The Problem with Nostalgia: Things Were Never Better

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oth at a macro level (news etc.) and at a micro level in our personal lives.We all know that one friend (or maybe it’s us) who starts to miss their ex just a few weeks after a break up. All of a sudden, the ex appears to have been the love of their life. They cry and agonize at the potential of having messed up something beautiful while forgetting about how shitty it felt to be in that relationship.It is fascinating how the brain works. It takes a few dots from your past and makes up a narrative where everything in the past starts to look rosy.Nostalgia is the art of comparing today’s worst to yesterday’s best. It is looking at the highlights of our “glorious days” and making us feel bad about our shitty present.The present is at a clear disadvantage against the past because we have more information on it. We feel every single moment. We have live data on our current situat

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ion. We are conscious of the problems we have today. And because our memories are not very reliable, we omit key aspects of the past.The problem is that this logic is flawed. The past also had shitty moments — sometimes even more so than the present.Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be. Do not trust everything your mind tells you.I hope you find this article helpful, and if you ever forget how to remember what you learned, make sure to come back and re-read this article.If you enjoy reading articles like this one and wish to support me as a writer — please consider <a href="https://medium.com/@aliousidib/membership">signing up to become a Medium member</a>. It’s $5 a month and will give you unlimited access to all stories across the platform. If you <a href="https://medium.com/@aliousidib/membership">sign up using my link</a>, I’ll earn a small commission.</article></body>

Once upon a time, not everything was perfect. Ah.

Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be. Or so I am told.

You just need to look around and you will see someone reminisce about the “good old days.”

But, what exactly was so good about those old days?

Take every single meaningful metric as defined by the UN and you will see how much better off we are today.

And yet, we still somehow find a way to cry about the good old days. This happens both at a macro level (news etc.) and at a micro level in our personal lives.

We all know that one friend (or maybe it’s us) who starts to miss their ex just a few weeks after a break up. All of a sudden, the ex appears to have been the love of their life. They cry and agonize at the potential of having messed up something beautiful while forgetting about how shitty it felt to be in that relationship.

It is fascinating how the brain works. It takes a few dots from your past and makes up a narrative where everything in the past starts to look rosy.

Nostalgia is the art of comparing today’s worst to yesterday’s best. It is looking at the highlights of our “glorious days” and making us feel bad about our shitty present.

The present is at a clear disadvantage against the past because we have more information on it. We feel every single moment. We have live data on our current situation. We are conscious of the problems we have today. And because our memories are not very reliable, we omit key aspects of the past.

The problem is that this logic is flawed. The past also had shitty moments — sometimes even more so than the present.

Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be. Do not trust everything your mind tells you.

I hope you find this article helpful, and if you ever forget how to remember what you learned, make sure to come back and re-read this article.

If you enjoy reading articles like this one and wish to support me as a writer — please consider signing up to become a Medium member. It’s $5 a month and will give you unlimited access to all stories across the platform. If you sign up using my link, I’ll earn a small commission.