Un(common) Learning

There’s a common belief that many people have about learning. It might be common, but still, it’s invisible.

It goes like this: “To learn is to pile on more learning on top of the old learning.” Put differently: “Learning is an additive process.”

It’s an invisible belief because most people don’t think to revisit their own learning process. It’s invisible because it’s common. It’s invisible because, like most beliefs, it’s more like a lens, colouring our view of the world and of our options.

So now that we’ve stated that “learning is an additive process” is only a belief, a lens, we can do something different. We can unlearn that belief.

Unlearning is a learning process that’s rather more subtractive or transformative, and you’ll see how powerful it is in creating nuance and growth.

You start by identifying an underlying, invisible, latent belief. You then admit to yourself that you have that belief, that lens, colouring your options. You then ask yourself: “Do I want to bring this belief into the future? Is this belief true, for me? Do I want to continue using this lens?” If you choose to part ways with a belief, you rewrite the old one into a new one: “Learning can also be a subtractive process. I can unlearn. I can transform what I previously learned.”

And just like that, a belief has been unlearned.

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This ability to spot an underlying belief, it’s a skill that’s a little hard to practice. So there’s a trick to spot them. Beliefs that need “unlearning” will first show their existence as limiting beliefs. You will become agitated, defensive, unable to properly interact with a recurring problem. The limiting belief will go up, right under the surface of your thoughts, limiting your ability to serve the situation in front of you. You’ll know, in that instant, that surely you have a belief, a lens, colouring your view of the world.

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Speaking of “surely”: that’s a word to look for when searching for beliefs. You’ll know when an underlying belief is at play when you can spot the word “surely” in the belief you identify. “Surely, it’s either I’m right or they’re right.”

Other words to spot: “either/or” will be present like in the belief just above, so will “instead of” , “unless”, “I am a”, “he is just a”, or “if only”. Any of those words, if found in your underlying thoughts, give away the presence of a limiting belief.

And so you proceed with a rewrite: “No, I don’t want to bring this belief into the future.” “No, surely this won’t happen.” “It’s so interesting that I think this way! Maybe it’s not true at all.” Rewriting is key to unlearning your beliefs.

Learning to unlearn is to me, by far, the best way to accelerate your ability to see things clearly and to grow. It’s uncommon advice, it’s not obvious advice, but I think everyone should learn how to “unlearn”.