Dive 54: Why Nostalgia can be Good for You

A problem in one context can be a solution in another.

Hey, it’s Alvin!

Many moons ago, when I was still a kid, my dad drops me off for a special event. I hastily make my way through the bowling alley. Balls rumble down the lanes while pins clatter in the background as people cheer.

I enter a private party room where I’m greeted by some adults. They tell me that my friend, the birthday boy, is already in a bowling lane. So, I drop off my present on a table with all the others. With a glance around the room, I could see a big box—no doubt cake to be served later. Can’t wait. There’s also pizza, potato chips and other goodies—what one might call “junk food” on any other day.

One item caught my eye. It was a circular tray of carrot and celery sticks with a small container of vegetable dip in the middle.

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a tray of veggies at a party. But it always seemed odd to me because these kids’ birthday parties all felt indulgent. Cupcakes, cookies, and ice cream? Sure. But veggie sticks?

I never liked the taste of raw vegetables as a kid. The dips that were supposed to mask the raw taste of veggies? I disliked them even more. You’d be forgiven for assuming those vegetable trays were only meant for adults, but kids reached for them too. Aren’t kids supposed to hate vegetables? Isn’t that the stereotype?

Veggie snacks didn’t just appear at birthday parties either. They’d show up in daycares and summer camps, too. I’d go over to a friend’s house, and they’d be on the kitchen table. Not always. But they made appearances. It almost felt like carrot and celery sticks were staple healthy snacks that were everywhere when I was young.

Veggie snacks started making their way into my diet when I visited a friend’s house. There, he would grab a spear of baby dill pickle straight from a glass jar and start chomping on it as a snack. One after another. I don’t think I had a pickle spear before that. But the way my friend was munching on them made them look so tasty. When I left, I wanted to try one. So, I asked my dad to buy a small jar of baby dill pickles. It was ok. It was a new experience. And I didn’t really like it or hate it.

But all these experiences stuck with me.

Fast-forward to today. Carrot sticks, celery sticks, and pickle spears are now regular snacks for me. I don’t remember exactly when I started liking them. I still don’t like vegetable dips, which is probably for the best, since they’re not that healthy, anyway.

All I know is that when I snack on veggies, I remember all the fun times I had as a kid. Fond memories of going to parties, staying at a friend’s house, and working on projects with my buddies all come flooding back. And that’s just when I’m eating vegetables! That’s the power of nostalgia.

It’s not just the flavours and the memories. When you slow down to savour food, eating becomes a rich experience you can immerse in. The crunch of a carrot, crispness of celery, and juiciness of pickles all add to the experience. You just can’t get that by rushing through a meal.

I remember seeing a former colleague at his computer at lunch time. He was just motoring through his bowl of rice, eyes fixated on his computer screen. He’d scramble a couple spoonfuls of rice into his mouth, put down his bowl and utensils, then continue working on his computer while he chewed away. After he swallowed, he’d spoon another mouthful. Rinse and repeat.

I get it. Sometimes, we’re super busy and don’t have time to enjoy our food. But it’s important to notice when we develop these habits. It’s not just that we’re missing out on a rich dining experience, it’s bad for one’s health.

And slowing down doesn’t just let you enjoy the flavours and textures of what you’re eating. It also lets you enjoy the feelings and emotions you get with good food.

I began enjoying my carrots, celery and pickles, not just for the overall snacking experience, but for the nostalgia. I may not have enjoyed them as a kid, but that doesn’t matter. Eating them brings back feelings from some of the happiest moments of my childhood. It entices me to maintain healthy habits.

Some say this is why fast-food giants target kids. They want kids to associate their garbage “food” with happy memories, to get them hooked for the rest of their lives. It’s about gaining a lifelong customer.

It’s why nostalgia gets a bad rap.

It’s true that we shouldn’t dwell on the past. If we spend all our time fantasizing about what was or what could have been, then we’ll waste our lives away. For sure, that’s not what we want.

And I don’t deny we often see our past more fondly than it might have been. As people always like to point out: nostalgia is like “rose-coloured glasses.” As if that can only be a bad thing. But there’s an upside we shouldn’t ignore. Because there are two ways nostalgia can help you lead a better life:

1. A Positive Vision

2. A Healthy Habit

A Positive Vision

In Dive 2, I talked about how you need something positive to look forward to, to have hope for the future. A “Positive Vision.” Nostalgia can help you find a Positive Vision.

For example, some people like to travel the world to “create lasting memories.” They want to create memories they can look back on with fondness and warm, fuzzy feelings. Nostalgia.

That’s a forward-facing Positive Vision. But, if there’s something in your past you loved, you might be able to turn it into a future reality, too.

When I was a kid, my teacher asked every student in our class to write a 10-page “book” as a project. When we were done, we read our books to younger students in a different class.

When I looked back on writing projects like that as an adult, I remembered how fun it was to write for an audience. Sure, maybe my memories are “rose-coloured.” So what? Those memories motivated me to start this newsletter. Put another way, nostalgia opened a door for me to develop my writing skills and connect with readers from around the world.

Nostalgia provides a Positive Vision that can motivate you to accomplish great goals. But motivation isn’t enough…

A Healthy Habit

In Dives 43 and 39, we also looked at how to establish healthy habits and systems that will help you reach your goals. Nostalgia can help with that, too. If there’s something about your past that brings you joy, you can use that as inspiration to adopt and maintain a healthy habit.

I may not have enjoyed veggie sticks as a kid. But crunching down on carrots just makes me feel good. It’s not so much that it brings back vivid memories. But the good feelings associated with nostalgia are there. And because it feels good, it’s easier to stick to my habits of eating healthier.

The key to all this is Slow Living.

• Slow down enough to savour your food.

• Immerse yourself in the flavours, textures, emotions, and feelings your food gives you.

• Don’t dwell on nostalgia.

• Find something positive in your past that you can realize in your present or future.

• Use the good feelings of nostalgia as motivation to better yourself.

Nostalgia is like a gust of wind. You can either let it hold you back or you can let it push you forward.

Reply to belowthesurfacetop@gmail.com if you have questions or comments. I’d love the hear from you.

Thank you for reading. Embrace nostalgia. And I’ll see you in the next one.