The Power of Hindsight

Hindsight is an understanding of a situation after it has happened or developed. In other words, hindsight is making use of feedback from life experiences.

But, beware. Hindsight can be either a gift or a curse — depending on how you choose to use it.

Looking back when things work out.

When things go well, hindsight allows you to congratulate yourself for a job well done or a decision well made. Most of us have little trouble acknowledging and taking credit for our successes.

When we use hindsight on events that went according to plan, we learn what worked for us and know we can use those behaviours or strategies again to our advantage.

Looking back when things don’t work out.

It’s when things don’t work out that hindsight can either be a powerful tool for learning or for berating yourself.

For example, if real estate prices go down over the term of your investment and you end up losing money instead of making it, it’s easy to berate yourself for having made the wrong decision.

But that’s only one option. You can also choose to use what you learnt from the experience to guide your next investment decision.