Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present?

Answer 1

Actually both. The brain is a wonder. Memories that are too painful to process particularly when you are young get blocked out and forgotten (repressed). Sometimes they return when we are older so the person can work on the issue at a later time. Painful memories that are not traumatic of course help us to succeed. A child that burns its finger on a pot remembers that things that are burning hot are not to be touched.

Answer 2

that depends upon what the memory is and what they do with it. For example, a women in an abusive relationship can learn from the past memory what to look for in a person and have a good healthy relationship in the future or she can let the memory warn her against any future relationship. It is not the memory but what and how you allow it to affect you that counts