Lived Forward, Understood Backwards
I was having a conversation with an old friend and he was surprised I could recollect in details events and interactions between us as far back as 10+ years ago. I assured him I only remembered the striking details while he was rest assured I was an alien. To be honest, some of the recollections were quite irrelevant when I introspected deeply, but there were certainly lessons that were not just important, but actually necessary that we introspect on.
The biggest benefit about our past is the experience that they leave behind. If for instance I had the chance to start my 20s all over again, I'll do things differently not because am more physically equipped but because am more experienced and have a better sense of understanding from those lived experiences. That's why it is so important to consider the past when making present decisions that will affect the future. Many of us who are forward driven don't give too much thought to the implications of our experiences until we fall into similar paradigms and mistakes that could have been avoided.
It is normal to feel invincible when we're young and starting fresh. The value of experience however begins to bear as time passes on and we start making our own mistakes. For what it's worth, it is always better to learn from the mistakes of others than to live them. We shouldn't have to wait till we feel the pain of loss before we learn the appropriate steps to take. Sadly, many of us will follow that path, regarless of how much information we have because some of us are much more wired to live from those experiences. Also our experiences are meant to make us better, not leave feelings of regret or loss when it is too late to make changes.
A forward experience for me on the Hive chain would mean more patience, consistency and delayed gratification. For us as a community perhaps there are a few changes we'd have made during the steemit days that would leave us in a much better position right now. Albeit, experience has certainly been a teacher on this platform and we're learning from it every day. The past really helps to define a proper pathway for the future.