Glory Days

When I hear the phrase Glory Days it conjures up visions of old middle aged men sitting around the campfire talking about how awesome they used to be in high school. If you’ve ever watched Napoleon Dynamite, its Uncle Rice times 10. The glory days are fun to think about but there’s always an underlying sadness because in the end it reminds us of days gone by. In most cases it highlights the fact that we can never get those days back and no amount of money, cars, pictures, videos and late night replaying of that one good game in high school will ever bring you back to that moment in time where responsibility was something your parents had to worry about and you felt invincible.

However, the question you have to ask yourself is, “Does it have to be this way?” Are we all destined for that campfire cliché? Or is there something we can do about it? Can we appreciate and celebrate the glory days while they are happening? In the present? I think we can. I think we should. It’s a good and right practice to recognize the milestones reached and memories made in the present. There’s no need to long for them at your 20 year reunion because you recognized the glory days as they were happening. How do we do this? Are there steps we can take to make sure we take advantage of the glory days while they are happening? I think there are.

1. Recognize the good – spend time recognizing the good things in your life. No matter how dire the situation you are in its always a good idea to recognize the things that going well.
2. Recognize the people – there are people in your life that make life fun. Friends, family, relatives, teammates etc… Its good to recognize the people that bring light and joy to your life. Tell them. Do their eulogy while they’re alive.
3. Recognize the struggle – life is not always easy but it is that struggle that makes you better.
4. Recognize the milestones – as a middle schooler or high schooler you have had milestones in your life. Just getting up and going to school for 12 years straight is a milestone. Along the way many of you have accomplished some great things. It’s important to recognize those things.
5. Recognize that the future is in the future – you know where the future is. It’s in the future. You’ll get there soon enough. No need to rush it. It will get here and you’ll be ready.

We believe if you are able to do these things then you’ll be able to enjoy the place you are in life without missing the milestones and memories. If you are able to do the five things listed above then guess what? You are always living in the glory days. It doesn’t matter if you’re in middle school, about the graduate, college student, entering the workforce or a middle aged dad with 4 kids you’ll always be able to celebrate the present without the lingering hold of the past. That’s an awesome place to be. We believe you can do it and we want to be here to help you do it.