Using history to predict the future is a common occurrence in society. People who play the stock market do it, oddsmakers for professional sports betting do it, and the government does it.
Trends can be useful in many ways to provide a framework for what we think is going to happen.
But at the same time, it can be very limiting to assume that things will happen the way they always have. Even expecting others in your life to be as they have always been can be unfair.
While it can be helpful to have a certain conception or expectation of how things tend to work in any given situation, it can also stop you from seeing new possibilities.
We impose barriers and restrictions on what we feel is possible and what can’t be done. These limits are put into place by what has already occured.
When assumptions are made, the uniqueness of each situation is not allowed to unfold. Expectations can be too restrictive.
Continue reading “Defining the Present With the Past”