"Last Time We Did It This Way" — So What?

Hook

Someone says:

"We always celebrate Christmas at Grandma's. That's just what we do."

Or in your group chat:

"Last time we voted on where to go and it was a disaster. We're not doing that again."

Or at school:

"We've always had the Year 11s run the school event. That's tradition."

These all sound reasonable, right? Past experience should count for something.

But here's the thing: last time was a different situation. Different people, different context, different variables. What worked before doesn't automatically work now — and what failed before doesn't automatically fail again.

What's Actually Going On?

This is the Argument from Precedent. It claims that because something was done (or worked, or was decided) a certain way before, it should be done the same way again.

Sometimes precedent is genuinely useful. If a method worked brilliantly and nothing has changed, why reinvent the wheel? Courts use precedent because consistent decisions across similar cases is actually fair.

But the argument breaks down when:

• The new situation is actually different from the old one
• The old way worked, but something better now exists
• The old way didn't work, but people remember it fondly anyway
• Nobody really examined whether the old way was good — it was just... how it went

Precedent is a starting point. It's not a reason to stop thinking.

Real Life: When "That's How We've Always Done It" Gets Dangerous

The school clubs:

"Last year's committee ran it with five people, so this year we'll do the same."

Last year had different roles, different events, a different budget. Why is five the magic number again?

The friendship drama:

"Last time I told her something personal, she told everyone. I'm never trusting her again."

Or — she's changed. Or the context is completely different. Or the stakes are lower. Precedent isn't a life sentence.

The family rules:

"Your brother had a curfew of 10pm at your age, so that's your curfew too."

Different person, different social life, different neighborhood, maybe different transport options. Equal treatment of unequal situations isn't fair — it's just easy.

The Social Media Version

Online, precedent arguments live in comments:

"This brand used to be amazing. Now everything they make is garbage."

One bad release ≠ every future release. Precedent is being used to dismiss something without evaluating it.

"That type of music was huge in the 2000s and nobody cares about it now."

When music was popular then says nothing about whether it resonates now. Context changed. The argument hasn't.

Even more subtle:

"Every influencer I've followed who posts this type of content has turned out to be fake."

That's pattern recognition, which can be useful — but it can also become a bias that stops you from seeing when something is actually different.

The Key Question: What Actually Changed?

The magic move here is simple: compare the situations.

When someone uses precedent, ask:

• Is the situation now actually similar to the situation then?
• What's different this time?
• Why would the outcome be the same when the context isn't?

If the comparison holds up — if the situations are genuinely similar and the method genuinely worked — then precedent is a real argument.

If the situations are different in relevant ways, the precedent is noise.

Tradition vs. Precedent: A Quick Distinction

Traditions are slightly different. Traditions often exist because of the emotional value of continuity, not because the method is necessarily the best. That's okay — continuity has genuine value.

But even traditions deserve the occasional question: is this serving us, or are we serving it?

A tradition that makes people happy and brings them together: worth keeping.

A tradition that nobody enjoys anymore but everyone maintains out of habit: worth examining.

The question isn't "should we always change things?" It's "are we choosing this, or are we just defaulting to it?"

Your Challenge 🎯

This week, find one rule or routine in your life that exists because "that's how it's always been."

Ask:

• Do you know why it started?
• Is the original reason still relevant?
• Would you choose this if you were starting fresh today?

You don't have to change it. You just have to actually choose it — instead of defaulting to it.

Choosing the same thing your parents or school or culture does is completely valid. But choosing it consciously is different from just inheriting it without thinking.

That distinction? That's what autonomy looks like.