Alvin Toffler said: “The illiterate of the future will not be those who can’t read or write. The illiterate of the future will be those who can’t learn, unlearn, and relearn.” Unlearning is perhaps the hardest part of this equation.
Paul said in Philippians 3:12-14: “I don’t mean that I am exactly what God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal yet. But, I continue trying to reach it, although I know that I still have a long way to go. Nevertheless, there is one thing that I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine. I do this by forgetting those things which are behind me, while reaching for those things which are ahead of me.”
Toffler says that the future belongs to those who can:
- Learn
- Unlearn
- Relearn
However, he goes on to say that unlearning is the probably the most difficult part of this equation. In other words— understanding how it’s going to work now is not going to be possible until we unlearn or “forget” how it has worked in the past. In order to have a conversation of a different future, we must learn, unlearn and relearn. However, we can’t truly relearn, until we first unlearn what doesn’t any longer exist or work.
In life *(emotionally, physically and spiritually) and in business we must develop what I call a forgetful reach. In other words, we must reach forward while forgetting those things that are holding you back, or that are hindering you.
A Forgetful Reach…
1. Reaches for what matters and forgets about what doesn’t matter.
2. Remembers what needs to be remembered and forgets what needs to be forgotten.
3. Let’s go of what’s behind and reaches for what’s ahead.
4. Focuses on things that will lift you up, not on things that will drag you down.
5. Doesn’t rehearse; what it’s trying to forget.
6. Releases what needs released, so it can receive what needs to be received.
7. Doesn’t just see things the way they are; it sees things they way they can be—different!
Toffler says that the future will belong to those who can learn, unlearn, and relearn. And Paul says that the future is better navigated and experienced when we forget the things of the past that are negative and that hinder us from a brighter future.
Therefore, in order to grow we must—forget the past and those things that no longer work— we must Learn, unlearn and relearn.
