{"id":5047,"date":"2025-05-12T20:18:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T20:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aomtodayprod.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=5047"},"modified":"2025-07-09T15:45:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:45:47","slug":"the-benefits-of-reflecting-on-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/the-benefits-of-reflecting-on-the-past\/","title":{"rendered":"The Benefits of Reflecting on the Past"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Daniel Butcher<\/a><\/p>\r\n

When people engage in \u201cmental time travel,\u201d they often think about the future and imagine what it might be like. But focusing on the past and thinking through what we could\u2019ve done differently may pay dividends in terms of making better decisions going forward, including navigating career paths.<\/p>\r\n

Academy of Management Scholar Abbie Shipp<\/a> of Texas Christian University, who coauthored an Academy of Management Annals article on that topic<\/a><\/em> with Karen Jansen<\/a> of Henley Business School, said that many people tend not to think about the past very much.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cParticularly in the United States, we are socialized to be present-focused, carpe diem, or future-focused, that is, to plan; the message is to make strategic plans, have a five-year plan for your life and career plans,\u201d Shipp said. \u201cWe are very much socialized from the beginning to always be looking forward, or maybe to enjoy the moment.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWe aren\u2019t really socialized to do things that they are doing in other countries, which is to reflect back\u2014what\u2019s our history? What have we learned?\u201d she said.\u201cThat approach misses opportunities for people to stop and see, \u2018Where have I made progress? What have I learned?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Being overly future-focused also causes people to overlook \u201caccumulation.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cOne of my papers found this: If things don\u2019t change dramatically, they tend to creep up on us, such as when we don\u2019t realize we\u2019re in a job that isn\u2019t stimulating or a good fit for us because the change has been gradual,\u201d Shipp said.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cHowever, by the time we started talking to people about where they work and asking them, \u2018What elements of things at your work fit you and what don\u2019t?\u2019 they said, \u2018Wow, I\u2019ve been here a really long time; I hadn\u2019t realized I was so unhappy until I started talking to you,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cThose experiences were accumulating beneath the surface and reached a tipping point.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cOverall, it\u2019s important that people intentionally think about the past, because that\u2019s an element that in the United States, at least, we don\u2019t do naturally for the most part.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n

A sample of Shipp\u2019s AOM research findings:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n