looking back on my past vs looking back to my past

Both phrases are correct and commonly used in English. They convey the idea of reflecting on one's past experiences. The choice between 'looking back on my past' and 'looking back to my past' is a matter of personal preference, as both are grammatically sound and convey the same meaning.

Last updated: March 22, 2024 • 1290 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to express the act of reflecting on past experiences.

"looking back on my past "

This phrase is used when someone wants to talk about reflecting on or thinking about their past experiences or memories.

Show examples from the web [+]

Looking back on the past few years, my slogan has always been that we need to be careful with European money.
So this... looking back at the past, living with a single moment from my past, would be too painful for me.
And that's a lot more meaningful than looking back at the past.
There is surely no point in only looking back at the past.
Looking back over the past ten years, Slovenia has made remarkable progress in achieving low inflation rates.
That is my first point, then, looking back to the past.
You know, looking back at the past day, all the signs were there.
Looking back over the past in this way enables us to have confidence and hope that we really can be optimistic in looking forward to our continent's future.
Which is why, in the end, I shall always be grateful for this curious love of history, allowing me to spend a lifetime looking back into the past.
However, I am disappointed that he is so pessimistic, both looking back to the past and forward to the future.
There is really no point in looking back to the past, in this case to the year 1995, unless one draws lessons from it for the future.
Looking back over the past couple months, if I read the felony breakdowns correctly, you've been seeing an uptick in shootings and serious assaults in the Eastern District especially.
Are we losers looking back to the past?
Today we are looking back at the past and looking forward to the future.
Let us emphasise, however, that, looking back at the past, we must feel pleased and that, happily, looking into the future, we can feel hopeful.
Looking back over the past 10 years, France, the Netherlands and now Ireland - twice - have all voted to put the brakes on greater European integration, and yet the EU has completely ignored their opinions.
I hope you will allow me, since we are looking back over the past five years, to pay tribute also to your predecessor, Mr Borrell, who manifested the same qualities of impartiality and leadership.
Looking back over the past ten years, HICP inflation in both Cyprus and Malta has been relatively contained, fluctuating mostly between 2 % and 3 % (see Tables 14 and 15).
Looking back over the past year, I do not really know whether it is possible to say that openness and public accessibility has increased in the Union or in its Member States but, at least, I have great hopes for the Intergovernmental Conference in this respect.
Looking back into the past, we can say that progress has in fact been made in the world: communism has disappeared from Eastern Europe, apartheid from South Africa and dictatorships from South America.

Alternatives:

reflecting on my past
reminiscing about my past
thinking back on my past
pondering my past
reviewing my past

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to express the act of reflecting on past experiences.

"looking back to my past "

This phrase is used when someone wants to talk about reflecting on or thinking about their past experiences or memories.

Show examples from the web [+]

That is my first point, then, looking back to the past.
So this... looking back at the past, living with a single moment from my past, would be too painful for me.
However, I am disappointed that he is so pessimistic, both looking back to the past and forward to the future.
There is really no point in looking back to the past, in this case to the year 1995, unless one draws lessons from it for the future.
Are we losers looking back to the past?
And that's a lot more meaningful than looking back at the past.
There is surely no point in only looking back at the past.
Looking back over the past ten years, Slovenia has made remarkable progress in achieving low inflation rates.
Looking back on the past few years, my slogan has always been that we need to be careful with European money.
You know, looking back at the past day, all the signs were there.
Looking back over the past in this way enables us to have confidence and hope that we really can be optimistic in looking forward to our continent's future.
Which is why, in the end, I shall always be grateful for this curious love of history, allowing me to spend a lifetime looking back into the past.
Looking back over the past couple months, if I read the felony breakdowns correctly, you've been seeing an uptick in shootings and serious assaults in the Eastern District especially.
Looking back to the past, we must remember that the name of your country, Luxembourg, is associated with important moments in European history, such as the Luxembourg Compromise of 1966, which managed to bring France back to the Community table.
Today we are looking back at the past and looking forward to the future.
Let us emphasise, however, that, looking back at the past, we must feel pleased and that, happily, looking into the future, we can feel hopeful.
Looking back over the past 10 years, France, the Netherlands and now Ireland - twice - have all voted to put the brakes on greater European integration, and yet the EU has completely ignored their opinions.
I hope you will allow me, since we are looking back over the past five years, to pay tribute also to your predecessor, Mr Borrell, who manifested the same qualities of impartiality and leadership.
Looking back over the past ten years, HICP inflation in both Cyprus and Malta has been relatively contained, fluctuating mostly between 2 % and 3 % (see Tables 14 and 15).
Looking back over the past year, I do not really know whether it is possible to say that openness and public accessibility has increased in the Union or in its Member States but, at least, I have great hopes for the Intergovernmental Conference in this respect.

Alternatives:

reflecting on my past
reminiscing about my past
thinking back on my past
pondering my past
reviewing my past

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looking back on my past vs looking back to my past

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