ITM Student Confession #2 – Rinkal Jalan’s Learn to Unlearn journey
What I believe is, “Transformation is often more about unlearning then learning.”
You must be wondering why unlearn? Sometimes even the best companies struggle to make real progress in their field because of one problem that is they’ve been focused on the wrong thing. The problem isn’t learning: it’s unlearning.
Same is with our human mind. We operate with the mental models that we have been bought up with. These models have grown outdated or obsolete. To see a transformation in our personality what we need to do is unlearn.
Unlearning is not about forgetting. It’s about the ability to choose an alternative mental model. When we learn, we add new skills or knowledge to what we already know. When we unlearn, we step outside the mental model in order to choose a different one.
For this I can give my own example of my one week experience in HomeTown which has taught me how to unlearn. When I first went to the store, I had in my mind that we will learn new skills and gain more knowledge. But No, my one week there changed my perception.
First I used to see everything from a single perspective in a situation, but in this one week I learned to see a situation or a problem from every aspect which in turn will help to arrive at a proper solution. My Guide says and I quote, “Think like a child, take the problem as a game, and you will arrive at the right solution.”
I have seen a transformation in myself and my personality. It has improved my soft skills and the main learning was to unlearn. It also helped in knowing about different careers in that field. I had a chance to explore myself thereby working in areas which I wasn’t even aware of. This live project also helped me in knowing what I am good at and what will be the perfect career choice in which I can excel.
So the key point is, we cannot solve problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. So UNLEARN the lies we have inherited and you would see a transformation yourself. This will make your journey look like an exploration journey rather than a welldefined process as we have been used to in the past.
Rinkal Jalan
RGRM | 2017 – 19
ITM Navi Mumbai