To move forward, you have to strike a balance between dismissing your past self out of hand [...] versus identifying with your past self to a degree that averts Tsuyoku Naritai

Nail, head. Well said sir.

I think that if there's anything one should strive to remember from youth, it's just how easy it is to accept assumption as fact. How sure was I that God was in the sky looking down at me? As sure as it's possible to be. And I try to remember that yes, it was me who believed that. Keeps me honest about the likelihood of my current beliefs.