We’re always to hungry to know more, consume more, learn more.

But often, the only way forward is to first unlearn what is blocking you.

Unlearning bad habits, mindsets and practices is key to unlocking next level learning and moving to a higher path.

In this email I’ve collected 4 things you need to unlearn.

#1 Unlearn linear note-taking & flashcard overload (YouTube): Dr Justin Sung​

The master of unlearning is Dr. Justin Sung. He demonstrates how many of the learning methods you might have picked up in school and college are actually dumbing you down and holding you back from achieving your potential.

Taking extensive notes, for example, may feel like ‘hard work’, but it’s also ‘dumb work’: you only use lower-order thinking. Not only does lower order thinking make learning boring (anyone who has ever reviewed 578 flashcards in a row will know this), but it actually prevents you from reaching the higher order learning where things really start to click, make sense and are internalized for life.

The linked video above is just one example, I’d encourage you to check out his whole channel.

#2 Unlearn doing everything by yourself (community): Traverse on Reddit​

Sometimes the best way of getting really good at something, is befriending someone who is already great at it.

As a solo startup founder, I often fell into the trap of wanting to do everything by myself: development, marketing, content, outreach, … But over time I’ve discovered that it’s often much more helpful to find the right people and have them to do what they already do best (and you’ll learn from them in the process!)

An example of this is our new Traverse subreddit, a place set up by pre-med students Raleigh and Jesus, who are extremely passionate about creating a place where you can go to be supported and elevated by those ahead of you, as well as share your own creations to inspire those behind you. You can join here.

#3 Unlearn Harmful Mindsets (podcast): Traversing the Mind​

I was a guest on the Action Catalyst podcast last week. One of the things I talked about with host Dan is how many educators and parents have a fixed mindset: Alice is good at drawing, Bob is bad at math. This fixed mindset is often transferred to the children and then becomes self-reinforcing, so that Alice is likely to spend more time drawing (and actually get better!), while Bob is unlikely to put much effort into math, even though initial poor results may have been a fluke or due to the teacher not resonating with him.

Unlearning a fixed mindset is the first step towards developing a growth mindset.

#4 Unlearn the Limits the Education System sets you (paid course, affiliate link): Rapid Learner​

My friend Scott Young defied all limits of what people will tell you is possible about learning. He completed the 4-year MIT Computer Science curriculum in 12 months. Then he went one year without speaking English and learned 4 new languages (Mandarin Chinese being one of them - this language truly seems to inspire people to challenge their learning methods).

If you want to learn how to break through the limits the system sets you, you can join Scott’s course now (enrollment closes December 3rd).

Happy learning,

Dom

Founder

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