Don’t Let The Good Old Days Pass You By

Don’t you wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve left them?

Hint: You’re always in the good old days.

We get so caught up in wanting to reach the next phase of our lives that we let the current phase pass us by. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the next thing, racing to the next goal or milestone, and then we look back and wish we had appreciated that time more.

This episode is meant to remind you to appreciate the phase of life you’re currently in, even if it's not your end goal.

Maybe there is so much more that you want to do and accomplish. Maybe there are so many more milestones to achieve. But don’t waste a second wishing you were in the next phase. 

Gratitude can change your entire perspective about moving to a new phase of your life or being ‘stuck’ in the one you’re currently in.

Take some time to appreciate the phase you’re in now because it has so much beauty in your life right now. 

Chapters

• 0:09 Appreciating the Present Phase of Life
• 10:33 Appreciating the Present Moment

Transcript

Lindsay: 0:09

How many times have you thought about quitting your job and starting a new life? Hey, i'm Lindsay, the girl who actually did that, and now I'm on a mission to change the 9-5 narrative that dreading Monday and working for the weekend is normal and acceptable. My goal is to help you see your potential beyond your credentials, gain clarity on what it means to live life on your own terms and build the confidence to go after your dream career. I'm here to prove to you that it's possible for you to do work you love, make a positive impact on the world, make even more money than you're making right now and live a deeply fulfilling life. So let's dive in. Hi, my loves. I wanted to pop into your feeds today to remind you of a really important message that I think all of us forget sometimes.

Lindsay: 1:10

So the other day, brenda and I were watching The Office and it was the finale episode when Andy Bernard says I wish there was a way to know that you were in the good old days before you've actually left them. And Brendan was like that's such a good quote. And he's right, it is a good quote. But my response was well, you're always in the good old days And lately I've really been living in this vibe of just gratitude and appreciation for the phase of life that I'm in. And you might remember, i actually made an episode on this topic a while back. I think it's called like 2am thoughts And I remember that episode. Making that episode, i was sitting on my bed when I was living in North Carolina And I could just feel that I was about to be ending one phase of my life and starting a new phase. I knew that I was going to be moving back up to Massachusetts soon, that Brendan and I were going to be living together and that it was just starting this whole new phase of my life and of my business. But I also felt so much gratitude for the place that I was in And it was like I didn't need to rush. I wasn't sitting in my apartment in North Carolina by myself, wishing every day away and just being like I can't wait till I can move back, i can't wait till I can be with Brendan.

Lindsay: 2:42

And I think so often we get caught up in wanting to reach the next phase of our life that we let the current phase pass us by and then we look back and we're like, damn. I wish I had appreciated that time in my life more when I was in it. You know, and even with things that we don't love, obviously shit happens, tragedy happens, shitty situations happen. That's not what I'm talking about. But in general, i don't think we spend enough time in appreciation for the current phase of life that we're in. I think we're always. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the next thing, the next goal, the next place we want to be in. We're not happy where we are And so we're just thinking of how we can get out of it and get on to the next thing.

Lindsay: 3:29

But even in the situations that aren't ideal, you know, even when I think back to being in my accounting job and I had a whole existential crisis, like I was miserable overall but I still found joy in every day as much as I could. I found so much joy in my co-workers and the people who I got to work with and see every day, and some of them who I've stayed in touch with. Like I had some really good friends that I made in that phase of my life and it was a really transformative time. I went through a breakup. It was the first time I was living on my own and just so. So much happened for me in that phase of my life And even though when I was in it a lot of the time I was unhappy, looking back, i have so much appreciation for that time And that was really how I was feeling. When I recorded that 2am thoughts episode was like there are so many exciting things that are about to happen in my life Thanks.

Lindsay: 4:29

I didn't want to just get caught in this cycle of always waiting for the next thing, like, oh, i can't wait till Brandon and I live together, and then I can't wait till we get a house, and then I can't wait till we get engaged, and then we're engaged, and I can't wait till we get married, and then we're married. And it's like, oh, i can't wait to have kids. I am excited for all of those things, but at the same time I'm not rushing it and I'm so appreciative of this current phase that I'm in. I know the other phases are coming and they're gonna be amazing, but while I'm in this phase I'm not gonna wish it away. I'm gonna be so fucking grateful for every day that I'm here, right.

Lindsay: 5:08

And so I look back on the phase of my life when I was living in North Carolina, just really starting my business. My business was a baby and I was figuring out this whole world of online business in my apartment, living on my own, and it was a time, you know, and there were a lot of times in those couple of years that were challenging and it was like some of the lowest times of my life, honestly, and of my business. But I look back on it so fondly because it helped transform me to where I am today, but not only that. I'm so grateful that I was appreciative of that time in my life when I was still in it And I had so much gratitude for being where I was at, because I knew that, even despite the challenges and the struggles and the setbacks, it was ultimately leading me to where I was going. You know And like again, i look back on, you know, when I initially moved back, when Brenda and I were living in an apartment, and now we have a house and we're engaged and we're planning our wedding And I'm so excited for that And I'm so excited for that new phase of our relationship.

Lindsay: 6:22

But I'm also loving every second of this current phase. I like literally every day of my life. Think about how grateful I am to be here, how much I love living with Brendan and being engaged to him and getting to go to sleep next to him and wake up next to him every single day and just like our you know evenings that we have together right now when we don't have kids yet. And it's just such Cool phase to be in because, like I know where we're headed, i can so clearly visualize our future and I'm so excited for that future when we do have kids and start a family. But at the same time, i'm so appreciative of right now and I know that when that that new phase comes, i'm gonna look back on these times and I'm gonna miss the evenings that we had after work where we didn't have any kids and we could just hang out with each other. We could cook dinner together, we could watch Netflix or whatever we wanted to do, you know. And I'm gonna look back and I'm gonna miss Those times and I'm gonna be like those were the good old days, you know, even though you know I imagine I'm gonna love my kids and enjoy having a family as well. But it's like.

Lindsay: 7:34

My point is you're always in. You're in the good old days right now. You're always in the good old days. Whatever phase you're in right now is going to be the good old days when you look back on it, and so don't let it just pass you by, wishing to be in the next phase of your life and just waiting for the next thing and dreaming of the next thing. Appreciate it while you're in it, because it's so much more beautiful. It's so much more.

Lindsay: 7:59

I don't even know how to articulate it, but, like I have so much gratitude for every day of my life right now and it's not just because I've accomplished everything I want to accomplish. I haven't, like I'm still working on growing my business, i'm still working toward these new goals every day. There's so much more than I want to do An experience in life, in my business, in my relationship but at the same time, i'm so fucking grateful for where I am right now and I am absolutely loving every second of it, and I'm so appreciative of every day That I get to wake up and do what I love and be with the person that I love and live this life and like It. Just I don't know it gets better and better all the time, but I'm I don't want to waste a second of it, wishing it away and wishing that I was in the next phase, because there's so much beauty in this current phase and I think sometimes we can forget that and we get so caught up in Wanting to move to the next thing. You know we get so caught up in oh, i want a ring, i want a wedding, i want kids that we can kind of let this current phase of Our life and our relationship passes by.

Lindsay: 9:13

And then we're gonna look back someday and we're gonna wish that we had been more present, we're gonna wish that we had soaked it all up a little bit more, we're gonna wish That we had realized this was the good old days. You know, it's like we have this idea that you can only appreciate the good times after they're gone. But why? what if you can appreciate them while you're still in them? and so my message to you today is to remember that you are in the good old days right now.

Lindsay: 9:39

Imagine your future self looking back and think about what are the pieces of your current phase of your life that you are gonna be so grateful for one day, what are the pieces that, even if they feel challenging right now, are leading you to where you ultimately want to be and where you're ultimately going. What are you gonna look back on and wish that you Had been more appreciative, and wish that you had been more present? for what are you gonna look back on and miss? is it a person? is it a place? is it a piece of your routine? not, one day you're not gonna have anymore because your circumstances are gonna change in, your life is gonna be completely different than it is right now. There's so much from this current moment that you are gonna look back on with so much gratitude, but you don't have to wait until it's gone to be appreciative of it.

Lindsay: 10:33

So I hope this message sticks with you, because it's something that sticks with me literally every day. I think about how grateful I am for this current moment and the fact that it's gonna be gone someday and I talked about this in the more recent episode I made, talking about how life is short and you never know when your last day might be, which is another reason to appreciate every single moment and everything that you have right now. But even if you live a really long and healthy and prosperous life, they're still gonna be things that you Aren't gonna have at some point in the future, and so being able to recognize and appreciate them now, while you are in it, while you are living in that moment, just makes life so much more beautiful. So I hope this message resonates. Thank you for listening. I love you, i appreciate you, i am here for you always, and I will talk to you in the next episode.