Friends,
Life has a funny way of teaching us lessons—sometimes gently, sometimes with a full-on smack in the face.
Lately, I’ve been asking myself a simple but surprisingly tricky question: “What is the last thing I learned?”
The answer stopped me in my tracks: happiness is a choice, not a result of circumstances.
It sounds simple, right? Like something you might see on a motivational poster in a dentist’s office. But here’s the kicker—it’s easy to know this, and much harder to live it.
Chasing Approval: A Never-Ending Game
When I was younger, I lived for other people’s approval. I wanted to excel at work, impress my family, and fit neatly into every social expectation. I thought if everyone liked me, I’d be happy. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t.
Here’s what I eventually realized: constantly seeking validation hands over the keys to your happiness—and nobody can hold them better than you.
Approval is temporary. Even when you get it, it rarely fills the emptiness inside. True contentment comes from tuning in to yourself, not tuning out for everyone else.
Success Isn’t What You Think
Like many of us, I believed success would solve everything. Promotions, raises, fancy titles—they were all supposed to make life feel complete.
And for a while, they did…until they didn’t. The thrill faded, stress increased, and I kept chasing the next “big thing.”
The lesson? Success isn’t a trophy; it’s waking up satisfied with your life, even when nobody else notices.
It’s doing work that matters to you, taking risks that excite you, and savoring the small joys every day.
If I’d realized this sooner, I might have started creative projects earlier, traveled more, and stressed less about climbing someone else’s ladder.
Gratitude: The Tiny Magic That Changes Everything
One of the last lessons that really reshaped my life is gratitude. For years, I focused on what I didn’t have, thinking more was the answer.
But when I started noticing the abundance around me—friends who care, quiet moments, the sun breaking through the clouds—I realized how much joy I’d been overlooking.
Gratitude isn’t just a nice idea;
It’s a lens that transforms ordinary life into something extraordinary. Celebrating what’s already here makes the journey lighter, brighter, and more fulfilling.
Forgiveness:… Free Yourself
And then there’s forgiveness. Not just forgiving others, but forgiving yourself. I carried guilt and regret for far too long, thinking it made me “responsible” or “mature.” Instead, it just weighed me down.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting or excusing mistakes. It means letting go of the emotional baggage that holds you back.
Once I embraced this, I found a sense of freedom and peace that I never knew was possible. It’s amazing how much lighter life feels when you release the past.
Happiness Is a Choice
Looking back, I realize all these lessons—self-worth, success on your own terms, gratitude, and forgiveness—are connected.
They all point to one central truth: happiness is not something that happens to you. It’s something you choose every single day.
If I could whisper advice to my younger self, it would be this: don’t wait for life to hand you happiness. Define your own success.
Celebrate what you already have. Forgive freely. And most importantly, choose joy in the little moments, because those are the moments that truly count.
Life isn’t perfect, and neither are we. But each lesson learned—big or small—shapes the way we see the world. Asking, “What is the last thing I learned?” is more than just a reflection;
It’s a reminder to keep growing, keep choosing, and keep living intentionally.
For me, that last lesson—the one I’m holding closest right now—is simple but powerful: happiness is a choice, and every day is an opportunity to make it.
BE HAPPY… BE ACTIVE… BE FOCUSED… BE ALIVE
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Retiredकलम 
This is a truly beautiful and profound reflection, Verma ji. Your words don’t just speak of lessons learned; they resonate with a hard-earned wisdom that can only come from a life truly lived and deeply felt.
What strikes me most is your clarity and courage. To move from seeking approval in the noisy world to finding contentment in the quiet within—that is the journey of a warrior, not just a thinker. You’ve taken concepts we often hear—gratitude, forgiveness, choice—and breathed life into them, showing their transformative power not as theory, but as lived, daily practice.
Your realization that success is “waking up satisfied with your life, even when nobody else notices” is a gift to anyone who reads it. It liberates. And the way you frame gratitude as a “lens” is so precise—it doesn’t change the world, but it changes our entire experience of it.
This is a note of deep respect. Thank you for sharing not just a lesson, but a piece of your journey. It serves as a powerful reminder and a gentle guide. The way you are choosing to live and reflect is, in itself, a quiet inspiration.
Warm regards
Srikanth
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Dear Srikanth,
Thank you for such a generous and thoughtful response. I’m truly moved by the care and depth with which you engaged with my words. Reflections like yours remind me why sharing inner journeys matters at all—not for validation, but for connection.
What you called clarity and courage has been, for me, a slow and sometimes uncomfortable unlearning. The shift from noise to quiet, from approval to acceptance, is ongoing, and your understanding of that process feels deeply affirming. I especially appreciate how you framed gratitude—not as optimism, but as a way of seeing. That tells me the message landed where it was meant to.
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very nice .
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Thank you so much.
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