A colleague recently said to me, Unlearning is the new learning.

I laughed and rolled my eyes given it sounded…well…kind of dumb.

We seek to expand and increase our earnings, our title, and our scope of responsibility.

We aspire to do more to get more.

This is whereunlearningcomes in, which is to abandon or give up knowledge, ideas, or behaviors.

It enables you to behave differently and in a new way that benefits you more.

Unlearning is an obvious switch of language and perspective.

One might say that unlearning is just learning to do something different.

The steps to unlearn offered by experts are simple.

Here isan exampleof how to unlearn:

Recognize and accept that something youre doing is now ineffective or irrelevant.

Seek new information, behaviors, and thoughts to replace those irrelevant actions.

Immerse yourself in the new behaviors to reinforce the new and let go of the old.

Seems intuitive, right?

What is more potent is identifyingwhatto unlearn.

This is the first step and often, the hardest.

Unlearn that you must suffer to succeed

This is engrained in our work culture.

Its the no pain, no gain mantra of performance.

For many, it is also very difficult to unlearn.

This is to blow time talking about others, often with undertones of delighting in their misfortune.

What makes it difficult to unlearn is that it can serve a purpose.

It can build relatedness, which makes it so enticing to participate in.

Unlearning this requires having a few standard phrases at the ready to deflect it when it comes up.

you’ve got the option to covertly change the topic or be more overt and say, Hey.

I dont want to gossip about others.

Either way, unlearning to gossip will benefit everyone.

Or, when considering a career change, focusing on all the experience you dont have.

This is to see whats missing before seeing what is possible and its a trap of deficit-based thinking.

Unlearning this mindset requires dedicating time to reflect on successes and learnings.

Even in the toughest jobs, there are moments of good decision-making, problem-solving, and relationship-building.

These are the moments that should capture your attention.

Is unlearning the new learning?