With the holidays rapidly approaching so too is the probability we’ll hear a family member relive stories from their glory days for the umpteenth time. The stories we’ve heard so much we can repeat them verbatim, of how they won an athletic award in high school, the time they shared a cab with Cher, the time they saved someone from drowning, and the examples go on.
These stories bring our loved ones great joy to relive and share but we must challenge ourselves to think why do glory days end in the past? Why are there only a handful of glory day stories in our lives’ story arsenal?
The answers are simple, we’ve stopped creating glorious days!
A Period Where a Semicolon Should Be
A time in the past that is remembered for great success or happiness defines what glory days are. We can’t change the fact that time moves on leaving us only with memories of the past. However, as time inevitably changes we do not have to put a period at the end of a time period. When we do such things, it allows us to stay stuck a past we perceive better than our future. It is harmful to our current sense of self and even happiness.
An extreme example of this would be Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step foot on the moon and who uttered the words “one small step for man.” In his autobiography, Magnificent Desolation, Buzz recounted how he became absorbed in negative thinking and emotions on the journey home from the moon. He wondered “what does a man do for an encore.” Meaning how could he top what he just accomplished. Buzz put a period where a semicolon should have been after he experienced great success. After the landing, Buzz, drank his pain a way for 9 years which caused his marriage for 21 years to end. His prestigious military career also took a dive and ended on bad terms.
If Buzz had adopted the philosophy of Condoleezza Rice of “never spend any of your time being the ‘former’ anything,” he would have put a semicolon after the moon landing. He was much more than a former astronaut.
What could he had done differently that we can do currently?
Create Glorious Days
The definition of glory days is simple. In order to keep those days flowing, we must keep creating times of great happiness and success. We know the first step is to never put a period at the end of anything we do that causes us bliss or achievement. Now what do we do?
We get clear on what we need to cultivate happy experiences, even if we suffer a great loss. Get clear on what is needed externally and internally. Journaling and experimentation can help immensely with this process.
Finally, keep setting goals and focusing on growth. Success isn’t a destination, it’s a road we get to travel until the end of our days. Set goals you can be proud of no matter how small or great.
When we keep these things in our lives intentionally, not only does the quality of our lives begin to change so do the glory stories we share.
The only questions that remain are… What will we knock off our bucket lists? What new experiences will we have? What are the glory days we vow to create for of our present and future?
By Mona Nyree Stephens, contributing author
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