You cannot move forward while continually asking the past whether it approves.

Asking whether your history approves of a new direction guarantees a conservative answer, because the past can only reason from what it already contains. It cannot evaluate something it has not seen. Consulting it constantly means your future is being decided by information that has already expired. It is worth listening to and it is not a good judge of the unfamiliar.

When you are deciding something new, notice whether you are gathering information or seeking permission from your own history. Take the lessons and leave the verdict. The past is a useful adviser and a poor authority.