Unlearn what hinders you

Learning new things is important for one’s career but so is unlearning things that may be retarding your progress; habits, attitudes, knowledge, ways of doing things and that may be stalling your advancement. Not easy to do- here are ways to start.

IDENTIFY YOUR SACRED COWS: These are the beliefs, ideas etc you hold dear but which no longer are helpful. How often do you ask if the way you’re doing something is as effective as it was when you started doing? What critical feedback will you reject because you have decided in advance it’s unjustified? What tasks will you not let go off because you believe its best done a certain way? Where do you need to be more open-minded in order to shed what no longer serves you?

THINK LIKE A BEGINNER: It’s good to pride ourselves in what we know but sometimes an attitude of ‘I am the expert’ can get in the way of weeding out stale, unfruitful thoughts, knowledge and attitudes. When you go over things with a ‘fresh innocent’ mind, you are able to identify blockages and ask basic questions that challenge your status quo, leave the dysfunctional behind and enable you move yourself forward.

STICK WITH WHAT GROWS YOU: Be committed to growth so much so that you can be ruthless with things that take you back. Your past success even in the same environment may not necessarily be a predictor of future success. Stay curious and use the principle of growth to judge what’s useful to you or not.

BE A WORK IN PROGRESS: Unlearning things you’ve done for a long period takes time and so does developing an attitude that is willing to prune any ‘dead wood’. So don’t feel you have to unlearn whatever overnight. Avoid getting into auto-pilot mode so that you don’t revert to the old things. Adopt ‘alternatives thinking’ which will make it easier for you to identify and weigh options and be able to let go what does not work.

Now take action: Identify one thing you need to start unlearning this month