The Learn, Unlearn, Relearn Cycle

The LEARN-UNLEARN-RELEARN cycle is one of the best ways to revamp skills and advance our knowledge to stay up with the constantly changing times. Processes by which we conduct business are rapidly changing and if your philosophy is outdated, you will never last.

LEARNING in itself is self-explanatory – we learn everyday, even when we aren’t actively trying to learn. In this cycle, learning is more of a precursor to the process but sets the foundation to unlearn and relearn. Unlearning may seem counterintuitive but in this strategy it is the most important step in achieving the goal.

UNLEARNING is much more than just forgetting something – unlearning is challenging and it forces you to decosntruct the things that are embedded in your memory. This can be biases, tendencies, things you accept as fact, opinions, etc. Often times we choose to unlearn things as a strategic decision and other times, circumstances force us to. Perhaps your company wants to move in a new direction strategically and to do so requires a different approach – that’s when this cycle would come in handy. Or maybe a global pandemic hits and everything requiring human contact is virtual, forcing you to unlearn and relearn how to communicate effectively.

To RELEARN something is to retrain your mind from its normal path of thought – so however you decide to relearn your material, it needs to be in such a way that will survive in the long term or until you repeat the cycle.

This approach can be so impactful because it forces us to really pay attention and be present for our learning process whereas beforehand it may have just been apart of our second nature. Once we appreciate and understand the learning process, it allows us to teach others, which ultimately just teaches the cycle to the people that come after you.