Reshav Singh secured first place in “One Sentence That Stops the Scroll,” a micro-writing contest organized by Cherry Book Awards, where participants were challenged to express a meaningful idea in just one sentence. His entry received the highest share of public votes, earning him the winning position.
His winning sentence was:
“You need to get rid of your past to uncover your future.”
Behind these words lies a personal experience, a shift in mindset, and a lesson that Reshav continues to learn and apply in his life.
The Thought Behind the Sentence
The sentence comes from a phase in Reshav's life when he often felt anxious and struggled with feelings of inadequacy. He found himself repeatedly questioning why certain things happened to him, revisiting past experiences, and sometimes looking at situations from the perspective of a victim.
Over time, he began to realise something important: constantly thinking about the past can keep you mentally stuck in it. You may want to move forward, achieve something meaningful, or become a better version of yourself, but if your thoughts are always occupied with what went wrong, you leave very little room to focus on what lies ahead.
His interest in human psychology and personal development played an important role in changing this perspective. Through self-help books, podcasts, and learning about how the human mind works, he started understanding how our thought patterns influence our emotions, decisions, and behaviour.
He gradually realised that personal growth requires a conscious shift in attention. Instead of repeatedly thinking about past regrets and mistakes, one needs to start focusing on future goals, setting clear expectations, building discipline, and taking consistent action.
For him, getting rid of the past does not mean forgetting everything that happened or ignoring the lessons it taught. It means refusing to let those experiences define your present or decide your future.
One interesting analogy that helped him understand this idea was something as simple as a wardrobe.
“If you want new clothes in your wardrobe, you first need to make space by getting rid of the old ones.”
The same idea applies to life. If you want new experiences, opportunities, and possibilities, you need to make room for them. Holding on to everything from the past leaves little space for what you want to bring into your future.
This change in perspective helped Reshav move forward with greater clarity and focus. It is also what eventually inspired his contest entry.
A Journey Across Technology, Marketing, and Writing
Reshav is a full-stack web developer with a B.Tech background in Computer Science and Engineering from Lovely Professional University (LPU). He is interested in building web applications, solving problems, and exploring how technology can make things more efficient and accessible.
Alongside technology, he has developed an interest in marketing, communication, and understanding people. His experience as a Client Relationship Executive at Digital Golgappa, a PR agency in India, gave him exposure to client handling, social media management, professional communication, and relationship building.
Writing is another area he enjoys exploring. He has written articles on technology, including one on prompt engineering and another explaining how to communicate more effectively with AI using the RACE framework. Through these articles, he has explored how better communication and structured instructions can improve the way people interact with technology. He has also worked on multiple full-stack development projects and has compiled a couple of books.
Beyond his professional and technical interests, Reshav is fascinated by human psychology, personal development, and the ways people can change their lives through consistent effort and the right mindset.
Beyond Work: Fitness and Personal Discipline
Personal development, for Reshav, is not limited to reading books or learning new skills. He also believes in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and staying physically active.
Having struggled with his health in the past, he gradually realised the importance of good nutrition and regular physical activity. He started paying more attention to his diet, incorporated home workouts into his routine, and developed a strong interest in running.
For him, running has become more than just a physical activity. It gives him time to think, reflect, and find motivation. He enjoys the discipline that comes with maintaining a fitness routine and believes that eating well, staying active, and taking care of one's health are essential parts of living a balanced life.
One Sentence, A Continuing Journey
Winning the Cherry Book Awards contest was a new experience for Reshav. The challenge of expressing an entire perspective through a single sentence pushed him to approach writing differently.
Receiving the highest share of public votes made the achievement even more meaningful. It was encouraging to see that an idea rooted in his personal experiences could connect with other people as well.
His interest in human psychology continues to grow, and he hopes to keep learning, exploring new perspectives, and sharing what he discovers through his writing.
For Reshav, the winning sentence is not just something written for a competition. It is a reminder of a lesson he has experienced himself: you cannot keep looking back at the life you have lived and expect to discover the life you still have ahead of you.
And perhaps that is what makes the sentence meaningful. It is not about changing your past. It is about refusing to let your past stop you from creating your future.
