What do you think of the phrase “your past does not define you”?

[pethouse]

I personally think that your past does define you.

[Effably]

Yes. No. Maybe. Sometimes.

The past makes up who we are. Difficult to say it does not define us to an extent like that.

But also, past me is dead. Gone. Buried. Nonexistent. I used to have a lot of very strong opinions that I no longer have. At 11 or so I was homophobic. Today I count several not-straight people among my closest friends. Who and what I used to be there most certainly does not define, limit, my being today.

So yes and no. Of course I can grasp a lot of viewpoints because I once had them. That does define me. But the fact I had them once holds no power or meaing over me today.

I very much believe, metaphorically speaking, that humans die many times during our lifetime. We go to bed and by the time we wake up we are no longer quite the same person. It is a good enough phrase though, but its fuzzy and not absolute.

[TheorionMage]

Your past is a fusion of your awareness, ... your opportunities and circumstances.
'Time' is the ONLY perishable unreclaimable commodity.

It is written that: "A WISE person CREATES more 'opportunities' than they find, BUT... 'ONLY GOD can create from 'nothing' through sheer Will and imagination"---
WHAT can YOU 'create' with the raw resources you DO have? ;)

[IslaTheWitch]

My past doesn't define me but created me. And those are two different things.

All my experiences were lessons I learned. They created the person I am today.

My mistakes or good things from the past shouldn't impact how people see me today. I want them to see me as I am now.

[KrakenAttackin]

@islathewitch. This isn't reality.

[IslaTheWitch]

@KrakenAttackin it is

[KrakenAttackin]

@islathewitch. What you are talking about is lack of accountability, which is the domain of the feminine. Men are held absolutely accountable.

[IslaTheWitch]

@KrakenAttackin can you be more specific?

[jennifer_bloom]

I don't think they are saying there are no consequences for your actions or rewards for good behaviour, I think they are saying that if you inherit a bad previous period in your life, you have the power to improve things and make it better through future choices.

[Bricealan]

If you are not pleased/secure with your "past" and for whatever reason (s) you have seen some flaw in you that led to that view of your past. a person can certainly modify that error (s) and continue with you life in a more positive way, if that is what you truly want.

From that POV, your past (good or bad) cannot or should not 'define' you if you chose to not have it define you.

[jshm2]

It should be legal to kick people in the crotch for saying it.

Who the fuck else are you if not your past? Did you fucking drop into existence this very moment and have no past as a result?

Trash statements like "your past does not define you" and "just be yourself (no shit sherlock I thought I was the next door neighbours dog!" are throwaway platitudes that Hollywood and pulp fiction have made into seemingly "big statements".

[AviatorTom]

That's true. A person's past helps determine who they are, but it doesn't define them. What defines them is the present and the future.

That's why financial advisors always say

Past Performance Is No Guarantee of Future Results

[DJB72]

It doesn't have to define you. You can plot a new path if you choose to but it takes a great deal of strength to break habits and ties that can date back to childhood.

I'm a product of my past, not a prisoner of it. It's a tool I can use to build whatever I want for the future I can imagine one step at a time.

[JacobJordan]

That phrase is true and false depending on what you apply it too. Your past absolutely is an indication of future choices, outcomes etc. However your past does not CONTROL you. Meaning that just because of poor decisions made in your past you still have the free will to choose a different path despite it.

[OddBeMe]

Interesting, because it does, literally. Your past defines your personality and your emotions.

But in the way this phrase is being used, I think they’re saying the literal past doesn’t define you. Even if figuratively it makes up your personality.

[mandyfire98]

It really depends on the action. Some things you do in the oast have no effect on the future or present.

[Sonorous]

I think it sounds lovely. But it is a fantasy. Because our pasts do define us. It's just not the case that only the bad parts of our past define us. Our entire past help to define us.

[Kaykay47]

At different stages in life we react to situations in different ways. If you did something then because of you you were back then that should not have an impact on who you are now. I was very hot headed when I was younger, now that I’m older I let things slide that I would never had done before.

[RebelinSteel]

It can but also for some not so much. Usually I would say your past and experience does influence how you are as a person but you should not dwell overly on past failure etc

[BlissfullyCurSed]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/hYZBjJuD--k

I meeeaaan...

[jahaims]

It's used as a cop out most of the time for people who don't want to be held accountable for their actions. If you take it as it is intended though it just means if you are in a bad place now it doesn't mean you will always be

[NathanDavis]

that really depends... on your definition of, being defined

[FreyaRed]

Depends how far away is this past. People change but this isn't a quick process.

[RavVid]

You can't wipe out a body count of 1000+ with that phrase.

[Sargentcaptain]

Its only ever used by people who don't change anyway.

[DextroShade]

This is usually said by women who were passed around and ran-through but still want to be treated like virgins.

[Zestyassmf1997]

I’d say it’s partly true.

[douride2]

Your past definitely defines you.

[Starrrboy]

Yeah I'm with you on that..

[Roudyrebel8]

I agree with it

[Happinessmaker432]

incorrect. The past is the basis.