Learning, unlearning and relearning

Learning is a key piece in our adaptation to new environments. That is how we could survive jungles, live in communities and later, in cities.

However, 20th century has somehow affected it. Until the 19th century, learning was not needed all the time... a normal person could learn as much as they wanted until a certain age; after that, the need for learning would happen from time to time - for instance, learning how to be a father or how to deal with retirement. And even the last two examples were easier as there was always the presence of someone in the family who has gone through a similar situation and whom would act as a mentor to them.

As years passed by, the need for learning started to happen much faster and with more frequency. It is not only they would need to learn how to be a father; they would also learn how to be an infant's father, then a teenager's father and finally an adult's father.

Nowadays, you need to learn more and more things, and much more often than before: every time you buy a new smartphone or tablet, or you try a new airline or a new ice-cream shop... Therefore, the old ways of learning don't work in this case.

We had time for theory, ideas to be understood and assimilated, creating a powerful foundation for a further step in the process, the practice. Nowadays, practice may even come before theory...

There is a 3-step model you can use that can be helpful when you are struggling with this fast-pace world:

1. Learn. If it is something you are learning for the first time, understand your own ways of learning; for instance, for some people READING is easier than BE TAUGHT something. In this way, you can choose your right method.
2. Unlearn. Some things you have learned have changed so dramatically that you need to erase that form your memory, so that you can learn about it again. This is more attitude than reality, and it is based on humility and a realization that whatever I have learned about this or that matter, is not working anymore, so I let go of the past and embrace new ways.
3. Relearn. After unlearning something, it is important to use a different methodology to learn something you already knew before. Pick the manual, browse your web or talk to other people about it. Dare to challenge your own assumptions and enjoy the novelty.

Hope that works for you, take care.