Chasing Everything, Catching Nothing

Chapter 1: Racing the Treadmill of Life

Marina blinked at her phone as it pinged again—another group chat conversation about weekend plans, another email from her boss, another fitness tracker nudging her to take more steps. Lunch break, 11:37 a.m., a quiet corner at work. She scrolled one-handed through a sea of updates:

A friend’s travel photo: “Living the dream in Bali! 🌴”

A motivational quote: “Hustle harder!”

A job posting: “Senior Manager—remote—£60k+”

Her own art page, lucky if it got seven likes per post.

On the surface, Marina had it all: a decent job at a mid-tier advertising agency, a small flat in East London, creative hobbies, and a social circle that liked to go out at least twice a week. But beneath the surface? An exhaustion she couldn’t shake. Anxiety flickered when she paused, as if doing nothing at all triggered guilt.

When her boss called Marina in for an informal “catch-up,” she expected praise. Instead, he casually suggested she “step up” her output, pitch bigger accounts, and “be seen more.” As he spoke, Marina’s heart thudded. She juggled ads, side commissions, occasional DJ nights, meetups, dating apps, beginner yoga classes… She was chasing everything. Work, love life, social approval, creative validation, fitness—and catching none.

Chapter 2: Fragments of Self

After that meeting, Marina barely left the building before she found herself in a coffee queue, tapping out replies to three different group chats. Her lunch break? Scrolling. Bathroom breaks? Scanning. Even her weekends had become a blur of “experiences” to post. She booked art exhibitions she didn’t really want to attend, brunch with people she barely liked, weekend getaways that felt mostly like Instagram bait.

She made lists on her phone: weekend goals, social goals, money goals, Instagram goals—until she wasn’t sure what she wanted just for herself.

That evening, she sat in bed sweating under a duvet too heavy for late spring. Exhausted. Anxious. Hollow.

On a whim, she opened her neglected old sketchbook—pages from university days filled with loose charcoal drawings, doodles, half-imagined characters. She flipped through them, breath catching. She remembered why she started drawing: not for likes or followers, but because it was a part of her she felt.

Chapter 3: The Break

The next morning, Marina made a decision. Not a grand one—just a quiet rebellion:

She deleted one group chat.

She unsubscribed from promotional emails that made her doubt herself.

She promised to say “no” to one event per week, and to honor at least one hour per day for being, not doing.

That afternoon, while riding the Overground, she took out her sketchbook and drew faces on the way to an artist’s meetup. Panic fluttered at her chest—what about work emails? Messages? But more real things came to her: the movement of pen on paper, the curve of a stranger’s profile, the sketched life unfolding on crisp white pages. She felt present.

She still attended work, still responded to messages, still met friends—but now from choice, not fear. She pitched a creative campaign she'd mulled for months, and when her boss complimented it, she realized how much she loved that role. Not the title or paycheck alone, but the spark it gave her.

Chapter 4: Redispriority (a Made-Up Word That Works)

Marina began tracking her daily rhythm—not in likes or steps, but in energy and joy. Some weeks looked messy. One evening she flaked on dinner with a friend because she was too tired, and rather than apologize with excuses, she sat out guilt-free. Another night she caught a DJ gig to fulfill creative pleasure rather than audience metrics. She posted a sketch on Instagram—not polished, not hashtag-optimized—but real, and one person she admired left a heartfelt reply. It mattered.

She learned:

What She Chased What She Gained Instead

More likes/views Deeper creative flow and joy

More from her job Ownership of projects aligned with her values

More social outings More nourishing connections (even if fewer)

More experiences More personal rest and reflection

Chapter 5: The Test

Three months later, job restructuring forced extra hours. Friends invited her to a big trip overseas. Her sketch sales plateaued. Her phone buzzed with reactivated FOMO. The old pattern beckoned.

But now Marina paused. She evaluated:

Would extra hours help her find meaning—or fill a gap?

Was the trip about adventure, or validation?

Were her side goals making her herself feel real—or making her feel seen?

She said no to a long weekend abroad. “I need to breathe,” she admitted—and meant it. She requested a balanced workload, promising deliverables that aligned with her energy capacity. She ended the tax year with fewer commissions—but richer work she believed in.

Chapter 6: The Harvest

A year after that saturated Monday, Marina sat at her kitchen table, coffee steaming into the morning air. Around her: a few postcards she’d painted, a small stack of decent clients who appreciated her more thoughtful work, and an email from a boutique magazine requesting an interview about creative self-care.

She thought of a conversation from earlier: “I’d rather sketch fewer things that matter, than chase everything that doesn’t.”

As she typed her reply, the notification deck was quiet. She liked it that way.

🌱 Moral of the Story

Chasing everything often leaves us with nothing.

Life isn’t about accumulating likes, roles, or experiences—it’s about aligning what we chase with who we truly are.

Saying “no” to more can be saying a profound “yes” to what matters most.

Sometimes, the most courageous act is simply deciding which chase to stop—so you can catch the things that actually count.