This quote sums it up for me. At 63 years of age I’ve spent a lifetime trying to find happiness through external validation and material things. For me, peace of mind would come from accepting my imperfect self and living authentically without fear of being rejected.

Happiness, true happiness, is an inner quality. It is a state of mind. If your mind is at peace, you are happy. If your mind is at peace, but you have nothing else, you can be happy. If you have everything the world can give – pleasure, possessions, power – but lack peace of mind, you can never be happy.
Dada Vaswani