The delusional G-spot

The right time to learn something is asap whereas the right time to unlearn something is always. Thanks to the literacy system — calling it the education system would be a travesty — in place, there is indeed an emphasis on learning in our country. Moreover, thanks to the marketing geniuses in the corporate world, there is an adequate emphasis on unlearning too. The problem arises when the distinction between the two isn’t made clear. One’s resumé turns misleading because of this very glitch. You mention stuff in your CV so as to highlight your objectives, qualities and accomplishments so far. Innocent you! Many a times, even the most enticing of CVs burn a hole in your career graph in the short run. Reason? You were too busy showcasing your learning, leaving little to no scope for your ability to unlearn. It’s not entirely your fault because the system is vague in what it wants. Sometimes, it doesn’t even know what it doesn’t want either. It is, to misquote Rumi, quite fucked up. Knowledge is finite for a reason. The truth is no two organizations are the same irrespective of similar goals, values and culture. But when a person moves from ABC to PQR, he is expected to have reeled in a lot of what we normally call experience. So far, so good, right? Let’s see. Once the person has entered PQR, the change in environment beckons him to give up his old skin. What does our hero do in such a scenario? More often than not, he sticks to his past learning, too afraid to give up on something that provided him a purpose in his life for quite a long time. Pretense becomes necessary. Fast forward a month or two, he feels he’s doing fine, blinded by his quest for that delusional word called growth. He keeps searching for it while refusing to unlearn old ways. What this leads to is a silent clash between ideas; those he was once true to and those that challenge his previous notions. If he’s a wise cherry, he’ll gauge what’s good for him and accept the change with an open mind as well as a curious heart. If not, he’ll find himself stuck inside a maze that won’t let him go anywhere worth visiting. Why so? Because it’s impossible to learn something new without unlearning something old. Understanding the difference between the two conditions is the key to growth. Nothing else. Nothing more.