We use the idea of a missing person alert to talk about the older versions of ourselves we sometimes long for and the specific pieces we wish we could get back. We sort nostalgia from reality so we can keep the best parts of who we were without undoing the growth that got us here.
• missing person as a metaphor for the internal you
• missing feelings like energy motivation confidence and carefree joy
• Kim’s VHS moment and the sting of real nostalgia
• why we prefer the old version because it feels familiar
• memory bias by highlighting the good and softening the hard
• missing pieces not the whole person
• the parts of the old self we are glad are gone
• growth happening in hard seasons and discomfort
• outgrowing old identities instead of losing them
• protecting peace setting boundaries and becoming more resilient
• choosing what to carry forward into the next version of you
