Thinking backward to go forward

2018 rewind:

• BTS became the first K-Pop band to top Billboard’s album charts then repeated the feat, achieving an unprecedented level of success in the U.S.
• Microsoft surpassed Apple Inc. for the first time in eight years as the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization. 
• Reliance Industries Chairman, Mukesh Ambani overtook Jack Ma as Asia’s richest man. 
• Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour grossed $266 million in the U.S -  a record for a female artist.
• Stacey Cunningham became the first female president of the 226-year-old New York Stock Exchange.
• Mahathir’s stunning defeat of Najib Razak to become the world’s oldest prime minister and led to Malaysia’s first democratic change of regime. 

Backward thinking is an essential part of designing a better future. 

An experience is not complete until it is remembered. We can't just ignore it or wish it away. Whatever we have experienced over the last 12 months - or even further back - must be addressed. If we try to ignore it, it's just going to come back to bite us.

Sometimes we live inside unhelpful stories we tell ourselves. Other  times we nurse grievances to justify our current actions or fell undervalued because we were slighted or disregarded in some way. If we don't get resolution, we'll drag all our unfinished business into the future and it will sabotage everything we're trying to build going forward.

Many of us have endured real shocks, even catastrophes. Maybe you had conflicts in relationships. Maybe you lost a loved one. Maybe you experienced an accident, an illness, or a loss of job. It's like there are a thousand little windows open on your computer at the same time, and you are able to - click - close all the windows. It is very freeing. 

Completing the past is not just about processing failures and disappointments. It's also about acknowledging and celebrating our wins. We often downplay this or never think to do it. But it's key as it gives us confidence for the future. 

It could be running a half marathon this last year. Or maybe you celebrated a milestone in your job or relationship. Maybe you completed a degree. Maybe your beat your sales targets by a significant percentage. Whatever it is, it's important to acknowledge what we accomplished this past year and take time to congratulation ourselves.

For me this past year was about being wildly productive at work while still getting the rest and rejuvenation that makes that kind of productivity possible in the first place. That's just me. 

What about you? What were the major life lessons you learned this past year? Unless we learn from our experiences, we can't grow. Progress depends on retentiveness.

Here's one I learned this year: "There comes a point in every experience when I'm too far in to quit but almost certain I can't finish. If I keep moving forward, I'll eventually get to the other side." 

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, an hour, a day or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.