Thinking about the past?

[live4u120]

Hey my fellow golfers, I felt like posting something a bit serious. For the past year or two, I've been thinking about my past constantly. I know the age variation is mostly young adult-adult here, so I figured it'd be best to say here, due to maturity. Do you ever wonder what happened to the past? I remember Christmas was the BEST when I was like 9 or 10. Over the past couple of years, I don't know, maybe it's time traveling so fast, but I guess I just lost track of everything going on. With a new dad, my old friends going away because of high school, and Christmas on the way, I don't feel as happy about everything. Do you, as an adult/whatever, ever think about the fun ol' times you had as a kid, or something?

I mean, I'm only 14 going on 15, so I don't think this should be something on my mind. Maybe it's because it's just the time of my life where everything starts changing? I don't know, I just thought I'd talk to the adults on here about it. Honestly, the connection with my half-dad isn't good enough to talk about him with, so I might as well ask you guys.

I'm not sure if I should be posting this on the internet, but whatever, haha. But I'm just wondering.

Thanks guys!

[joepro23]

Absolutely. I think most of us miss that 9 or 10 age because everything was more simple then. No worries, no pressure, just fun. When we are kids we wan't to do grow up fast, and when we are grown up we want to be kids again. Nothing wrong with thinking about the past and missing it, because too often we let time fly by without slowing down to reflect. I used to reflect more on my childhood actually when I was about your age and before college. Now at 23, I mostly just miss college and the friends I am already losing touch with.

Not saying this just because this is a golf forum, but I think around golf is where I have done most of my reflecting. Golf is something I have been playing my whole life, so I is also something from my childhood that I still have with me. I even play golf with the same people as I did when I was 10 (my dad and brother)! If I walk the course for a casual round or play by myself, I often think about my early days playing this crazy game.

[live4u120]

Well thanks joepro23 for that response. That gave me a bit of comfort to know I'm not alone. But with that Superquad driver, there's no doubt you've been playing this game for a long time! That's an old club! ;) haha.

What about you other people on here? Do you guys think about it too?

[GaijinGolfer]

I try not to think about the past too much. I honestly wouldnt want to go back to age 9 or 10. I didnt enjoy childhood all that much the first time, no way would I want to go back.
I say live in the now, its all you really have.

[deronsizemore]

I think it's human nature. No matter your age, you'll always think back and reflect on your life. Think about how things could have been if you had done this or that or just think about a time that was much easier in your life (for some, not all).

I just turned 28 and it seems like yesterday I was graduating high school and entering college. Now, I've been out of college for six years. Time really does fly by.

One bit of advice I would offer is to enjoy the present to the fullest and realize that you've likely got it easier now than you'll have it in the future. I can think back to my time in high school and how at that time I would think it was difficult at times with all the homework, etc and how I used to have it so easy in middle school. Then, I got to college where I was on my own, paying bills, supporting myself, etc., and would think to myself how easy I used to have it in high school; not a worry in the world. Then I graduated high school, got married, have a mortgage, bills, car payments, etc. and at times I think how easy I used to have it in college. At each stage of my life while it was happening I thought it was so rough but after it was over and looking back on it, in retrospect, it was so easy.

[noefi13b]

Chances are you will look back at you life now and say the same thing in 10 years!

My advice... Plan for the future but live in the moment! oh and have fun.

Slightly OT - Studies have shown that the older you get the faster your perception of time becomes, basically because each year is a smaller and smaller part of your overal lifetime. So yeah things do seem to get faster when looking back the older you get... All I try to do if hang on and have fun

[Golf'nBiker]

Relax kid, its only just begun. You'll 'reflect' forever. The best way, IMO, to make your reflection a great experience is to make wise, smart, and productive decisions now. So when you find yourself looking back there will be no or not many regrets. When a not so wise decision occurs, learn from it and dont beat yourself up about it. Your fun experiences in life, as your X-Mas analogy, can make others in your future a memorable one for them. "Ah remember the good ol days"? Thats phrase isnt meant as a downer! G'Luck and Merry Christmas.

[PiustheDrGolf]

We all think about our past whether it was good memory or bad.. even at the course.

Let's assume that I had a pretty bad round with few satisfying shots on last round. If I think about how bad my game was and bad shots that I made, I end up swinging unsure without any confidence, which I usually end up worse than the last round,

But if I remember the shot-of-the-day kinda shots and try to reproduce it, my game is right back on and play well.

We all think about past but how you bring it to present is up to you. Think about good memories more and what you can do right now with the memory.

[Lemay427]

Sure I think about the past and how different it was. I am 26 and think about times when I was your age. I think we all do it. You hear a song on the radio from a past time period and it puts you back in that spot. It's healthy. You learn a lot from your past.

Would I like to go back in time? Sure but only to experience certain significant memories. I like where I am at now.

[danieldrieberg]

9 to 10 years old was very memorable for me. This is about when I started taking notice of events and conditions outside of my "backyard".

1962 put me at 9 yo. Turbulent times. Confusing, and again turbulent. The beginnings of the Vietnam War and civil rights reform were thrust upon me. The wisdom government was now being actively questioned!!!!! My thoughts of morality mortality, and justice were challenged. My confusion was exacerbated by my non family adult acquaintances. My family was fairy liberal but we lived in a very conservative rural setting. The assassinations of JFK and MLK were shocking and forced me to consider the "big picture". Television news and newspapers became an important part of my life. My religious philosophy began its journey.

Basically my innocence was lost

[RocketSauce]

man, i would do anything to be 14 or 15 again. at the time i hated it, but now i realize how awesome it was back then. and the girls, oh the girls, lol. if i only knew then what i know now, hehe

[Dub]

man, i would do anything to be 14 or 15 again. at the time i hated it, but now i realize how awesome it was back then. and the girls, oh the girls, lol. if i only knew then what i know now, hehe

You are so right!

No, things will get much better once you have a girlfriend to share the holidays with. They get much better still when you get older and have your own kids...the greatest Christmas years are ahead of you!!!!!

[-BAMA-]

i'm only 25 and i do think about the past from time to time...

i miss playing football, i miss the 2 a days, hitting fat people, beating up the freshmen, raising cain every night after the games, and thinking i owned the world.

i miss being able to play golf every single day after school... stealing beer from my friend's dad, beating the hell out of my jeep at summertown, burning rubber at every red light, and throwing a frisbee in the walmart parking lot at 2 am... camping out in the woods all summer long and watching my buddy cry after wiping his behind with poison oak..

but now that ive gotten older.. ive found other things to pass my time, while they may not be as fun, they're a whole lot safer and more mature...

ive been married since i was 20, i have a 3 month old daughter, i work overtime most weeks, and i only play golf once a week...

unlike most people, i have 5 different families to buy christmas presents for.. even with a 30 dollar limit between everybody, i still end up spending thousands of dollars... so its safe to say christmas tends to lose its mojo after awhile.

[DBeane]

Lots of good advice from the crew here.

A goofy 1 liner I heard from a preacher one time was "your eyes were placed on the front of your head for a reason". Now, he was just trying to say something inspirational so as to coax the viewers into sending money. A good observation none the less.

I would say learn from the past, don't dwell on it. I try to not waste any time, because you cant get it back once its gone.

Christmas does loose its luster over the years, lots of things do that you wouldnt think should. Thats one of the things I love about golf; every morning the course is freshly mowed and its brand new again, it cant get old.

-Beane

[Big_M]

as everyone has said... it is simply human nature. I have always thought about how I would change this, do that, etc.... BUT

Now I am 30, and just had my first child (a baby girl) and now I tend to think more about her than anything else... I don't really give half as much thought to my life as I do to her life... and right now I am very forward thinking just because of her. I look forward to her next big developmental milestone... I look forward to my parents retiring and moving down to NC... I look forward to teaching my daughter to golf... I look forward to having another child... I look forward to not changing diapers... I just wish I had enough time too look back once in a while, because life is moving faster all the time and before I know it my kids will be in college, I will be grey haired, and the viagra commercials might seem a bit more serious.