In today’s fast-moving world, learning is no longer an advantage—it is an expectation. What provides the real advantage however, is the ability to unlearn.
We were taught, both implicitly and explicitly, to think of growth as an accumulation. More knowledge, skills, and also experience. But what if the hope for change and the breakthroughs, lie not in the addition of things, but the subtraction of things?
Unlearning is the discipline of unpicking things and letting go of the things that don’t serve us anymore – those beliefs and behaviors that feel chronic, accustomed and many times are also inherited ways of thinking and assumptions about the world. Unlearning is about clearing space in our heads to engage, see anew and think freshly. If learning extends our capacities then unlearning liberates our capacities.
Why Unlearning is the New Superpower
The biggest barrier to growth is not ignorance – it is certainty. When we cling to what worked at one time, we can become truly expert in an environment that no longer exists.
That style of leadership that you feel comfortable using. The reliable mechanism you reference before acting. Results achieving routine that feels well-practiced. They may have worked for you in the past at one time, but alas, they may be quietly limiting you now.
For example:
• When manager still leads through control when accountability is needed.
• A teacher that doesn’t stop lecturing in a class that needs engagement.
• When worker refuses to use technology tools because “this is how I have always done it.”
In all three cases, the problem isn’t competency but mindset; it isn’t just about knowledge, but about how we choose to think.
Why is Unlearning So Difficult?
Our brains seek efficiency. Once a belief or behaviour is repeated enough to become familiar, it becomes a heuristic, or something we act upon without questioning. These heuristics, or shortcuts, work for us until they don’t.
Unlearning means we must interrupt that heuristic. Step into discomfort. Question our own certainty. That isn’t easy. But, that is where we grow.
Sometimes it is humbling to acknowledge that what served us and made us successful yesterday may be what keeps us stuck today. But, that humility? That is also where transformation begin
Five Ways to Start Unlearning Today
1. Identify the Friction
Growth often lies in the discomfort of frustration. What isn’t working as well as it used to? Where do you feel stuck, stagnant, or out of phase? That would be a sign to explore further.
2. Question Your Assumptions
Consider:
• Why do I think this?
• Is this true?
• What would I believe if I were starting over today?
All of these questions take you from a place of passive acceptance to active awareness.
3. Embrace Discomfort
Challenge your echo chamber. Read across disciplines. Search for alternative perspectives. Say yes to new and different decision-making opportunities. You re-establish your sense of curiosity when it seems your expertise isn’t useful.
4. Try Micro-Experiments
Change doesn’t have to be BIG. Just try one new approach. Speak differently. Lead differently. Make observations for impact, reflect, and changeagain. Learning is not linear. It’s iterative.
5. Separate Everything You Know About Your Identity
The biggest barrier to change is ego. We think of our methods, performance, and actions as who we are. You are not your success in the past. You are your future potential to change. And that is what should move you forward.
Making Space for the New
Unlearning is not un-living your past. It is reconsidering your past; it is exploring your past from a vantage point of wisdom and the openness of possibility.
When we release outdated mindsets, we can create space for innovation, agility, clarity, and bold new directions. We are more responsive, relevant, and resilient.
In a time when the only constant is change, the future does not belong to the ones who know the most. It will belong to those who are willing to grow the most – by letting go of what is no longer serving and making space for what is next.
https://online.maryville.edu/blog/learning-unlearning-relearning/