The past always seems happier than it actually was. It’s always been quite a peculiar idea that looking back on past events, makes the idea seem better than they actually were when they were occurring. For example, being in high school isn’t something that many people would want to do forever, but looking back on my high school experience, I can honestly say it was one of the happiest times of my life.
It’s pretty often that we hear stories begin with “When I was younger…”, or “I really miss the days when…”. But, do we truly miss those days? Or have we subconsciously deleted all of the negative aspects associated with certain past events? Why do we think of memories being so much better than they actually were?
A majority of people tend to have a positive self-image. A large part of preserving a positive outlook on oneself is to make sure that our memories are also generally positive, and our brain does it’s best to take care of that for us. Looking back on high school, I remember football games and homecoming. I remember laughing in the hallways with my friends, and follies week. This is only what appears on the surface when I think of my life two years ago. After giving it some deeper thought, those memories were only a fraction of what my life really was. A majority of my time was spend sitting in classes I couldn’t stand. I experienced my first heartbreak which consumed a year of my life. I almost failed each of my math classes, and yet, my high school experience is something that will always have a positive light on it in my head.
To keep our focus on the positive aspects of memories, it’s necessary to promote our ability to remember the aspects that truly were positive, and simultaneously overpower, or blur the negative memories associated with an event. To make sure a memory is recalled as being positive, the positive things associated with the memory needs to be enhanced, while inhibiting the bad aspects which compete with them.
The main reason we remember the past as being happy, is because it’s necessary for us in order to maintain a positive self-image. The past isn’t as great as we remember it to be because our minds are programmed to make it that way. That iconic darkness that overcomes the present isn’t as prevalent as we believe it to be, because it has always been there. As humans, our self-image is so great, that in a few years, this will seem like the best moments of your life.
