It's Not Just the Past

"History isn't just the past. It's alive in us."
- Natalie Portman

I came across this quote and it made me realize that I hear many different references about "the past" that either support it as relevant, or dismiss it as irrelevant. Anything from "the best predictor of the future is the past" to "the past is not the present." No matter how you choose to look at it, history is certainly alive in us whether you like it or not. Whether it be how you make decisions, or how others make decisions about you, the past plays a large role in our day-to-day lives.

For a long time, I couldn't say I had much of a past at all when it came to my business decisions. Starting a company at 19 years old, all I had to draw from was what I had observed about the businesses I worked for, or what I heard or read about. 12 years later I can definitely say there is history in my business, and every day I make decisions that draw from that history. I'm fortunate enough to say that there really aren't too many things I'd do very differently if I had a second chance to do it all over again, but I can certainly say that I've learned worlds above what I ever knew, which is the very history that helps keep me on track. I couldn't even imagine the amount of time, energy and money I would waste on a daily basis if I didn't at least somewhat rely on what history has uncovered.

Naturally the same holds true in our personal lives, sometimes even on a greater scale. There's an incredible amount of history that is alive in us, from former politicians and wars to genetics and medicine, we really can't escape it. Every day, things that happened in the past weave in and out of today's reality that helps form what tomorrow brings. One of the most apparent examples would be trying to tell your doctor at the next visit that your medical history isn't relevant to why you're there today. You can find out very quickly that what has happened in the past is hugely important to how you're treated today.

I'll admit that I've never been too interested in the details and timelines of things that have happened in the past, but I'm always interested in why or how they happened. What has happened in the past is what shapes our future.