Where have we seen this movie before?

Debating whether or not history repeats itself isn’t the best use of our energy.

Because both sides of the argument are eminently provable.

Eternal recurrence theory states that the currents of history repeat themselves in an infinite loop. Nietzsche theorized that same events will continue to occur in exactly the same way, over and over again, for eternity.

What was once considered outdated will become trendy once more.

Like acid washed blue jeans, synth pop music and the retro arcade games from the eighties. All of those cultural trends are tres chic today. Even the political scandals like illegal surveillance activities, controversial mishandling of sensitive communications and sexual abuse case are comically uncanny echoes the past.

It’s difficult not to observe recognizable similarities between the current circumstances and a previously experienced situation. We seem to kept stumbling on the same stones.

Covid wasn’t as much a public health anomaly as it was a big magnifying glass that exposed injustices that persisted long before the pandemic. Just like the flu from the early nineteen hundreds, we faced a global crisis at scale. The powers that be told us to stay indoors, avoid large gatherings, wear masks and wash our hands, while the way we fight infectious diseases changed forever.

However, we could also make the argument that history doesn’t repeat itself. All of the variables are different now. Heraclitus famously observed that a man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.

And so, there may be things that people repeat over and over again, since human beings are quite predictable. But history itself doesn’t repeat. Each moment in time rests at the nexus of a vast number of interwoven causes, including social, political, economic, technological, and cultural. Norms and attitudes evolve positively over time.

Which isn’t to say that a lot of things aren’t awful for a lot of people in the world right now. But many discriminatory attitudes and legal frameworks that prevailed in the past have now become relics of a bygone era.

A hundred years ago, practices like homosexuality, masturbation, smoking pot and committing suicide were all considered to be sins, disorders and crimes. Today you can be gay, jerk off, get high, and kill yourself, all in the same afternoon, if you really wanted to.

Now that we’ve considered both sides of the philosophical coin, let’s set aside our existential conundrum for a moment. Because when it comes to growth, when it comes to coping with the inevitable struggles of modern life, assuming that some degree of recurrence is at play, is a useful strategy.

Forcing our brains to try and connect the historical dots is an exercise in lateral thinking and helps us to make more informed decisions. The filter I often overlay on my experience is:

Where have we seen this movie before? And if so, how did we adapt, survive and thrive?

Because the odds are high that my current situation is reminiscent of something that has already occurred in the past. I have probably witnessed or endured a similar or parallel scenario before, and that can give me sense of anticipation or awareness of how things are about unfold.

Or, if not me personally, somebody out there has seen this movie before. My job is to look for patterns and connections.

I remember when the startup I worked for announced they were getting bought out by a private equity firm. My colleague explained to me that this strategy in the tech sector typically means several changes.

First, a viable exit for the founders, given the reality that most startups won’t ultimately go public, which only happens about three percent of the time. The second change is the injection of capital, and therefore, greater resources for the team to lean on for growth. And finally, the executive leadership transition and organizational restructuring.

My colleague warned me at the beginning of the buyout, six months from today, the complexion of our company will look very different than it does now. I’m not saying you should start looking for another gig right away, but make sure you’re ready to pivot on dime.

And sure enough, within the next year, virtually all of the legacy employees had either quit or been laid off, myself included.

Now, fast forward to a job I held several years later, the same thing happened. Out of nowhere out company got a new ceo, and everyone on the team was shocked.

Wait, what? Who the hell is this new guy? And while I felt disoriented myself, I also remember asking, where have I see this movie before?

Oh right. This is standard operating procedure. Within a few months, I predict that both of our company founders will depart, the strategic vision will change, key employees will be let go or resign, and our growth trajectory will dramatically change.

Thankfully I still retained my position, but everything else followed suit. I don’t know whether history repeated itself or just rhymed, but I was proud that I identified the analogous situation. I was able to apply insight from my past to the current context, and that helped me navigate the transition more gracefully.

How will do you determine which movies you’ve seen before? Do you have an eternal recurrence filter to learn from the pieces of history that repeat themselves?

The best part about this tool is, we can use it right in our backyard. For example, if we encounter a setback in our personal life, like an injury, illness or the loss of a loved one, we can prime our brains and apply an eternal recurrence filter right there in the moment.

Naturally, we honor our feelings of sadness, agony and grief. But we also try to channel those feelings productively into the future for when the pendulum ultimately swings back. We consider how to apply current lessons to coming situations to improve outcomes and avoid similar pitfalls. W

ˆhen I was recovering from hernia surgery years ago, my groin hurt for a good six months. I had to ask people to lift anything over ten pounds for me. I felt frail, emasculated and sore. But one way I navigated my pain was by repeating a mantra to myself.

I will remember this feeling. I will remember this feeling. I will remember this feeling.

Kind of like saying, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, except for my swollen testicles.

Doing so framed that discomfort as a sign of healing and improvement, and shifted my perspective from viewing it as a setback to seeing it as a necessary step towards recovery.

I didn’t want my body to forget how painful having a hernia was. That way, the next time I felt tempted to overexert myself, I could prevent a moment of recurrence.

In the end, debating whether history repeats itself or not is an interesting philosophical inquiry, but it’s not the most productive use of our energy. If we find ourselves caught up in the theoretical debate of history repeating itself, we should unhook ourselves from that rumination.

Better to refocus our energy on this eternal recurrence filter. Doing so will empower us to make more informed decisions, anticipate challenges, and ultimately shape our own path with wisdom earned from the past.

Where have we seen this movie before, and if so, how did we adapt, survive and thrive?