Defy your experience, learn to unlearn.

Something that I have learned during these tough times is to unlearn. We start to learn from the day that we were born. Even before we go to school, we have shaped ourself in so many ways. How did we learn?

“Observational learning is when you learn from the people around you, from parents to extended family, peers, or even characters on TV.”

So, why we must unlearn? The real purpose to ‘unlearn’ is to progress with our lives in everything that matters, financially, socially, professionally and to create a balanced living progressively. All of us are almost similar, we believe that since we have learned it, it must be true. Whether through our experiences, through learning from books or watching gurus on you tube. (At this point, mind you that I have no intention to be a guru).

The things that we learned had brought us so far in our lives but it will never take us more than that. When you take a serious look into your own inner engineering, you will know for sure that, you have been programmed with the past experience. This is the reason for your present experience of life. We all know that we can’t change the past but we can always change the present.

Changing the present will change our future. With so many time-travel movies, surely you can understand this simple fact. One good movie that you should watch is “About Time.” In this 2013 comedy, Tim discovers he can travel in time to change what happens and has happened in his own life. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as you might think.

Now, coming back to defy your experience, it is not easy as it sounds like, either. We have learned so many things in our life that are not necessarily true but we cling on to that. So, it is a requirement to unlearn before we can learn things which are more useful in our lives.  While modern society puts an emphasis on learning, it is fundamental that we learn to unlearn. This Zen story shows us why.

An Emperor asks a Zen Monk how he can improve in life. The Monk listens politely to the story and the question of the emperor. Then he asks if the emperor wants a cup of tea. The Monk pours the tea into the cup, even when it is already full. The emperor watches the scene, and at the end, he can’t help intervening. He yells: ‘what are you doing, you see that the cup has been full for a while and you continue pouring tea…’. ‘Exactly’, says the Monk. ‘And it is the same with you. You are already full with your own ideas and conceptions. And you ask me to add more? First empty your cup and then it will be possible to pour some more.’”

Does the story make it clearer to you, why you must defy your experience and learn to unlearn? In my own life as a seafarer, I have been sailing the high seas for 33 years to miss out on the better things in life. I have no regrets, considering that I have contributed to the movement of cargo (food and product essentials) for consumers around the world.

Today, I want to do more for the people by sharing my learning, unlearning, experience. If you have read this article, probably you will have a thought across your mind about what you want to achieve or do in your lives. How to improve your life?

Unlearning is important for all of us as the world continue evolving, we too must evolve to live a better life and be a better human being. Defy your experience.