Learning from the Past, to Navigate the Future

"Our world is changing faster than ever before, and the importance of learning is growing even faster. Any significant improvement in life...is based on learning."
– Samuel Daniel, Earl of Southampton

More often than not, I find myself in the middle of discussions about the past. A while back, I met with a friend who was sorely disappointed by the actions of someone close. The results of those actions were far-reaching, and were also causing much present grief. I could not help but think how this was a potent situation for growth - after all, I thought, what could be a greater impetus for higher level living and thinking than learning [in the words of the title of Dr. Seligman's book] "what you can change and what you can't"?

"The knowledge of the difference between what we can change and what we must accept in ourselves is the beginning of real change," says Dr. Martin P. Seligman. It worries me, this lack of appreciation for who we are. That is, our inability to change some things - especially those things that are in the past. As I sat with my friend, I realized just how much pain the situation was bringing - I could empathize. At the same time, I was concerned that a viable learning opportunity was being wasted; all in the name of "venting". What was being missed, however, was that nothing could be done about the past - all that remained was the present.

I know that some situations come down on us like a ton of bricks, but our reactions to them matters much more than anything else (after proper medical attention, of course). In essence, what have we learned from the situation? What is the take away? How does this affect our future? Where do we go from there? All these questions, and more, are key to the understanding requisite for self-improvement. You see, we cannot truly improve unless we are willing to accept that each experience in life can be and should be used as a learning tool. There is so much unpredictability in the world; we tend to flow better in life when we learn to not only live life but experience it. The full experience of life is based on an honest evaluation of ourselves, daily.

That said, how are you doing? Are you experiencing life? Or are you merely...living?

©2019, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.