Dad told us that zone was known in physics as the boundary between turbulence and order. ‘It’s the place where no rules apply, or at least they haven’t figured ’em out yet,’ he said. ‘You-all got a little too close to it today.’
— The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls
I wasn't diagnosed ADHD hyperactive-impulsive until I was 38 years old and reeling from an RSD response that had me a little too close to that boundary between turbulence and order.
This was my pivot point. Where with great chaos came great clarity.
"I have spent my entire life chasing cheap dopamine."
There it was. THE CHASE.
Chasing validation.
Chasing attention.
Chasing romance.
Chasing Identity.
Chasing conflict.
Chasing alcohol.
Chasing drugs.
Chasing food.
Chasing THE DREAM.
The chase itself isn't inherently a bad thing but what we chase matters.
Sometimes we get it wrong until we finally catch the thing we've been after the whole time and realize it wasn't what we needed at all.
How do we know if what we're chasing is worthwhile or if we're simply pursuing the wrong idea? I mean, hell, we chase good things and bad things for the same reasons.
To know we matter.
Longing to feel whole.
To be reminded of who we are.
To be chosen, safe, free, seen, loved.
To feel alive in a world that force-feeds apathy.
What Do We Chase?
Romance. Risk vulnerability and rejection to "win" someone. Choosing them repeatedly even when they don't choose you back.
“The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you,
not knowing how blind that was.
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere.
They’re in each other all along.”
— Rumi
Spirituality. A longing for something bigger and greater than ourselves. A pursuit of wholeness, often through surrender.
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
— Jeremiah 29:13
Vision. An idea you show up for, without an audience, without applause, without knowing whether or not it's going to work.
“The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.”
— Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Existentialism. A purpose, a place, an identity. Feeling like you don't fit in and trying to figure out where you do.
“If you feel like you don’t fit into this world, it’s because you’re here to help build a new one.”
— Unknown“Man is not made for defeat.”
— Ernest Hemingway
The Hero's Journey. Joseph Campbell's framework. A call, a refusal, a risk and a return through transformation. It's not what you're chasing, it's who you're becoming.
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.”
— Joseph Campbell
All through history, brilliant thinkers have been tackling The Chase.
- Jung saw “the chase” as part of individuation—moving toward your truest self.
- Kierkegaard talked about the “leap of faith”—the idea that all meaningful movement in life requires moving without certainty.
- Weil wrote about attention and longing as spiritual practices, suggesting that the chase is the prayer.
- Thoreau got right to the heart of it. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
The chase is baked into our DNA.
It keeps us awake.
Makes us feel alive.
Frees us from apathy.
Brings us closer to best version of ourselves.
It's not a straight line. The chase will bring you over hills and into dells, over streams and under thick canopies.
The human condition is forward-leaning. We are meaning-makers. The chase is how we assign value to something. It’s our way of saying: This matters. It helps us discover who we are by showing us what we’re willing to suffer for. It's not what we're chasing that matters but as Campbell said, it's who we are becoming.
We don't need to chase addictions.
We don't need to chase validation.
We don't need to chase revenge.
We don't need to chase status.
We don't need to chase people.
“Hell is when the person you are meets the person you could have been.”
— Unknown
Chase craft.
Chase truth.
Chase peace.
Chase purpose.
Chase challenge.
Chase connection.
Chase self-respect.
I was raised Christian and though I wouldn't say I subscribe to those beliefs in the traditional sense I found many of the lessons along the way lessons worth repeating.
Hebrews framed the chase in literal running terms.
“Run with endurance the race that is set before you.”
— Hebrews 12:1
Get yourself into a marathon mindset.
- Know your why – Without a true reason, you’ll give up when it gets hard.
- Hydrate – Stay nourished (emotionally, spiritually, physically). Chase from abundance, not depletion.
- Pace yourself – Sometimes the chase includes stillness. Let the heart rate slow.
- Stretch after every run – Reflect. Don’t just keep going. Let the growth settle into you.
- Train for hills – Not everything will feel good. But it’ll grow your legs.
- Change your shoes – Sometimes your method of chasing needs an update.
- Run light – Let go of old beliefs, ego, past wounds. They’re ankle weights.
When you chase the right things, know what to do with it when you get it.
- Feel it. Fully. Let it land. Let the joy stick. Don’t rush into the next chase.
- Give thanks. Gratitude solidifies meaning. It helps you hold the moment as sacred.
- Don’t smother it. What you catch still needs room to breathe. Love, purpose, success—they evolve. Let them.
- Tend to it. You don’t stop watering the garden once the flowers bloom.
How do we know when to take the leap of faith and go for it?
- When the fear is smaller than the regret would be.
- When staying still costs you more than risking forward.
- When you've prepared, and the moment feels ripe, even if you're scared.
- When your intuition is calmly insistent, not anxiously demanding.
How do we know if we're chasing the wrong thing? Ask yourself:
- Does this chase align with who I want to become?
- Am I chasing from wholeness or from fear?
- Is the cost of this chase making me abandon myself?
- Does the thought of finally getting it feel like peace—or just relief from pain?
If you're losing your values, your peace, or your self-respect along the way—you’re not chasing something right. You’re running away from something.
The real chase is for the life where your soul is fully awake.
Where your love has room to breathe.
Where your work matters.
Where your mornings are filled with longing that makes you more human, not less.
You don’t have to fit in to this world.
You just have to be faithful to the world you’re here to help build.
“A wind picked up, rattling the windows, and the candle flames suddenly shifted, dancing along the border between turbulence and order”
— The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls