How are you going to top that?

I saw an interview with JK Rowling a long time ago. Something she said has stuck with me. She said people would ask her how she was going to top Harry Potter. Her reaction was simply, "I'm not." And she was content with that. That got me thinking. . .

Could she even top Harry Potter if she wanted to? No.
7 books.
8 movies.
A theme park.
Billions of dollars.
No big deal, right?

In that same interview she spoke of Michael Jackson and how he chased the fame he received from Thriller. He didn't understand or enjoy the immense success that Thriller was and still is. He wanted to top it. So he chased the dream of topping his number one selling album of all time, until the end.

Who knows what he could have created or accomplished if he wasn't set on beating Thriller. Who knows what Rowling won't miss out on because she doesn't have the mindset of topping her own creation, one of the biggest franchises of all time.

Here's what I'm getting at: Don't try to recreate the best moments or successes of your life.
For some people, it's high school days. Being the star athlete or star of their club.
Maybe it's a relationship or marriage that you are now without.
Or the first year of your marriage when life was simpler.
Perhaps it was a great job you lost or had to move on from.
Maybe it's a friendship you no longer have.
Or a place you lived and loved that you had to leave.

If we spend time trying to force the past to be the present, we lose all of the life we could be living now, and quite possibly, the next 'untoppable' thing.

If we enjoy things while have them, we'll have the reassurance that we squeezed every ounce of joy out of them that we could have. Then we won't be consumed with the memory of them when they're gone.

Don't keep searching for those days or those moments. You'll miss all the ones now and yet to come.

Thanks for reading :)