Bhagavad Gita 1.32 · Arjuna
What's the point of winning
न काङ्क्षे विजयं कृष्ण न च राज्यं सुखानि च।
किं नो राज्येन गोविन्द किं भोगैर्जीवितेन वा॥
na kāṅkṣe vijayaṃ kṛṣṇa na ca rājyaṃ sukhāni cakiṃ no rājyena govinda kiṃ bhogairjīvitena vā
Krishna, I don't want victory, or a kingdom, or pleasures. Govinda, what is a kingdom, or comfort, or even life worth?
What it means
Arjuna lets go of everything he came to fight for. Victory, kingdom, comfort, he wants none of it. Then he goes further, what is even life worth? It sounds like detachment. But it isn't. It is despair, sorrow dressed up as wisdom.
The story
Calling Krishna Govinda, protector of cows, Arjuna speaks as to a childhood friend. Krishna will later teach real detachment, acting fully without clinging. What Arjuna feels here is the opposite, a collapse of purpose. The Gita will patiently show the difference.
In your life
Imagine someone who misses a promotion and says, I never wanted it anyway, nothing matters. That's hurt talking. When everything feels pointless, don't decide anything big. Rest first, then talk to someone you trust.
Despair can sound a lot like wisdom.