Unlearning 101

The Fog of Unlearning

I am in Iowa to deliver a keynote presentation (entitled "Why Future Trends in Healthcare Will Require Unlearning") to the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative today.

After working on my presentation early this morning, I decided to go for a walk at sunrise. The photo to the right offers a view of what I saw.

As I stared at the pool of fog in the distance, it occurred to me that I was also standing in fog--I just couldn't see it clearly.

It then dawned on me that it is always easier to see when someone else is enveloped in a fog; it's far more difficult to comprehend that you are also in the thick of it.

One key to unlearning is to begin to appreciate--whether you realize it or not--that we are all in a fog.

To Grow: Unlearn

If you can unlearn your ideas about what is possible, you can grow almost anywhere.

Related Posts

The Tree of Unlearning

A Plant Whose Virtue Has Yet to Be Discovered

A Plant Whose Virtue Has Yet to Be Discovered

One day a child came upon the traveler sitting in a field. He was studying a weed.

"Why are you staring at that ugly weed when so many other beautiful flowers are nearby?"

Without looking up, the traveler replied, "Everything has virtue. The real challenge is to find it where it isn't immediately obvious."

Other short parables by Jack Uldrich 

The Answer

The Circle of Truth

A Sip of Reality

A Glimmer of Truth

The Tree of Unlearning

The Steep Unlearning Curve

Keep an Open-Mind to Unlearning

Are you open-minded?

If so, when was the last time you changed your mind about a long-held belief?

When was the last time you publicly admitted you were wrong?

When was the last time you acknowledged that another person could look at the exact same thing and come to an equally valid -- but opposite -- conclusion?

When was the last time you asked yourself this question: What if I'm wrong?

Keeping an open-mind isn't just about staying open to new ideas and learning new things; the other (and harder) half of keeping an open mind is a relentless willingness to discard and unlearn those things that you think you already know.

Can Unlearning Lead to Enlightenment?

Personally, I believe unlearning can lead to enlightenment but, since I am myself nowhere close to attaining this ideal, I'm for now content with achieving those smaller "aha" moments. I'm hopeful, though, that if I can string together enough such "moments" they just might lead to the promised land. 

To this end, enjoy the cartoon to the right -- and, remember, unlearning isn't as much a destination as it is a journey. 

If you're interested in some of my "aha" moments, feel free to peruse these recent posts:

The Circle of Truth

A Sip of Reality

A Glimmer of Truth

The Tree of Unlearning

The Steep Unlearning Curve