A dictionary definition of unlearning is "to remove from one's knowledge or memory". Another way to think about unlearning is to get away from something - to let go - and not hold on to it.
The graduation followed by an MBA, a dream I had seen for so long, came a few days ago. This dream was always the same, but the time to realize this dream changed over and over again as I went on. It all started with the desire to get a highly paid job that would offer me all the luxuries of life. After graduating I was lucky to be placed in one of the best MNCs and as with any "My life was set". A few months in the company, I knew that this was not what I wanted to do in my life. Amid weekend work and late working hours to meet the client's deadlines, the dream looked hard to realize. Time passed and finally, I got tired of the long hours and frustrated because I wasn't able to do something I loved and my desire to do an MBA took on a new dimension.
I didn't know there would be a day when, after working for almost 4 years in a prestigious organization, I would have to unlearn a lot of what I had learned so far.
Fast forward, let me lead you to the day I attended a B school - the first day - the long-awaited moment. The whole week before entering school, I thought about how difficult it would be for me to adapt to this new environment, how I could identify with a younger generation of people, how difficult it would be for me to remain without all the luxury I have enjoyed so far, and a whole series of questions that annoyed me.
When I entered the school grounds, fear was at its height. Nervous about my first day and meeting so many new people, an informal meeting with the new classmates in the late evening was a great icebreaker. Recollecting my past few hours in the school and I knew at that moment that in order to make my life easier for the next 2 years, I had to unlearn.
I unlearned to learn to adapt to the environment…
I unlearned to learn to give up the luxury I enjoyed…
I unlearned to learn to work with the people around me...
I unlearned to learn to understand the people...
I unlearned to learn to be happy with what I have...
I unlearned to learn to be equal to everybody…
I unlearned to learn to be more mature...
I unlearned to learn to be a better person...
As futurist Alvin Toffler once wrote, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”
It's a bit daunting at first to neglect most of the things you've learned so far, but you improve quickly because all the learning is fresh and new. You will quickly move up the ladder simply because you concentrate on the new learning you want and not on the old action.