“We all have a story. A relationship that ended, a job that no longer exists, an academic stage that we left behind. And with those farewells, there often comes a silent but powerful temptation: to speak ill of what was.
It seems easy. It seems fair. It seems that saying what didn’t work, what hurt, what disappointed, frees us. But in reality, speaking with contempt of what is no longer part of our life does not set us free: it binds us. It makes us prisoners of a badly healed wound.
When we speak with resentment of an ex-partner, an ex-boss, a company or a school that was once part of our life, what we reveal is not so much what they were, but what emotional place we ourselves became stuck in.
Yes, maybe there were mistakes. Maybe you weren’t valued as you deserved, you didn’t get what you expected, you didn’t end up as you imagined. But what you did there, what you learned, what you gave, what you overcame… that is yours too. And every time you choose to speak respectfully about what happened in the past, you are speaking well of yourself.
It’s not about keeping quiet out of fear, or pretending that everything was perfect. It’s about recognizing that even imperfect experiences are part of your journey. That dignity is also in the way we close doors. That silence is sometimes worth more than judgment. And that if you have nothing constructive to say, then remaining silent is also a way of taking care of your present.
You don’t need to destroy the past to justify where you are today. It is not necessary to sully your past to justify your present.
Your growth does not require revenge. It requires awareness, serenity, class and emotional elegance.
Talking badly about your past does not improve your present. On the other hand, when you choose to narrate it with maturity, you are showing that you understood something key: that everything was part of your process. That each stage, even the most difficult, prepared you to be who you are today. And that deserves to be recognized, not despised.
To be grateful, without idealizing. To remember, without resentment. To move forward, without tarnishing what you have lived through.
That is true victory.”
Prabhuji
