#ThinkfullyHabit: Look behind you
History may seem irrelevant when we face such novel times. However, what if history is more helpful in navigating the new normal than we may instantly give it credit for?
Timothy Snyder, History Professor, Yale University and Author of The Road to Unfreedom* makes a good case for stealing from the past to get ahead, on the basis that history provides a unique vantage point to see what patterns are coming together. He argues that if you can see the patterns that might be forming and understand how those patterns have played out in the past, you can intervene and start working with those patterns to shape the future.
So, what if looking behind us to the past could be more fruitful than we expect. What if we viewed history as a valid resource for helping us work out what happens next?
“Without evidence about past sequences of cause and effect, it is well-nigh impossible to develop intelligent plans for the future. ”
WHY?
In times of dramatic and rapid change we need to find new ways of living and working that go beyond our usual reference points and ideas - and quickly. History can provide a rich source of ideas and inspirations to draw from in a very immediate way.
Just like Napoleon was inspired by his knowledge of British history to inspire his strategy in the 1793 siege of Toulon** (he recognised that historically, the British feared being separated from their navy, as in 1781 when the British surrendered its siege of Yorktown as the French navy cut off British troops on land from the British navy at sea), how could history inspire us in finding today’s new normal?
Looking back through the lens of history to our very present and future problems can help to:
Frame the right question: Malick Ghachem*** outlines that,"one of the principal ways historians contribute to problem-solving work at MIT and elsewhere is by helping to identify what the real problem is in the first place...When we understand and articulate the roots and sources of a problem, we have a much better chance of actually solving it."
Inspire future solutions: Are there any helpful responses from the past that can be used and applied to our problems today? This doesn’t mean finding the exact same situation in the past, it means being freshly inspired by the past to look at it as a source of new ideas. Ask, what was helpful in historical situations? Is there anything from those situations that can be applied to now? How have the events we are seeing today come together previously and played out before? What are the key themes and ideas to bring forward into now? To be clear, you don’t need to be an historian to take inspirations from the past, you just need the spark of natural curiosity and interest in how it could inspire you now.
Get perspective: History encourages an appreciation of the bigger picture, to see the knock on implications; to take the widest view. The full history looks at the impact across social, political, business, psychological and economic ways of living. It asks what are the further reaching implications?
Get comfortable with change: It gives context. It proves that what was unbelievable for society and the world yesterday can seem normal today. History is full of occasions where the status quo can shift dramatically and overnight. Ask, what unthinkable changes have happened to cultures and societies before?
Challenge limitations: If we are aware of what has happened, what people have tried in the past and what can be done, we can be freer to experiment more. If we can recognise the constraints of the past and actively try to overcome them, we can be inspired to consider alternative histories that we want to be true; sparking new ideas on how to make alternatives possible.
As the 18th century philosopher David Hume reminds us, it’s impossible to understand the present without knowing the past – a truth from the past, which remains relevant to today. Studying history may well be one of the most helpful inspirations we each can access to help us create our own future ways of working and living; establishing our own histories.
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