The Good Old Days

Ah yes, the good old days...

Even the expression "the good old days" brings with it feelings of nostalgia, and surprisingly so when referring to work in the past.

The human brain has a tendency to fondly remember past events. Our childhoods are generally happier times without the worries and stresses we have in our adult lives. Even the memories of our early working lives seem preferable when looking back into the past. Which is quite odd when you think about it, as first jobs are generally low paid and hardly anyone begins their working career in their ideal job.

Think back to your first job, was that the best job you ever had? If so, why did you leave it?

Getting over the nostalgia is the first hurdle, rather than holding onto a frame of reference that simply isn't a true representation of what past work has been like, let's dig deeper into how work actually was in the past to have a better viewpoint on our work now.

It may seem that things were better in the past. A nicer boss, better benefits, not as much workload - we all have happy memories focusing on different aspects, but think past these falsehoods and concentrate on the facts. The more you think about it, the more the negatives start to surface as well as the positives.

There were reasons you didn't like your first job, things about the role you wanted to change but ultimately there was no change. You may have been promised improvements, looked over for promotion or simply the employer itself wasn't what you thought it was. Whatever the circumstances may be, weight those two sides very carefully, as those negative associates your brain doesn't want you recalling could actually set you up to enjoy the work you do now more.

It may seem clinical, but viewing the past in this way is the best way to compare it to the present. That way you can see through the veil of nostalgia and begin to see things clearly, both the past and the present.

Was work in the past really so good?