I have moments where I miss my old self. But I think anyone can get caught up in what we used to have. But at... — Steve Gleason

I have moments where I miss my old self. But I think anyone can get caught up in what we used to have. But at the same time, we can choose to focus on the beauty of now.

Author: Steve Gleason

Insight: That pull toward who we used to be is real and it's not weakness—it's nostalgia doing its job. We had a version of ourselves that felt easier, more certain, or simply more us. The danger isn't in remembering it fondly; it's in letting that memory become a measuring stick for everything that comes after. We start telling ourselves that we've lost something essential, that nothing measures up anymore. But here's what actually happens: the past gets a kind of filter applied to it. We remember the good parts with vivid clarity while the struggles fade into background noise. Meanwhile, the present sits right in front of us, unfiltered and sometimes messy, so it feels like we're comparing our now to someone else's highlight reel. The shift isn't about forcing yourself to never think about the old you—it's about recognizing you get to make a choice in where your attention lands. The interesting part is that choosing to notice what's beautiful right now doesn't erase who you were. It just means you're not trying to live two versions of your life simultaneously. You get to be someone new who carries memories of the old self, rather than someone stuck in a constant performance of grief for who disappeared. That kind of permission changes everything.