Learn to Grow by Exploring Your Past

This month I was struck by the panicked thought that my writing lacks my personality.

To fix that, or hopefully prove to myself that I’m overthinking, I went back to read all my old content both here and on Threads.

Alongside my exploration I also edited some previous posts. They have new subheadings, link to related content that I’ve published, or even include entirely rewritten subsections.

All of this was done to improve the experience of using my site and reading my writing. Because even if I liked what I wrote in the past, there's an opportunity to improve based on what I've learned since, and from reviewing it.

I believe that, even in the best of times, it’s worth considering old ideas, old methods, old operations, and old thinking.

Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised—an idea I’ve had for years holds up and becomes even more relevant. Other times, I miss the mark on something I used to do or believe, and can learn to be better in the future.

So that’s what I want to talk about today. I want to discuss exploring the past as a method for improving the future and everything in it.

The Future is Built on the Past

The past means a lot to some people, and nothing to others. It’s found in history textbooks, old email logs, and the memories we have of technology long since passed (like the horrible screeching sounds the internet used to make when it first connected).

Regardless of how you feel, the past is an excellent source of wisdom and can often reveal greater truths about ourselves.

For instance, we form habits that, once formed, can be hard to break away from. Even good habits tend to stick around—we’re not good at living each day differently. Addiction is a pattern based in our past, as is where we live, who we spend time with, and what we think. Choices we once made have a habit of following us into the present and beyond.

Winston Churchill is often overquoted, but in this case is wise:

The longer you can look back, the farther you can look forward.

I agree with his sentiment. The past lets us see ahead of ourselves, which I think provides us with an opportunity to grow. By learning more about the emotional patterns we fall into and our patterns of thought, we have the chance to expand past them now.

For example, Neuroplasticity shows that we can (and do) constantly form new connections, and that our brain is always changing. It also suggests we can influence those changes with certain practices, like mental exercises, putting ourselves in new situations, and sleeping well.

There’s a cause and effect between what we used to do and what we do now. We can change ourselves in the future by changing ourselves in the present.

Which is why I was editing my old blog posts and reminiscing with Threads comments like old friends.

As I read through old content, I revised parts of my posts for SEO consistency and added better internal links. I bit the bullet and revised myself in favor of search engines with well-structured titles, less forced creativity, and by being more direct.

The reviews from my small group of trusted readers since then imply my personality came across better after the edits. Wait, what? I made algorithm-friendly changes but somehow came across more natural?

That was about the point I realized there might be something to this, and is a big part of how I ended up here, writing this now.

So I went back again to consider what I’d originally been thinking, what had resonated with people, what had fallen flat, and how I’d felt at those times. Mostly, I wanted to understand my frame of mind and what had led me to write the way I did.

This was helpful for two reasons:

• I got to see what was working and remind myself that I’m probably not a terrible writer.
• It got me out of auto-pilot and made me reconsider my process and what I’d been taking for granted about how I write.

The end result was really interesting. I discovered that the more naturally I manage to write, the better my ideas come across. I also realized that the more I chase that approach, the further away I get from achieving it.

If there’s a valuable takeaway for you, it’s that overthinking is bad, but also that recognizing our past and how it affects us is a hugely powerful exercise.

If you’d like to follow along with me—and I really think you should—consider something you’ve done for a long time. If you’ve always been musical, think about an instrument you’ve played for years. If you’re artistic, think about a medium of art you love. Or if you’re more business-minded, think about a work process you’ve carried with you from job to job.

Try to deconstruct the path you’ve taken to get there. Don’t get too into the weeds with it, and instead consider the steps you took to get to the level of skill you have now.

Ask yourself:

• When did you start?
• What kept you going?
• What patterns did you fall into along the way?

For example, maybe you noticed that you always start a new art project late at night, or that you do your best work first thing in the morning. Maybe you practice guitar mostly on Tuesday and Saturday.

Next, work on reverse-engineering how that happened. Why late at night? What’s so special about Tuesday, of all things?

This isn’t likely to give you some grand revelation, but you might be interested in what you find. We fall into patterns so easily and often don’t get the chance to slow down and explore them. This is your reminder to re-evaluate yourself sometimes.

Change Now to Change in the Future

I believe a lot in momentum. That once you get started on something and find some level of success with it you’re way more likely to keep going.

That said, I think it misses the value of reflection.

So the goal, based on recent exercises I’ve done, my experiences in learning new skills over the past few years, and the work it’s taken to grow Total Escape Games is to keep pushing forward but take the time to look in the rear-view mirror.

If your business is experiencing 10x growth, that’s awesome! Congrats. It’s an incredible feat and when you hit that product-market fit just right, it feels like you can’t lose.

Be careful of that feeling, however. Complacency and overconfidence are dangerous.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t lean into that feeling. Please, lean in as far as you profitably can. Instead, I’m suggesting to keep the cycles of your life, and the world around you, in mind. Make sure you look at what’s happened before so you don’t get blindsided when it happens again.

Momentum doesn’t last forever. Sometimes you’ll need to get out and push. And if you know the roads, know what’s to come, and know yourself, it’s that much easier to get the right footing.

Based on that knowledge, and building on the exercise we did before, I have a challenge for you.

Take at least 3 pieces of information you learned about either yourself or your habits and think of a way to apply that knowledge to your future.

I’ll share mine.

I get hit by waves of inspiration followed by huge lulls in motivation.

When I became aware of this pattern, I learned to temper myself. I can either:

• Get enough done during my burst of inspiration to last me through the lulls, or
• Learn to pace myself so I don’t burn that inspiration out so quickly.

Neither of those is the for-sure right answer, but it’s helpful to know how to manage my habit to ebb and flow so severely.

The harder I try, the less natural I become.

This is a good reminder to slow down and relax. I’m bad at both of those things.

From reviewing this I realized I need to make time in my life to take it easy. Apparently, for me, the best approach to producing good content (and making good things in general) is to step away sometimes and let go.

Seeking feedback is hard but I need to do it more.

I tend to avoid feedback when I feel like I’m going to inconvenience the other person, when it feels like I’m asking for a favor, or when I feel like it’s going to lead to more work.

Because of that, it’s even more important than usual to be more aggressive in putting my work in front of people whose opinions I trust so they can critique me and check where I’m heading.

I’m lucky to have great, smart people in my life, and I need to be better about leaning on them.

Be Curious and You'll Grow

I hope you found those exercises helpful. There are an absolute ton of things like this for you to try. I especially recommend Ness Labs for her incredible insights into personal growth, curiosity, and self-exploration.

If you’re a professional looking to grow, I also recommend career advisors and personal coaches. No matter who you are, therapy can also be a great way to discover trends in your life and learn how to navigate them. It’s surprising how far an outside perspective can carry you.

If you don't want to involve a professional, consider asking your friends and coworkers to critique you and your work. Be sure to receive the critique well, thank them, and ask follow-up questions to better understand their perspective. Also, be sure to only ask people you trust to give you honest feedback and put their own agendas aside.

We’re all out here living, and none of us are perfect. Much of what we all do is recorded publicly on the internet in some form or another. The rest of it exists in our memories and the memories of the people around us.

Tap those resources. Look into how local businesses are thriving, or what drove others out of business altogether. Explore tried and true habits in your field, and talk with experts about how to improve your hobbies.

Most of all, keep a curious mindset about your own thoughts and actions. It’s amazing what you realize when you view yourself as a constantly-changing blob of ideas instead of a rigid structure of routine.

I had a lot of fun editing my old posts and writing this one, too. I hope going back through your own work is as enjoyable for you as this was for me!