Growth Is Unlearning (Or: Why You’re Probably Wrong About a Lot of Things, and That’s OK)

"The more an idea is tied to your identity, the more you will ignore evidence it is false. People seem to have no trouble finding reasons to ignore the merits of ideas they dislike.

To continue to grow and learn, you must be willing to update, expand, and edit your identity. In many ways, growth is unlearning." - James Clear

Let’s start with this little uncomfortable yet universal truth: We all think we’re right. About everything. All the time.

Err... nope, not even you BBE! In fact, we’re often so wildly wrong that it's like dragging a full bath towel out of a labrador after Colin decided it constituted a perfectly balanced breakfast. Adorable at first watching your 8 month old puppy chew on the corner, but at some point, you’ve got to step in and say, “Jesus Christ, the vet's bill was over five grand!”

I was a veterinary nurse a long time ago - that ^ is a true story.

That’s where James's little nugget of wisdom comes in: “Growth is unlearning.” Yes, boys and girls, sometimes the only way forward is to take a long, hard look at our cherished beliefs and say, “Maybe this is complete bollocks.”

Ideas and Identity: A Messy Entanglement

The Here’s the thing about ideas is we’re not content to just have them. No, we’ve got to BECOME them. We turn them into little extensions of ourselves—like small emotional hamsters we carry around in our pockets. But when someone dares to suggest that our beloved hamster might not be quite as brilliant as we think, we respond with the grace and composure of a certain female glass artist denied a second bottle of wine (it's not pretty and usually involves the death of several hamsters).

This happens all the time in the creative world. You come up with what you think is the Best Idea Ever™, only to have someone (or worse, reality) suggest that it’s not all that great. Maybe that fused glass colour combo you swore would “pop” actually looks like it popped straight out of a clown’s arsehole (happened). Or maybe that “edgy, bold” design is just plain FUGLY.

Admitting you were wrong is harder than a hard thing. But clinging to a bad idea because you’ve tied it to your identity - especially in relation to art? That’s just self-sabotage.

The Art of Unlearning: How to Ditch the Dead Weight

Unlearning doesn’t mean throwing everything out the window and starting over in a dramatic blaze of self-doubt and artistic angst. (Although, there is something to be said for the artist's dramatic meltdown.) It’s more about being willing to pause, question, and—oh my god, wrist to forehead moment —change.

In my own work, I’ve had to unlearn plenty. Like when I thought EVERYBODY would buy my shizzle, or ALL my art had to be “MEANINGFUL” or when I was convinced that upcycled glass would be the second coming because no one had ever done that before (turns out, I was wrong - not a huge surprise).

Unlearning means letting go of ideas that don’t serve you anymore—even if they used to. It’s like clearing out your mental attic: dusty, uncomfortable, and chock full of nasty big spiders. But when you’re done, you’ve got room for new, shiny ideas that actually work. OR you've got room for the truth which might be that you should give up on your creative endeavours because you were never that good to start with and let's face it, you never will be. *snigger, I genuinely hope someone reads these blogs in the future and hits that line and wonders if I meant it.

Growth: Editing Your Identity, One Idea at a Time

Unlearning doesn’t just change WHAT you do—it changes WHO YOU ARE. But that’s a good thing! Imagine if you were still clinging to every bad idea you had as a teenager. I would be wandering around with my shaggy perm, thinking Steve Davis was hot (yes, the ginger snooker player).

Growth is about updating your internal operating system. It’s about looking at the things you’ve always believed—about yourself, your work, or the world—and asking, “Is this still true? Does this still serve me?” If the answer is no, it’s time to let it go - there's a song there apparently.

Unlearning and Creativity: A Perfect Pair

As a creative, your work thrives on your ability to adapt. The more willing you are to unlearn, the more room you make for innovation, experimentation, and surprise successes. When you stop clinging to what you think you know, you open yourself up to what you could know.

So, here it is... your ideas, much like your thoughts, are not you. They’re not sacred, untouchable, or beyond critique. They’re just ideas (our thoughts). And if you want to keep growing—as an artist, a business owner, or just a slightly less insufferable human—you’ve got to be willing to update them.

In other words, unlearn the crap, keep the good stuff, and don’t be afraid to admit when you’re wrong. Trust me, it’s liberating. Now, I've just got to get BBE to focus long enough to read this blog post... #pissingintothewind.