When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down "happy." They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.

This anecdotal quotation circulates widely in modern inspirational media (posters, social networks, self-help compilations) as a childhood “lesson” contrasting institutional expectations with personal fulfillment. It is frequently misattributed—most commonly to John Lennon—often framed as something he supposedly wrote on a school assignment. However, no reliable contemporary documentation from Lennon’s childhood or from a verifiable interview/source supports that attribution. In the absence of a traceable first publication or primary witness, the safest database treatment is as a late-20th/early-21st-century apocryphal story presented in quotation form, with author unknown.

The anecdote contrasts two measures of a “successful” life: external achievement (a job title, status, or income) versus an internal state (happiness). By placing the lesson in childhood, the quote frames happiness as a foundational value learned early, then shows how institutional expectations can narrow life into career-oriented goals. The child’s answer—“happy”—functions as a critique of education and social norms that treat well-being as secondary or as a byproduct of accomplishment. The final retort reverses authority: the student is not mistaken; rather, the system misunderstands what life is for.

1) “When I was a child, my mother told me happiness was the key to life… I wrote down ‘happy’… they told me I didn’t understand the question, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
2) “They asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said, ‘Happy.’ They said I didn’t understand the assignment; I said they didn’t understand life.”
3) Often appears with attribution to “John Lennon” and phrased as “When I was 5…” / “When I was 7…” with minor wording changes (mother told me / my mum said).