More often though, it is only after something has happened that we are able to see the result of our actions. It is then that we wish we could have known to avoid certain people and situations. We tell ourselves that we could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble, IF ONLY we had 'known better'.
Usually the benefit of hindsight is that it lets us see how something might have been different IF ONLY we knew then what we know now.
Let's face it, few of us are chagrined or dismayed by happy results. We are very willing to accept and enjoy them.
I propose though that hindsight can be valuable too. I think this is so because it explains that a period of time that seemed hard actually helped us quite a lot.
At the very least, overcoming or coming out of a difficult period shows us it is possible.
Quite often also, in retrospect, we see how something we thought we really wanted, was definitely the wrong thing for us.
The things that we choose, and those things and people which we sometimes feel (almost) choose us, make us the people we are and influence who we become.
Experience is the best teacher, but hindsight is the best tool to reflect upon the results of previous decisions we made. It tells us which pitfalls to avoid in the future. Best of all, it can help us to recognize and appreciate, just how far we have come.
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