One Day You'll Realize These Were the Good Old Days (And You're Missing Them)

When will it ever be enough?

That’s the question that’s been sitting with me lately.

Not in a peaceful, reflective kind of way.

In an exhausted kind of way.

The kind that comes when you realise you've spent so much of your life chasing the next thing that you've forgotten why you started running in the first place.

Because lately I’ve been looking back on the last few years of my life.

Especially university.

And if I’m honest, part of me wants to go back.

Not because everything was perfect.

It wasn’t.

I was stressed, broke, confused about the future and constantly worried about what came next.

But standing outside of those years now, something hit me:

I was living in the good old days and didn’t even know it and at the time, I thought life would finally begin after graduation.

When I got the job.

When I made money.

When I became successful.

When I got to the next stage.

When I finally got to wherever “there” was supposed to be.

So I spent most of those years looking ahead.

Waiting.

Planning.

Chasing.

And in doing that… I missed parts of the life I was already living.

Yoh… That realization hurt a little.

Because it made me wonder:

How much of my life have I spent waiting for a better one?

And then a second question followed it.

How much of my life am I doing that with right now?

Because if I’m honest, I still catch myself doing it.

Still telling myself life will start when...

When I get the job.

When the business grows.

When I reach the next milestone.

When things finally settle down.

As if life is standing on the other side of achievement waiting for me.

But what if that’s the same lie I believed at twenty?

One thing about me is that I am a dreamer.

Always have been and I want to live a big life.

Not necessarily a famous life or a wealthy life, although I won’t complain if those things happen. I just don’t want to get to the end of my life and wonder what could have been if I had been a little braver.

So I dream.

Big dreams.

Career dreams.

Creative dreams.

The kind of dreams that keep you up at night because you’re excited about what’s possible. The problem is that dreamers can become chasers and I think that’s what I’ve been doing.

I’m surrounded by people doing incredible things. People building careers, businesses, ministries, and lives they can be proud of.

And if I’m honest, part of me wants that too. Sometimes I want it so badly that I forget to enjoy where I am.

A good example?

A few years ago, I was praying desperately for a job.

I wanted independence.

Stability.

The ability to support myself.

Now I have that job.

And instead of sitting down long enough to appreciate the answered prayer, I’ve already moved the goalpost.

Now it’s micro-degrees.

Courses.

New certifications.

The next opportunity.

The next level.

The next thing.

And none of those things are bad.

Growth is good.

Ambition is good.

But somewhere along the way, I realised I was spending so much energy preparing for the next season that I wasn’t fully living in the one God had already given me.

What’s scary is that most of this happens subconsciously.

I don’t wake up and decide to be dissatisfied.

I just slowly drift into believing that where I am isn’t enough.

That who I am isn’t enough.

That I’ll finally be able to rest when I get to the next milestone.

But the next milestone always becomes another starting line.

And the cycle begins again.

Life has become one long achievement race.

Everyone is building something.

Chasing something.

Trying to become something.

And somewhere in all that movement, we’ve forgotten how to simply live.

We’re constantly praying and crying to God:

“I need this.”

“I want that.”

“If only I can just get there.”

And then, when we finally get there, we either don't realize we're living in the life we prayed for, or we're too busy chasing the next thing to notice.

And before we can even breathe, we're already looking ahead.

The goalpost moves.

Again.

Better.

Bigger.

Higher.

And again.

The funny thing is, I don’t think the goalpost is the problem.

I think we are.

Because we keep believing the next thing will finally make us feel settled.

And every time we arrive, we discover that the feeling doesn’t last.

So we move the goalpost again.

My dear, let me hold your hand while I say this:

It doesn’t really get better than this.

I know that sounds crazy.

But hear me out…

Yes, some things will become easier with time. Life becomes more convenient with more accessible and problems get solved.

But at the same time, new problems, pressures, and distractions arrive too.

Every achievement comes with new expectations.

Every win comes with new pressure.

Every level has its own chaos.

So here’s the thing about the goalpost moving:

It’s not actually the goalpost.

It’s us.

We keep moving it because we think the next thing will finally be enough. The next achievement will finally make us feel whole. The next moment will finally be the one where we can rest.

But the reason I say life doesn’t magically get better is this:

We keep postponing joy.

That’s the problem.

Not ambition.

Not goals.

Not growth.

Joy.

We keep treating happiness like a reward we’ll receive later instead of a gift we’ve already been given today.

Which means there is no magical destination where everything finally settles down and becomes perfect.

The problem is that we keep postponing joy. We tell ourselves:

"I'll enjoy life when things calm down."

“When things settle down.”

“When I make more money.”

“When I finally get there.”

“When I get married.”

“When I have kids.”

“When the kids are older.”

“When I retire.”

And the goalpost keeps moving.

So here’s what happens:

We miss our meals because we're thinking about the next meeting. We miss time with friends because we're planning for the future. We miss moments because we're chasing moments we think are better.

The good old days weren’t some distant future you were trying to reach.

They were right here.

And you missed them.

So please.

Enjoy your meals.

Really taste them. Don’t eat while scrolling or planning or thinking about what’s next.

Go out with your friends, not to network or make connections that benefit you. Just to laugh. Just to be.

Take the pictures.

Live in the moment enough to capture it, but not so much that you forget to experience it.

Fall in love.

Not because it’s the right time or the right person by external standards, but because your heart is calling you to.

Laugh loudly.

The kind of laugh that doesn’t care who’s listening.

Rest when you need to.

Not because you’ve earned it or because you’re waiting until you’ve achieved enough. Just rest.

Invest your money too, please. (Your grandkids will thank you for that.)

But most importantly, live in the moment.

One day you’ll realize these were the good old days.

There is no season where life suddenly starts.

Life is already happening.

I hope you don’t miss them while waiting for a better life that was already happening.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” -Matthew 6:33-34:

I’ve read Matthew 6 more times than I can count.

Most of the time I read it as a command not to worry.

But lately I’ve been wondering if Jesus was talking about something bigger than anxiety.

Maybe He was talking about attention.

About our tendency to live in tomorrow while today slips through our fingers.

Because tomorrow always feels important.

Tomorrow feels productive.

Tomorrow feels responsible.

But while we’re busy living there, today keeps happening without us.

And before we know it, the season we couldn’t wait to escape becomes the season we miss the most.

How do we achieve the balance of ambition and contentment in this fast-paced world?

That’s the real question.

Because we can’t just stop being ambitious. Drive isn’t a character flaw, it’s what moves us forward, what makes us grow, what pushes us to become more than we were yesterday.

But ambition without contentment is just endless chasing.

It’s a treadmill that never stops.

And the faster you run, the more exhausted you become.

So how do we balance ambition and contentment?

I don’t think it’s about choosing one or the other.

I think it’s about holding both at the same time.

Ambition: Keep moving forward. Keep growing. Keep becoming.

Contentment: But enjoy where you are while you’re moving forward. Notice the good. Rest when you can. Celebrate the small things.

The goalpost doesn’t have to stay still.

But you do. For a moment. Long enough to see where you are.

Long enough to be grateful for it.

Long enough to live it.

Here’s what I know now:

The next achievement won’t feel the way you think it will.

The next milestone won’t bring the peace you’re chasing.

The next level won’t be the place where you finally feel like enough.

But this moment?

Right now?

This is where life is actually happening.

This is where the good old days are being lived.

And you can either be present for them, or you can spend them chasing something that doesn’t actually exist.

Because the “better life” you’re waiting for?

It was always this one.

If you’re exhausted from moving the goalpost.

If you’re tired of chasing the next thing.

If you’re realizing that you’ve been so focused on the future that you’ve missed the present.

I’m giving you permission to stop.

Not to stop growing, dreaming and not to stop moving forward. But to stop treating today like it’s a practice run for some better day that’s coming.

Today is not practice.

Today is it.

Enjoy it.

Live in it.

Be grateful for it.

Because one day, sooner than you think, you’ll realize these were the good old days.

And I hope you’re not too busy chasing the next thing to notice.

The goalpost will keep moving.

That’s not a problem to solve. That’s just life.

But you don’t have to keep chasing it.

You can choose to run toward it, yes, but you can also choose to notice what’s around you while you’re running. maybe even speed walking…lol

You can achieve and be content.

You can be ambitious and present.

You can want more and enjoy what you have.

Both.

At the same time.

And that’s where the real life happens.

Not in the future.

In this moment.

Right now.

Where you are.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Matthew 6:33-34

One day you’ll look back at this version of your life.

This ordinary Tuesday.

This friendship.

This season.

This version of yourself.

And you’ll realize these were the days you were going to miss, not because everything was perfect but because life was happening, and you were in it.

So don’t spend today waiting for a better life.

This one is already here.

Today is enough.

Make it count.