"The lesson of history is that no one learns."

One can easily be dismissive of the past as archaic, dilapidated and obsolete. The future often seems exciting and attractive, feeding our curiosity and challenging our spirits. The adrenaline rush makes us addicted to pursuing the next “big thing”, but little do we realize the origin of the road to the future.

Optimism and ambition are definitely a good hobby to motivate us in life. Progress is the best medicine for mental ailments. However, complete mental development is rooted in awareness of the past, grows with appreciation of the path to the present and finally matures with courage to change the future.

Daily introspection of behavior and analyzing its impact on surrounding people can magically resolve many interpersonal issues. A few minutes every night to review the events of the past day can pave the way to self-awareness and self-development. Similar to a smart phone that auto-corrects spelling errors, we can train our mind to instinctively rectify complex problems. A unique way to channel the mental energy was discussed in an earlier post The Theory of Two Songs.

Certain life predicaments need a deeper scrutiny than self-reflection. The behavioral habits and personality traits cultivated over decades need careful and constant attention. It is often compelling to ignore the problem and keep driving ahead with the hope that time will heal everything. Time is a great leveler, but not without the individual effort to change. A good approach would be to build a circle of trusted people where actions can be openly discussed and suggestions can be incorporated in the introspection. This feedback loop propels the deep-seated issues to the surface, providing an opportunity to address them headfirst.

It may appear daunting to delve into the past, but a determination to change is always rewarded commensurately. History attempts to teach us invaluable lessons from times immemorial. Archaeologists keep digging the ground for understanding our long-lost era. It can be self-enriching to excavate a relic of our personal past and treasure it in the museum of memory. In the age of machine learning and self-driving cars, it would be a provident new year resolution to invest in autonomous mental learning and sow the seeds of our past for a glorious future. Cheers 2019!