What Can We Learn from the Past?

One of my favorite stories is a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. There are countless adaptations of it (my favorite is Mickey’s Christmas Carol) and it’s a story retold many times during the Christmas season. Simply put, in that story, Ebenezer Scrooge is a man who goes through his own redemption. Part of his journey is that he takes a trip to his past, thanks to the assistance of some helpful ghosts.

I can’t help but wonder what I would do or how I would react if the Ghost of Christmas Past visited me. Even though I have countless wonderful memories, I would be forced to confront my own past experiences, my painful memories, and my regrets. 

Even though I am past them, confronting my past would still be a painful, but helpful, experience. Having to face my past can be a scary ordeal. I’ll have to face the fact, again, that I am human and I made mistakes.

It’s totally understandable to want to bottle up your past memories that you’re not proud of. I’ve done it, and I’m sure you’ve done it too. Hiding from the past doesn’t serve you; it gives you a burden to carry. We learn from our mistakes. We learn from other people’s experiences, and especially our own.

The past is something that we should learn from. All of our experiences, whether they are good or bad, are events that we can learn from. The hard times and the traumatic experiences (as painful as they are) are all something we can learn from. Take some comfort in knowing that you have made it this far despite what happened in the past. The past contains experiences and lessons that serve us now in the present.

Roderick Conwi writes about personal and professional development at Nourishment Notes. He is also the author of The Procrastinator's Quick Guide To Getting It Done. To get powerful insights to enhance your day, join his FREE newsletter.