YogiWrites

Sometimes happiness isn’t in landing that big role or impressing someone with money you don’t have. It’s in a roadside chai, a genuine conversation, or just accepting where you are right now.

When a Tea Stall Taught Me Everything

I was broke. Again.

Just came out of another audition where they looked at me for exactly 30 seconds before saying “We’ll call you.” We both knew they wouldn’t.

Walking through Andheri, hungry and tired, I had exactly ₹20 left in my pocket. Enough for chai and maybe some biscuits.

I found this small tapri near the station. The uncle there was making tea for a group of auto drivers who were laughing about something stupid one of them said.

I ordered my chai and just stood there, listening to their jokes, watching the steam rise from my glass.

That’s when it hit me.

These guys probably earn as much as I don’t. But they were genuinely happy. Laughing without filters. No pretense.

And for those 10 minutes, sipping ₹10 chai, I felt richer than I had in months.

The Day I Stopped Performing

I was on a date. Third one that month. She was pretty, seemed nice, but within 15 minutes she asked what car I drive.

“I don’t have one,” I said.

Her face changed. Not dramatically, but enough.

The conversation became polite but distant. She checked her phone more. Made excuses about catching the last train early.

Walking back alone, I felt like shit. Not because she left, but because I had spent the whole evening trying to seem like someone I wasn’t.

Bigger job than I had. Better prospects than were real. More confidence than I felt.

That night, lying on my PG bed, I realized something.

I was exhausted. Not just tired – soul-deep exhausted from pretending to be someone else’s idea of “worthy.”

What if I just… stopped?

The Things That Actually Matter

Here’s what three years of audition rejections and failed relationships taught me:

The moments that actually made me happy had nothing to do with success or money.

A casting director who said “Better luck next time” but meant it kindly. My roommate sharing his maggi when I was too broke to eat. Random conversations with street vendors who treated me like a person, not a customer. That one girl who laughed at my jokes even though I couldn’t afford to take her anywhere fancy.

These weren’t Instagram moments. Nobody would be impressed by them.

But they felt real. They felt like home.

When Everyone Else Seems to Have It Figured Out

Mumbai does this thing to you. Makes you feel like everyone else is winning while you’re stuck in traffic, literally and metaphorically.

Scroll through social media and everyone’s “living their best life.” Getting roles, buying cars, posting from expensive restaurants.

Meanwhile, you’re calculating if you can afford both dinner and the bus fare home.

But here’s what I learned: half of those posts are lies, and the other half are people as confused as you, just with better lighting.

The real joy isn’t in keeping up. It’s in opting out of that race entirely.

What My Landlord’s Daughter Taught Me

There’s this 8-year-old girl in my building. Her dad owns the place, I rent a tiny room on the top floor.

One evening, I was sitting on the stairs feeling sorry for myself after another “almost got the part” situation.

She came and sat next to me with her coloring book. Started showing me her drawings.

“This is my house,” she said, pointing to a crayon house with a crooked chimney. “And this is you, bhaiya, sitting on the stairs.”

She had drawn me. Just sitting there. And somehow, in her drawing, I looked… peaceful.

“You always sit here when you’re thinking,” she said. “I like that. Mama says thinking people are good people.”

I realized something that day. This kid saw me not as a struggling actor or failed auditioner. Just as the guy who sits and thinks.

Maybe that was enough. Maybe I was enough.

How to Find Joy When You’re Just Surviving

You don’t need a 10-step program. You need to stop looking so hard.

Notice the free things. Sunsets don’t charge admission. Neither do good conversations or the feeling of rain on your face.

Talk to strangers. Not for networking. Just because humans are interesting when they’re not trying to sell you something.

Sit somewhere without your phone. For 10 minutes. Watch people. Listen to sounds. Remember you’re alive.

Stop performing. At least once a day, just be yourself. Even if nobody’s watching. Especially if nobody’s watching.

The beautiful thing about being broke and struggling? You learn what actually matters. And it’s rarely what you thought.

A Truth Nobody Talks About

If you’re reading this, you’re probably tired of feeling like you’re behind in life.

Everyone else seems to have better jobs, relationships, apartments, plans.

But here’s what I want you to know:

You don’t have to earn your right to be happy.

You don’t have to achieve something first.

You don’t have to impress anyone.

You can just be a regular person having a regular day and decide that this moment—right now—is pretty okay.

Maybe even beautiful.

Because it is. You just forgot to notice.

Make yourself some chai. Sit quietly for a minute. Look around.

This ordinary moment? This is your life. And your life is already worth something.

Not because of what you might become. Because of what you already are.

Next week: “The Courage to Be Ordinary” – Why being impressive is overrated.

Want more honest thoughts like this?

Join my weekly newsletter where I share what I’m learning while figuring it all out. [Subscribe Here →]