“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.” –Andy Bernard, The Office
Ever find yourself thinking back to some distant memory and saying to yourself, “Ah… Those were the good old days”?
Getting nostalgic and reminiscing allows us to look back at how good we’ve had it. It’s a way to appreciate our life story as it unfolds, leading us to where we now stand.
But we almost never look at the present with the same affectionate eyes. We never say to ourselves, “We’re living in the good old days right now.”
We’re too busy worrying about the past, the future. Or we shift our focus to the present only to acknowledge the hardships.
What if we look at the present with the same nostalgic lens? How good do we truly have it? Will we miss times like these when we find ourselves in the next chapter?
Life goes by whether you’re present in the moment or not.
You may as well set the stage, so you can one day look back at the present as being the good old days.
You’re living in the good old days. You have the power to make it so.
It’s time to start living like it is.
Such a surprise to see the American version of the office! I’ve only watched the original. Obviously I’ve been missing out.
I will acknowledge the present and live in the now, not the then or the may yet be.
You’re missing out! The entire series is on Netflix and it is AMAZING. Check it out asap. 🙂
Sometimes very hard to remember when it seems the shtf, but true. My mind filters out a lot of the bad stuff from the past. When I think back to troubled days they don’t have the same impact as they did at the time. Self-preservation in action. Or maybe a built-in brain filter that chucks the pain. Don’t know. Funny but I do remember the real good times. Like when I had that first crush. If I try to make it real, thinking about it like it is right now, many of the same feelings come back. The heart starts beating faster. I feel the rosy glow in my face and skin. The tingling sensation in the stomach (and lower down) returns. And I’m happy. Now if I hold that thought for as long as I can it’s got to be doing some good. Kinda like Denis Waitley’s imaging exercises for athletes, astronauts, etc. The mind is incredible. Here is to you and your readers memories of the good old days . . .
Not going to lie… I had to google “shtf”. 🙂
I’ve been spending a lot of time these days reminiscing and replaying the past two years in my head (the memorable “scenes”).
Funny enough, when I was in the Philippines, the shower was where everything would hit me. I was overseas. I was earning my own keep and was 100% self-reliant for the first time. I was so liberated for the first time in my life.
I’d stand there as the water ran over my head and smile because I knew in that moment that I was living in “the good old days” as they were unfolding. And I was right.
Here I am 7,000 miles away from that shower, that home, replaying those scenes in my head and reaffirming the thoughts I had in the shower. Those were the good old days and I’m glad I acknowledged they would be.
That quote from ‘The Office’ is interesting. Time flew fast and I have and a lot of looking back at those good old days. And indeed, if we think of the present as a good old day – someday – how I would love to cherish every bit of it. Well said!
Thanks for mentioning me in your latest blog post, Rob!
Like I was telling Nick, the shower was where I spent a lot of my moments of intentional gratitude. While showering, I’d think about all the things I was blessed with. I’d truly acknowledge that the present was a good time to be alive.
Pick a daily routine that can act as your trigger to be grateful. The shower is where I sing karaoke as my music plays loudly from my Jambox speaker. It’s where I’m thinking about what’s to come and what I’m going to do next.
hi Vicent,
well written topic, i do ponder upon the good old days how great i was and what phenomenal things i had done.
it just helps me to stay focused and give my best.
it also gives a feeling i could have .. i should have consistently continued what i would be now…. leaves the feeling
that consistency is the answer
And I can bet you’re even greater now with all that experience under your belt. 🙂
Well for a good man like me that really had hoped that i was going to be married with a family, hasn’t happened for me since these days finding a good woman is very hard today for me. The good old days was certainly much easier finding love is a very good reason why i am here today thanks to our parents, and grandparents, aunts and uncles which it was so much more easier for them finding love back then which today it is very difficult for a lot of us men that are still looking as i speak which makes me wish that if only i had been born much earlier since it would’ve made a big difference in my life instead of being all alone and single now.