The ROI of Unlearning 🧑‍💻

From kindergarten to 12th grade (and beyond, depending on education), we’re placed in environments designed for learning. We learn to read, write, type, add, and drive, equipped with textbooks, videos, teachers, mentors, calculators, and countless resources to help us succeed.

After graduation, the learning continues, this time focused on life skills. How to cook, interview, and manage a budget. Again, we are encouraged to seek resources like books, podcasts, and mentors to practice life skills well.

The point being, from a young age, we are taught how to learn, placed in environments that foster learning, and given resources to learn effectively. We are well-equipped to learn.

But are we well-equipped to unlearn?

To unlearn negative thought patterns, false beliefs, fear-based tendencies, social blocks, and financial habits. I’ll go out on a limb. We are not.

And yet, the ROI is immense. As it’s been said, “Transformation is often more about unlearning than learning.”

As I process unlearning in my own life, three questions rise to the surface:

• What do we unlearn?

• How do we unlearn?

• When do we unlearn?

A few areas that stand out:

• Beliefs

• Fears

• Habits

Wrong beliefs shape fears. Fears form habits. Habits shape a life.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2, NIV).

What patterns of this world have shaped your beliefs, fears, and habits that you need to unlearn? The first step is awareness.

Just as there are methods of learning, there are also methods of unlearning. Riffing on a couple of ideas below that others have shared:

• Inbound - Memorize truth. One friend shared that by memorizing scripture, he found lasting relief from depression and anxiety. As he renewed his mind with truth, he unlearned what wasn’t, thus transforming his beliefs, fears, and habits over time.

• Outbound - Find an outlet and get reps. Journaling, meeting with a mentor, or praying are ways to process beliefs, fears, and habits worth unlearning. The key is practice, taking repeated, intentional action.

Remember, it’s not about finding a hack, tips and tricks, or the perfect process to unlearn. It’s about being intentional to create space to participate in the process of becoming.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6, NIV).

At a macro level, unlearning is a lifelong process. We are always becoming. No better time to get in the game than now!

At a micro level, finding the space to unlearn as a young professional is challenging. It takes time, emotional and mental capacity, and no distractions. In the fast-paced world we live in today, time, capacity, and no distractions are hard to come by. However, we each have margins in our day. Pockets of time to step back and evaluate.

Could your commute become a place of unlearning a couple of times a week? What about while doing chores or during exercise sessions?

Learning equips us with knowledge and skills. But unlearning sets us free from patterns that hold us back.

Identify the false beliefs, fears, and habits shaping your world today. Then lean into practices that help you release them, remembering that just like learning, unlearning is not a moment, but about becoming over time.

Most importantly, it is not to be done alone, but with community. And it is not to be white-knuckled, but with help from the Spirit.

As always, let us know how we can help you navigate your world as you navigate the world.

In Your Corner.

See you next Tuesday!