Rapid learning is a necessity of next culture

Our ordinary attitude towards learning will not let us be sustainable!

I am a passionate learner. I love learning so much that I made learning even my profession. And yet I recently found out in a session with a trainer colleague - and I can hardly believe I'm writing this now - that deep in me there is an unconscious dislike towards learning. This was an unexpected discovery.

During this session, we realized that the way in which learning is happening in our current culture and the experiences we both have had with learning have engraved deep beliefs in our systems that prevent us from fully and openheartedly engaging in the process of learning.

Learning in our culture today usually means that we are not quite ready, still not good enough. Learning takes place in institutions such as schools, which shall prepare us for life. In our culture learning is separated from life, it comes before living - first we need to learn and then we can live. Yet in these institutions they mainly stuff knowledge into our heads, which does not prepare us in any way for real life.

The continuous judgment, which goes along with learning (good/bad, pass/fail , etc.) and the punishment that is also associated with it (having to repeat a year, etc.), transforms learning into a winner/loser game, based on competition, where we are delivered to the judgment of so-called authorities (teacher, professor, etc.). No wonder, that we are happy, when we are finally ‘ready’ and ,have finished learning'. This state in the future we constantly long for. But when we finally have reached so far, we have already developed such a conscious or unconscious aversion towards learning, so we try to avoid new learning situations.

This happened not only to people who hated school! I personally loved school - but only because I was on the winners side! I had the advantage that I could rapidly memorize knowledge and therefore I was able to use the game in my favor. But it had nothing to do with real life. I was not in any way better prepared for life, as any of my classmates. And although I was a winner, it didn’t prevent me from developing an aversion towards learning.

This widespread ‘learning disorder' can be fatal for us today. And with that I don’t mean only my little personal life. The speed in which the circumstances in our world are changing, grows constantly. The global challenges that are to be mastered in the near future, require the ability to learn rapidly and to discover new possibilities in due time. But if we are unconsciously not willing to learn, meaning to make mistakes, to experiment, to fail and get up again, it will be difficult for us to shape our future. But life does not stop just because we have lost the joy of learning. And if we do not shape our future, then the future will shape us - whatever that may look like.

The state we so much yearn for, to be ,done' and 'have finished learning' is an illusion! It means to be dead! Life equals learning! And learning is one of the most beautiful and magical abilities of human nature! Everyone who has ever watched a small child learning to walk – full of passion, patience, courage, tenacity and fun – know’s what I'm talking about. To be fit for the future, we have to win back this attitude towards learning and have to develop a new perspective on the process of learning.

This map shows a distinction between the traditional and the new perspective on learning:

Learning - traditional perspective	Learning - new perspective
takes place in our head (intellectual)	takes place in all four bodies (physical, intellectual, emotional, energetic)
comes before living / is separated from life (first I have to learn, than I can live)	learning is living
is linear (first A, than B, than C)	is nonlinear
the purpose of learning is to be ‚ready‘ and to be fully educated (it is a state in the future)	learning belongs to living like breathing (from the first breath to the last)
our centre is in the future, because we want to reach the state of being ‚perfect‘	We are always able to act, even when we‘re learning – our centre is in the present – we can do it now
we are judged with grades (good/bad, A to D)	we are getting feedback: what did work, what did not work, which other options do we have
is tyring / is always serious and hard	is high level fun
it is about passing or failing (= winning or losing)	is an ongoing process: go – beep – shift – go – go - go
you have to prove, that you are capable	no proves are necessary
is depending on the judgment of ‚authorities‘ (teachers, professors, gurus, …)	I’m my own authority and ask others for feedback
I should already be able to do it, that means learning is not ok / is a weakness	not knowing is ok / starting is ok / learning is ok
means, that I am not yet good enough	means, I am alive
comes along with emotional fear of failing and being punished	comes along with authentic adult fear, which informs us that we are about to try something new
fear is bad – fear causes a black out	fear is useful – it is the motor of new experiments and innovation – fear is ok
who does not get it at once, needs tutoring	life continues offering opportunities to learn
who get’s it at once, is the winner	rapid learning is a natural human ability
knowledge is power / control	knowledge without action is useless; knowledge leads to responsibility
there is a given curriculum and a clear concept of what a person has to know, to be a recognized member of society	something completely new and unusual is possible; contains unlimited possibilities
makes us fighting and competing	creates teamwork

Which side of the map are you living in?

With love
Patrizia


Useful questions:

• What are your deep (and maybe unconscious) beliefs regarding the process of learning?
• How do you react on feedback from others? Do you avoid feedback or do you ask for it?
• Have you created your life as a learning space for yourself, where you get ongoing feedback or as a feedback free zone?
• Did you learn something new today or have you improved any ability of yours? Look carefully, because learning happens everywhere and ongoing – even if we are not aware of it.
• Do you still avoid to enter new situations because of the fear of being not good enough or the fear of failing?

The time of the lone wolf is over

If you're doing everything alone, you accomplish only a small part of what is really possible



I do not know exactly when and how it happened, but at some point in my life I have become a lone wolf, who has everything under control and get’s everything done on its own. And this happened even though I almost always had a partner and good friends, and I was also part of teams! Crazy - but I was simply not aware of it, because I was successful and there were plenty of people in my life! The thought, that I was a lone wolf was simply absurd. It was only when I started to give up control and consciously co-create with others, that I realized that ‘get it all done on my own' is a popular survival strategy of my personal box!


This strategy has worked so well and became second nature to me, that now I sometimes have to force myself to change my behavior. Obviously there was a great benefit that I have drawn from the lone wolf strategy, that now comes into my consciousness little by little. Here is a list of the things that I could make out so far - maybe you'll find other aspects within yourself! 



Benefits of the lone wolf strategy: 

• I have everything under control (or at least I think so) and dictate where to go.
• I do not have to rely on others and do not have to decide on trust.
• I do not have to arrange things with others and to be considerate of someone else.
• I don’t have to lead.
• If it is successful, I can have all the glory for myself.
• If it goes wrong, I can cover it up much easier.
• I avoid feedback, no one will question my actions.
• I avoid contact, intimacy and relationship.
• I can feel overwhelmed and complain or optionally I can also feel very important and needed - depending on what is currently useful to me.
• I always have an excuse, not to go for my vision - because I can’t change the world all alone and besides, I have only 24 hours per day.

I was pretty shocked when I realized this. Especially that the lone wolf strategy was my unconscious excuse, not to go for my vision, because this task is much too big for one person! Since the middle of last year I have been experimenting with a different way to bring my vision and projects to life - the creative collaboration with like-minded people. I no longer give my trainings on my own, but together with other trainers. I gather people who share similar visions and goals as I do to project teams, where together we bring these visions and goals into reality. Before I rack my own little brain, I ask people for possibilities, ideas, support and help. That sounds as if I had just changed little things in my behavior, but for a lone wolf it means a big change and the impact is incredible! It fully compensates the loss of the benefits I have drawn from the lone wolf strategy. Here I name just a few ones:




Benefits of creative collaboration: 

• I don’t have to control and master everything anymore (only now I realize how stressful and exhausting that was!)
• Working together is much more relaxed and it's a lot more fun.
• I'm in contact, and get valuable feedback.
• Working together is a conscious learning and transformation field for everyone.
• We have a lot more ideas in less time.
• We bring the variety and diversity of our talents in the service of the same thing and thus increase our effectiveness.
• We are in relationship and together we create a field and sufficient mass to bring our shared vision to life.
• Together, we are able to attain much bigger goals and bolder visions, we do not even dare to think about, when we are all alone.

As a consequence my projects change, they are growing larger and expand! It's not about me anymore, but about bringing to life our common vision. Things are happening, that I have not even considered as a lone wolf, because they seemed impossible to me. Recently my trainer colleague Nicola and I had a Skype session with a very dedicated woman from South Africa, and we shared our visions and talked about a possible collaboration and an exchange of what each one of us can provide. 


So if we really want our authentic visions and goals to come true, no matter how big they are or how bold they may seem, the lone wolf strategy is not the best choice to get it done. 

Given the global challenges we are facing, we usually feel alone and overwhelmed and think "What can I do anyway? I alone can not change anything"- although we clearly feel the pain inside about how things are going and have a clear vision of what we would like to change, if we only could. This too is a form of lone wolf thinking. This thought is obviously also based on the belief that ‘we have to fix it on our own’. Or it is just our preferred excuse to not take responsibility … 

It's time to wake up and let go the lone wolf strategy! Never before have there been so many possibilities to get in contact with like-minded people, like now. Never before have there been so many groups, communities, movements and initiatives committed to change the world, like now! What are you waiting for? 


Love
Patrizia 



Useful questions:

• Are you a lone wolf (Look carefully - it's not always easy to see – it does not necessarily mean that you are alone – ask others for feedback – they can tell you)?
• What benefits do you personally draw from the lone wolf strategy (see the list in the text or other aspects)? Are you ready to give it up?
• What would your contribution to the world be, if only you had a spark of hope that your contribution would change anything? What is your vision of a better world?
• Find out if there is already a group, or initiative, or other people who are committed or are willing to commit to a similar vision as yours. Get in contact with them and see what happens.
• What would you be able to do and achieve if you don’t have to do it all alone?