Reflective Hindsight: How to Learn From the Past
Life’s lessons are most visible in retrospect.
“You say that history never repeats, but I guess it rhymes,” sung the first verse of Skin by Australian indie-pop band San Cisco.
Presumably, the band was nodding to this popular quote commonly (and erroneously) attributed to Mark Twain:
“History never repeats itself, but it rhymes.”
It’s an interesting take on the nature of time: History might not replay the same scene, but it always follows a similar storyline.
As it seems, the passage of history unfolds in a recurring pattern. Human history, at least. We always repeat the same old mistakes, causing the same old problems — which is a stupid behavior, albeit natural and inevitable.
However, this also means that we already have the means to remedy those mistakes.
Never Leave History
While I was writing this, an Indonesian saying came to mind.
It’s uttered by Soekarno, the country’s national hero, and first president:
“Jangan sekali-sekali meninggalkan sejarah.”
Sometimes the quote is abbreviated as “Jas Merah,” which is a wordplay that literally translates to “Red Suit,” but the sentence’s actual meaning is “Never leave history.”
Why shouldn’t we leave history? Because that’s where we’ll find the clues to how we can solve our current problems, Soekarno argues.
I think he intends this expression to be used in a national context, but it’s surely applicable to smaller scopes of life, too, including matters at the individual level.
More often than not, a person’s current problem is actually a reenactment of some event that happens before in his or her past.
For instance, the problems of a human adult are usually the long-term effect of childhood trauma. Maybe one thing happens when you were a little kid, and that thing incites a particular behavior pattern in your personality.
This behavior is then repeated as you grow up, placing you in the same situations, which you always face with the same reactions — therefore perpetuating the same problems.
As it's commonly understood, these kinds of complications can only be alleviated when we administer the cure at its root.
The thing is, usually, this “root” only reveals itself in retrospect.
Therefore, we should look into the past to solve the problems of the present.
Go Away, Come Back Later
You’re always the same person at heart, but as days go by, you’re also growing constantly. So, maybe you won’t stay the same person, after all.
Let’s take a look at another Indonesian saying: “Serupa tapi tak sama.” This quote is not attributed to anyone, it’s simply a vernacular expression which means “similar but not the same.”
As the words suggest, while many things can look identical from the outside, they’re not always the same thing. These things may share a common appearance, but they have a different essence.
When taken into the context of human growth, we can see a profound example in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. If you haven’t read it yet, scroll with caution, I’m about to spoil the plot for you. A little bit.
Instead of Santiago, let’s make you the protagonist.
The story goes like this:
So, you’re looking for a treasure. You embark on a journey to faraway lands, hoping to find that treasure. After a long time, you didn’t see that treasure anywhere, so you went home with empty hands.
But then, after you came back, you find that treasure in your home — the very place you’ve started your journey from. Then you think to yourself: “What was all that journey for?” It all feels useless. You should’ve just stayed at home instead of wasting all those time and energy.
But here’s the thing: Maybe you do need to go on that journey.
Not because you’ll find the treasure on that journey, but because you need to find yourself first. The treasure has always been yours, you just can’t see it before— and the journey teaches you how.
I imagine, centuries before The Alchemist was ever written, that lesson is what Greek philosopher Heraclitus was thinking of when he said:
“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”
Bringing It Full Circle
To bring this matter of history and change in a full circle, perhaps it’s appropriate to quote French novelist Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr:
“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.”
(“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”)
Like many other paradoxical expressions, this one might sound annoying — but it’s equally true.
Isn’t it more accurate to say “similar” compared to “same,” though? Well, generally speaking, yes — but I think Karr is describing another phenomenon in particular.
For lack of better words, I’m going to use “state” and “tendency” to explain my interpretation of this. Here, state is “what changes,” and tendency is “what stays the same.”
For example, “amount of amassed knowledge” is a state, and “affinity to learning” is a tendency. The more knowledge someone has, the more likely he is to enjoy learning; further building upon his knowledge and fueling his thirst for learning.
The same thing applies to “weight” and “diet,” or “friends” and “social skills.” Once someone has successfully reached an ideal weight, the more likely he is to be mindful of what he eats. And when someone has many friends, the more likely he is to develop his social capabilities.
Wait, is this just a cumbersome way of saying “habit”?
Huh, yeah, I guess.
Will Durant (not Aristotle) would put it like this:
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
So, the state that changes is “who we are,” and the tendency that stays the same is “what we repeatedly do.”
The more we change, the “direction” of that change will become more obvious — and if we leave that direction as it is, the more it will stay the same.
Thus, the more we let the past repeat, the more we’ll know our present self.
And that directional awareness will make all the difference.
Confusion / Conclusion
Are you still with me? I realize that last part was a bit confusing.
Fear not, the takeaways are pretty simple. Here goes:
- The history: Where you came from.
- The journey: How far you’ve gone.
- The direction: Which way you went.
If you remember those three things: where you came from, how far you’ve gone, and which way you went; you’ll know how you got to where you are right now.
Therefore, you’ll also get a better idea of which way you should go next.
Still, sounds too complicated? Here’s the takeaway’s takeaway, in the words of American philosopher John Dewey:
“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.”
It’s true. There’s no way around it.
Life always looks clearer in hindsight, but to truly see and internalize its lessons, you must reflect. That’s how you learn from the past.
The Apeiron Blog — Big Questions, Made Simple.
We know that Philosophy can seem complicated at times. To make things simple, we compile together the best articles, news, reading lists — and other free recourses to guide you on your journey. To continue with us, follow us on Medium and sign up to our free mailing list.
