The Way Ahead: Learning, Unlearning and Relearning

Whether good or bad, many of us have grown up with strong belief systems. These beliefs help us and guide us in how we react to situations and live our lives. Therefore, as we grow older, changing our opinions and ideas can be challenging.

I’ve come to realise that being open to new ideas and ways of thinking and willingness to let go of old thinking is what will keep you relevant in our ever-evolving world.

As youngsters, we’re told what’s good and evil. Society determines what’s beautiful and what’s ugly. Even in a young mind, biases and prejudices are formed through societal stereotypes. These stereotypes get ingrained in our minds and affect our decisions as we grow. And, the older we get, the harder it is to even consider other ways of thinking, let alone reset our beliefs.

These beliefs follow us into our careers and affect how we make decisions, problem solve and even treat people. Many of us get complacent just because we have years of experience under our belts. However, complacency is the enemy of growth.

Very soon, stereotypical beliefs will become your stumbling block and hinder your growth.

To grow, we have to be willing not to just learn continuously but to unlearn and relearn. That’s the only way you can keep moving forward and be relevant for years to come. Many big companies struggle in this area. Most focus on learning, failing to recognise the value of unlearning outdated and archaic thinking patterns.

However, let me clarify that the concept of unlearning is not a waste. It is a paradigm shift, a brand new way of thinking without piling on information on what we already know. This happens in the business world as well. We sometimes don’t see beyond what we’ve learnt in school or university. An in the real world, these methods prove ineffective as the world evolves.

At Green Park Content, we’ve been working with Beauty Hub Philippines on a social impact project that is very close to my heart. We worked tirelessly on the concept of “Be Your Own Beautiful”. Beauty Hub aims to redefine our conventional perception of beauty and is such an impactful, purpose-driven project that champions diversity and inclusion.

As I mentioned above, as kids, we are told what is beautiful, and everyone who doesn’t fit into that mould is deemed unattractive. As a team, our challenge was to redefine the archaic parameters society places on beauty and help people unlearn what is imprinted in their minds. Through Beauty Hub, we’re doing just that.

But what I discovered is that unlearning is not easy. But it can be done.

The process of unlearning has three steps:

1. You need to first understand that the current model of operating or thinking may be outdated. Sometimes it’s hard to see this as our judgment can be clouded, thinking our current way of doing things is right. Be open-minded and understand that there might be other ways of looking at things or doing something.
2. Next, you need to find or design a new standard to think or get a job done even better. Be mindful here not to allow yourself to look at the new system only through your old thinking.
3. Lastly, you need to put the new way of thinking and new models into practice. You can think of this process as creating a habit.

Don’t get overwhelmed by the idea that you have to unlearn everything you have learnt thus far. Take it one task at a time and be open to new ideas presented by people around you. But get started, albeit in a small way, because practising unlearning makes it easier to make more significant shifts as your mind adjusts to this new way of thinking.

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” – Tony Robbins.