‘Learn to unlearn so you can relearn’

Part and parcel with being an adult comes our hard wired belief that things should go a certain way.

The way which has been ‘learnt’ whether passed down through the generations or due to our conditioning, thoughts and evidence collected over a period of time.

Alvin Toffler said: “The illiterate of the future are not those who can’t read or write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

In our rapidly evolving world, the wisdom of unlearning and welcoming new thought patterns, habits and perceptions is ever more relevant.

It’s the unlearning of our old patterns that frustrates us, not the learning itself. Learning to unlearn is extremely testing. This is why so many people fall off the bandwagon and end up doing the same thing, the same way even though it might not be fulfilling their desires nor core needs.

When we willingly put ourselves in a position of learning, we are much more open and receptive to seeing through the eyes of a beginner, so our mindset of growth expands. It’s the close-mindedness that puts on those blinkers and narrows our path to just seeing and doing things that we know.

However, when you remove those blinkers, the path widens to a much more expansive perspective.

It’s the way we have coped thus far, so our survival skills and outlook plays a massive part on how we live our lives. Understanding that sitting in the comfort of our seats, doing the things “the way we have always done them” is a learnt skill, a deep habit.

Events we have experienced throughout our lives, routines we have created on our journey, patterns of beliefs and conditioning of the mind have shaped our learnings. Giving gratitude to them and allowing ourselves to unlearn will bring about an array of new experiences.

Remember change is always difficult at first, the learning, messy in the middle, the unlearning and glorious at the end, the relearning.

When you unlearn you tear down old beliefs, shift old habits, deconstruct to reconstruct, your vulnerability is your strength and your mistakes are your power. After unlearning, this is when you start to relearn and the flexibility of your adaptability skills will increase ten fold. Relearning requires patience, compassion, grace and celebration.

These stages are the agents for constant transformations. It’s an inside out job which takes time, rawness and tenderness. The quality of your life depends on how you play it out.

To succeed today, a constant state of adaptation is needed.

Unlearning old rules and relearning new ones are wonderful skills to adopt.

Familiarising them to your lifestyle will strengthen the suppleness of your mindset and your adaptability quota will elevate.

Once you experience the benefits of these phases, you’ll be able to manoeuvre through them with ease and comfort.

Acclimating no longer feels daunting and so shifting through change where unlearning used to be intimidating, can now be enjoyable.