The Ghost of Who We Were: Why We Cling to Old Pictures

I recently caught myself doing it again—scrolling through my camera roll, bypassing every recent photo, until I landed on ‘that one’. The one from years ago, when my face was a little smoother, my body a little leaner, my confidence (at least in my head) a little higher.  

Thinking, that’s the version of me I want the world to see.

But is it?  

Or is it just a version of myself I’ve clung to, afraid to face the reality of where I am now?  

Who Are We Hiding From?

We don’t just update our profile pictures; we curate an identity. We filter, crop, smooth, and select the images that feel safe the ones that tell a story we’re comfortable sharing. But deep down, we know the truth, we are presenting an outdated, idealised version of ourselves.  

The real question is why?

Is it fear? Fear that we won’t be taken as seriously if we show up with a few more wrinkles, a few extra pounds, or just looking… different?  

Is it shame? The feeling that we’ve somehow let ourselves go, that we’re not as polished, not as impressive, not as marketable as we once were?  

Or is it habit? Because we’ve been doing this for so long that we don’t even stop to question it anymore?  

The Mirror Lies to Us

I’ve learned that part of the reason we don’t like recent photos of ourselves is that they don’t match what we see in the mirror.  

We’re used to our ‘flipped reflection’’. The face we see every day in the bathroom mirror is not the one other people see. So when we take a photo, it can feel strangely unfamiliar, almost like looking at a stranger.  

A simple trick? Flip the image using an editing app like Canva. Sometimes, just that small shift can help bridge the gap between how we see ourselves and how we appear to others. But honestly? The real work isn’t in flipping the photo. It’s in flipping our perspective. 

When Did Aging Become an Apology?

I’m working on getting back in shape, something I promised myself years ago. But what I’ve realised is that I have spent more time avoiding my reflection than actually appreciating the fact that my body is still here, still moving, still ‘mine’.

We treat aging like it’s something to apologise for. Like our older selves are somehow lesser than the people we used to be. Which doesn’t even make sense?  Every year, we’ve gained more experience, more wisdom, more resilience. We’ve learned, struggled, and survived.  

So why do we hold on so tightly to a past version of ourselves, instead of embracing the one who’s standing here, right now?  

Who Benefits From Our Insecurity? 

The beauty industry, social media, AI-generated filters profit from us not feeling good enough. It thrives on the idea that we need to be better, younger, thinner, and smoother.  We slap a filter on our faces, tweak the lighting, and post a picture that doesn’t even look like us. 

And no one questions it.  

But maybe we should.  

Because when we hide behind an old version of ourselves, we’re not just lying to the world—we’re lying to ‘ourselves.  

This Is Who I Am Now

I won’t pretend this is easy. There are still photos I avoid, still moments where I hesitate before posting something unedited and days where I wish I could rewind time and reclaim the body or face I once had.  

But I’m learning to sit with it and ask myself, ‘What if I just owned who I am, right now?’  

So here’s my challenge, not just to you, but to myself, too: 

Stop waiting until you’re “better” to show up as yourself. Stop recycling old photos as if the person in them is the only version of you worth presenting.  

Because this is who we are. And that should be more than enough.