One of my favorite shows of all time is The Office. In the series finale, Andy (Ed Helm’s character) dropped a line that has stuck with me for quite some time.
“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”
We’re too often guilty of keeping our focus on what’s next. Next step in the career. Next season. Next school year. Next project. There’s always some “next” coming to think about.
But what if Andy is onto something? What if we could tell we’re in the middle right now of what we will consider the good old days? We may be in the middle of the good old days more often than we realize.
My One Step weekly blog focuses a lot on growth both from personal and team lens. It’s about taking one step forward. But sometimes I’m too quick to focus on where we’re at after this one step happens as opposed to enjoying the journey of taking the step forward.
The time spent with family and friends. The challenging projects that build incredible bonds as a team in the middle of all the struggle. Work in the community that will lead to a prouder place to live.
It’s easy to have the mind skip ahead to the end. But let’s resist hitting the fast forward button through the journey. Whether we realize it or not, there’s something this week that your future self will wish you could go back and experience.
It may not be some significant moment in life because much of the journey won’t be. If we can enjoy those little moments just a little bit more and be where our feet are, the journey becomes more fulfilling. When we understand one day we’ll miss what we’re doing exactly in this moment, we see the moment differently. We realize these moments aren’t forever and there can be an entirely different level of appreciation.
I get it. Some moments we want to just be done with. We’ll always run across those. But there’s a lot of other moments we don’t quite have the perspective to realize how lucky we are. Too often that perspective comes long after the moment happens. So, what happens when we bring more awareness to what we’re doing and realize how blessed we are in the moment? It may seem somewhat insignificant today, but one day we’ll wish to have the same opportunity, and it won’t be possible.
It’s strange to think but most likely today you’re living in a moment you will wish you had back. We just don’t typically see it when it’s in front of us. Maybe what we’re doing right now will be considered our good old days and we should treat it like such?
Take your step: this week take a moment and pause. Reflect on whether this is a moment you may look back on as the good old days. Challenge yourself to see the moments of today as fulfilling as they deserve to be. And as they say, be where your feet are.