.
4. The Art of Letting Go
To “let go” sounds easy enough, but in practice, it’s a radical act of trust. You trust that you don’t need to control every outcome. You trust that life will unfold the way it’s meant to, and that the more you resist, the more tangled you become in a web of your own creation.
When Krishna tells Arjuna to focus on his duty and not the results, he’s essentially giving him permission to live fully in the moment, without the weight of the past or the anxiety of the future. This is the wisdom that frees you from overthinking. It’s not that you’re supposed to stop caring. It’s that you stop tying your worth to how others perceive you, and instead, focus on simply doing your best.
5. The Deepest Truth: You Are Not the Center of the Story
Here’s where it hits home: The world doesn’t need to revolve around you. It doesn’t need to mirror your every desire, your every need. The freedom comes when you realize that other people’s actions, words, and silence are not personal. They’re simply part of their own journey, which has nothing to do with you. What would your life look like if you let go of the need to be at the center of it all?
What if you trusted that your worth is not dependent on the outcome of every single interaction? What if you believed that life—and you—are valuable, not because you’re constantly getting others’ approval, but because you’re simply living? The Gita offers this quiet truth: It’s not about you. It’s never been about you. And once you let go of that, you’ll realize that it’s all a lot lighter.
The Takeaway
So next time you’re spiraling over a text, over someone’s silence, or over a conversation that went “wrong,” pause. Remember: You are not the main character in everyone else’s story. You’re just a character in theirs, just as they are in yours. You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to be everyone’s everything.
When you stop making it about you, you’ll find that life becomes fuller. Richer. Less stressful. And oddly, more meaningful. Because the story you’re in? It’s not just about you—it’s about all of us. And the sooner you realize that, the more peace you’ll find. The world doesn’t revolve around you—and that’s okay. It’s more than enough.
1. The Ego: The True Architect of Your Overthinking
Angry
( Image credit : Pexels )
Let’s break this down. The ego is not the voice that tells you to treat yourself well. It’s not the voice that encourages self-love. That’s your intuition, your true self. The ego is the one that wants you to be the star of every story, the one that makes everything about you. It’s the voice that says, “That person looked at me weird. What did I do wrong?” The Gita doesn’t mince words when it comes to the ego. Krishna tells Arjuna that in times of fear and doubt, your actions are not meant to be guided by attachment to their results, nor by the desire to control how others perceive you. He asks him to act without ego.
Without thinking of the outcome. Without clinging to whether or not people approve. It’s a tough ask, right? Especially in a world where everything feels like a reflection of who we are. But think about it: the real cause of your overthinking isn’t your fear of failure, or your tendency to get lost in the “what-ifs.” It’s the belief that the world exists to validate your worth, that everything revolves around you. What if it doesn’t? What if you don’t need to obsess over every action, every interaction, every perception?
2. The Freedom of Letting Go of the Need for Control
Control
( Image credit : Pexels )
One of the most powerful lessons the Gita teaches is detachment—not from life, but from the need to control the outcome of everything you do. Krishna tells Arjuna to act, but not to worry about the results. That’s where peace comes in. Because here’s the thing: No matter how many times you replay a conversation in your head, no matter how many ways you try to figure out what that "K" in the text really meant, the reality is simple: you can’t control how people respond to you. You can’t control their mood, their mindset, or the fleeting thoughts that cross their mind when they hear your name.
Your ego wants to create a story where you are the protagonist, but in truth, you’re just a character in everyone’s narrative. The world doesn’t need to revolve around you for it to be meaningful. And the most freeing part of all of this is that when you step out of that need for control, you realize that everything actually becomes more meaningful. The pressure to be everything to everyone, the constant striving to read minds and decode every interaction—gone.
3. What Happens When You Stop Making It About You
Attack
( Image credit : Pexels )
It’s liberating, really, to realize that you don’t have to be the center of the universe. In fact, the universe can breathe better without that constant tension you create by assuming everything is a reflection of your worth. What if you stopped overanalyzing and just lived in the moment? What if you took people at face value and stopped trying to decode every word, every glance, every text, every silence?
When you let go of your need for validation, something changes. You start seeing things for what they are, not through the lens of your ego. You start to truly listen, not just to respond, but to understand. You stop assuming the worst in people’s actions, and start accepting them as they are, not as they relate to you.
4. The Art of Letting Go
Peace
( Image credit : Pexels )
To “let go” sounds easy enough, but in practice, it’s a radical act of trust. You trust that you don’t need to control every outcome. You trust that life will unfold the way it’s meant to, and that the more you resist, the more tangled you become in a web of your own creation.
When Krishna tells Arjuna to focus on his duty and not the results, he’s essentially giving him permission to live fully in the moment, without the weight of the past or the anxiety of the future. This is the wisdom that frees you from overthinking. It’s not that you’re supposed to stop caring. It’s that you stop tying your worth to how others perceive you, and instead, focus on simply doing your best.
5. The Deepest Truth: You Are Not the Center of the Story
Self worth
( Image credit : Pexels )
Here’s where it hits home: The world doesn’t need to revolve around you. It doesn’t need to mirror your every desire, your every need. The freedom comes when you realize that other people’s actions, words, and silence are not personal. They’re simply part of their own journey, which has nothing to do with you. What would your life look like if you let go of the need to be at the center of it all?
What if you trusted that your worth is not dependent on the outcome of every single interaction? What if you believed that life—and you—are valuable, not because you’re constantly getting others’ approval, but because you’re simply living? The Gita offers this quiet truth: It’s not about you. It’s never been about you. And once you let go of that, you’ll realize that it’s all a lot lighter.
The Takeaway
When you stop making it about you, you’ll find that life becomes fuller. Richer. Less stressful. And oddly, more meaningful. Because the story you’re in? It’s not just about you—it’s about all of us. And the sooner you realize that, the more peace you’ll find. The world doesn’t revolve around you—and that’s okay. It’s more than enough.