How much unlearning do you need to do?

Now you might say none, which could be true, yet highly unlikely.

Everyone has at least some information that was taught or picked up along the way that is either no longer relevant or true.

So much emphasis is put on learning, and the majority of it is done while you’re still young and haven’t developed the curiosity or courage to question the things you’re being taught. So you take everything your parents and teachers tell you at face value, rarely questioning the legitimacy of the information.

Then you take all that you’ve learned into adulthood, and as you move into the bigger world you begin to realize that perhaps not everything you were taught is true, or no longer applies.

And that’s when you begin to question the veracity of the things you were taught?

Fortunately, some of what you were taught is based on foundational theory that can be proven and tested to be correct. But that still leaves a lot of grey area.

Perhaps your parents or teachers had specific agendas or beliefs that they taught you because they believed them to be true and had themselves never stopped to question or unlearn. Or maybe they had intentionally misled you, not out of malice, but justified it under the guise of trying to protect you.

Whatever their reasons were is no longer important. If the information is no longer serving you or you’ve realized that it’s no longer true or even obsolete, then it’s your personal responsibility to unlearn it.

This can be a very difficult process because as you begin to question one thing, there’s a possibility that the string you pull on begins to unravel so much of what you believe to be true. And you might begin to hesitate because many of your beliefs are foundational to the person you are. However, this can also be an opportunity for you.

As you see the world through your own eyes and experiences you can begin to decide what you what information you need to unlearn that’s been holding you back. You do so without blaming those that influenced you earlier in life, in fact, you appreciate them for giving you your start in life. And then you move forward learning and unlearning as you see fit to do.

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