Recently I was contacted by some old friends that I had not seen or heard from in about 36 years. Oh the power of the web! As we talked, I began to realize that they might be victims of what I like to refer to as Glory Day Syndrome, or GDS. I started to think about the limiting effects of this condition, and to wonder how many of our readers might be struggling with it as well..
Glory Days
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Do you remember an old Bruce Springsteen song called Glory Days? (Listen here) The lyrics tell the tale of three people who look back on times gone by with longing. Why? Because their current situation is disappointing and doesn’t measure up to the good old days. The last verse goes like this:
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“Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture
a little of the glory of, well time slips away
and leaves you with nothing mister but
boring stories of glory days”
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It can happen to anyone!
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In the song there are three completely different scenarios. The first guy was a star baseball player back in high school. Many years later, that’s what he still likes to talk about. The second was a woman who was very popular and could “turn all the boys heads” when she was in school. Now she is divorced with kids and very disappointed by her situation, so she talks about the good old days.
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The third guy is a little different. He worked on an assembly line at Ford for twenty years and never had any glory days. In retrospect, his life seems boring without any real highlights to look back on in his old age.
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Can you relate to any of these scenarios?
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For many, life just hasn’t lived up to their expectations. They started out excited, energetic, and full of hope, and ended up feeling disappointed and let down. So what is it that allows others to feel totally excited by life and looking forward to each new day instead of thinking about those so called good old days
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Circumstances can certainly have a huge effect, but that’s not the answer. The way we know this is that many people are able to rise above the worst kind of circumstances and still maintain a positive, optimistic view of life. So there must be other factors involved.
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What Glory Day Syndrome is not!
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Hopefully, we all have fond memories associated with different times of our lives. Times that stood out as special. We think of those times with great fondness and we enjoy reflecting on them. This is normal and healthy, even comforting. It is not Glory Day Syndrome unless we feel that life is not now, or will it ever be that good again.
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As long as we can continue to look forward to tomorrow with a positive sense of eager anticipation then we are fine. In this case, our good old days are just the really memorable parts of our living experience. But our focus is still in the here and now, and we expect each coming day to be a positive and worthwhile experience.
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OK, so what is it?
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It’s all about where we choose to put our focus. If we are so emotionally invested in the past that it prevents us from seeing and appreciating the wonderment of our present life, then we’ve got GDS.
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Imagine being on a journey and spending all your time looking in the rearview mirror. Instead of seeing what’s all around, you would only see what is behind you. Instead of anticipating what is beyond the next bend, your view would only include the past. We all glance in the rearview mirror from time to time, but our focus should be on where we are now, and where we are headed.
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You can never go back
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The past is exactly that, past. In other words, it’s gone and it’s not coming back. You can revisit the people and places, but you cannot relive the experience in the same way. We grow and change. Life is not static, and as the saying goes – time waits for no one.
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Don’t waste today pining for yesterday. Make today your good old days and adopt the attitude that the best is still ahead. How can you do that?
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Learning keeps life exciting
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Our potential to learn and experience new things is almost inexhaustible. When our mind gets bored, our life turns boring and there is a tendency to think back to more exciting times. So make today exciting by learning new things. What have you always wanted to do? Well, stop wanting and start doing.
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Create the life you want to live
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There is no time to bust out of a rut like right now. Just because things have been a certain way for a long while doesn’t mean that they can’t change. You can change almost anything you want to, and you can start right now.
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If you feel that you lack the skills to make serious changes in your life, don’t let that stop you. I wrote 7 Simple Steps to quickly teach you everything you need to know to completely transform your life. So please, don’t allow the lack of a few simple skills to stand between you and a life you can get excited about.
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Glory Day Syndrome is curable. All it takes is a shift in focus and a strong shot of motivation. Why would we want to keep looking behind us when tomorrow can be used to experience today’s dreams. I tell you with absolute certainty that if you want it, then the best is yet to come.
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Have an opinion or comment?
The lines are open!
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
You know, it is one thing to tell stories about one’s past glory days, but it seems there are some that feel the best days of their lives are behind them. I run into people that would go back to college or high school or the military in a heartbeat. I feel fortunate because I’ve never felt that way. I believe my best days are still ahead of me. Great article!
Jeff@MySuperChargedLifes last blog post..Five Best Foods To Eat To Make Your Brain Sharper
Jonathan, confession time! I was a big time sick with GDS. I thought my teenage years and the early years of the rat race (which didn’t seem like a rat race) were the best years and they were gone. However thanks to so many good writers of books that I have found in recent years and this wonderful thing called the Internet, I have rounded the corner and like Jeff now believe the best years are ahead of me.
Now this is something I have always believed “Learning keeps life exciting”. The problem is it was mostly science or something other than how to better myself. Now that I am into personal development my perspective on life itself has changed dramatically.
For your other readers, I bought Jonathan’s book and started it today. Me thinks it’s going to be great!
Stephen – Rat Race Traps last blog post..Make Your Dreams Real with These 10 Action Tips
Great article. This is one thing that I find most common with people who don’t have a lot of goals and ambitions in life. They look back at past events and glorify them instead of doing the same for future events and then planning those in some manner in their lives. I for one, much prefer to look forward and leave the past (whatever it is) behind.
Mike Kings last blog post..Do You Have Glory Day Syndrome?
I use to get back in my memory and recall days when I can chill with my friends and have a good time and so on. It comes from the position of dissatisfaction with the present. Now I changed that view because I know with each and every day life is getting more interesting and I can’t wait to see what is going to happened. I just love it
Peter Levins last blog post..5 Simple Ways to Know if You Will Make it Big
GDS – that’s a great way to put it!
For me, our Glory Days were when we were doing something that we loved. We can live our Glory Days in the present when we continue doing what we love. “What we love” will probably have changed but finding what that is by taking action will make today a Glory Day.
Thanks for the post – I really enjoyed it!
Laurie | Express Yourself to Success last blog post..Saturday Short Film: The Power of Mortality
Jonathan comments: That’s a great point Laurie. In reality it is the feelings that we attach to any activity that make the experience memorable.
I used to have glory day syndrome. Always thinking back to the things I did once, long ago, and either wishing I could change things or withing I could be back there again. But little good does that do. I spent so much time thinking about the past, that one day, I realized I wasn’t doing anything for my future. Today, the present and the future are all that counts. What you did before is over and done with, and it is how you enjoy life that makes the difference.
~ Kristi
Kikolanis last blog post..How to Keep Your RSS Subscribers
My husband has GDS bigtime and it’s really hurting our relationship. He’s happiest when he’s surrounded by memories of the good old days. Being his wife it’s downright painful that his happiest moments don’t include me. Sure, we have our good times and he is generally “happy” with me, but they really don’t compare to how he is when he’s traveling down memory lane.
Jonathan comments: Your husband epitomizes the dangerous side of Glory Day Syndrome. His fixation on the past is robbing both of you of what could be the best days of your life. I feel your pain here and it saddens me to see a potentially happy and satisfying relationship being held at bay. Try asking you husband to read this article and “What Controls Your Happiness,” maybe he will realize what he is doing to himself and your relationship. Let me know how it goes and thanks for sharing your comment.
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