Learning from the past

While it is true that the past should not be a conditioning factor when making decisions in our present, there are things from it that can be very useful in our analysis and the way in which we interact with our problems and seek solutions to them.

The past provides us with experiences that translate into sources of knowledge to understand which things work for us and which do not, when dealing with situations similar to those we faced before. We cannot ignore all that we can learn from our past and the importance it plays in our personal development.

During the development of this guide we will be analyzing some of the basic aspects related to this topic, so that we can learn about the importance that our past experiences play in the information we have when making new decisions and facing current challenges.

The past is no guarantee for present results.

The first thing that is important to emphasize on this topic is that past results are no guarantee for present results. This idea applies to both positive and negative experiences. The fact that we repeat exactly each of the procedures carried out in the past does not mean that we will obtain a similar result to the one we received previously. Each circumstance presents a series of subjective particularities that make it impossible for us to predict an exact result, no matter how similar the facts may be.

We must point this out because one of the most harmful beliefs about the past is to think that we are destined to repeat a failure or success just because it happened in the past. This motivates us to act in a certain way and we become frustrated when we do not perceive the results we desire. In the same way, we refrain from performing certain actions for fear of failure, which is a totally incoherent attitude.

Use your past experiences to improve your actions.

Thanks to past experiences, we can accumulate a whole series of information about which elements have better results than others when facing a given situation. Past experiences, as we said before, are not decisive in predicting the results of the present, but they can be used to improve our strategies in order to avoid repeating mistakes and increase our chances of success.

It is important to accumulate experiences, even when they are not positive. The more we repeat a process, the closer we will be to executing it perfectly. You should not be discouraged by failure, if you are able to learn from each mistake, you will be more prepared to repeat the facts in a satisfactory way, in this lies precisely the overcoming and personal development.

Do not torment yourself for the mistakes of the past.

The mistakes of the past belong to the past and respond to a reality and a person that has nothing to do with the present. It is not fair to judge ourselves today for the mistakes we have made in the past, the important thing is to have been able to recognize them and identify the factors that led us to carry out those actions and therefore obtain those results.

Your present cannot be paralyzed by your past, in the same way that your future cannot drag the mistakes you make in the present. It is clear that every action has its consequences and that we must have the capacity to face them, but this does not mean that you should take the blame, just keep the experiences and the knowledge that this gives you.