The word Enemy sounds dramatic. Why not an Obstacle of Learning? Why an Enemy?
We choose this word because, unlike an obstacle which I think of as fixed and once overcome is dealt with, an enemy tends to employ strategies to attack or resist our movement. Enemies are dynamic and sometime relentless. They have a life of their own and seek to outsmart us with cunning and trickery. Once an enemy has been identified, our best course of action is to defend against it or attack it.
When it comes to learning a new skill, whether it is overcoming a bad habit or dealing with a problem in a new way, I enter a battleground. Enemies of learning show up with a mission to resist my efforts to break new ground and to prevent anything but the status quo. Identifying some of your own enemies of learning is a great first step toward a pathway to growth and development.
Here are 5 to consider:
#ONE: Jumping to Conclusions – This enemy shows up in a form of pre-judgement. I facilitated a workshop recently and a participant fed back that he had done a number of “these types of programs”. In his words, a subtle story had been imprinted over the top of this unique experience, that reduced the learning to “the same as” something he had experienced a number of times before. Whist we create meaning and understanding from linking a new experience to an experience we are familiar with, there is a danger that in doing so, we minimise the possibility for something new to emerge that expands our perspective.
#TWO: Being Trapped in the Judgements of Others – This enemy demands that I have to get it right and be perfect. To reveal to others that I may not know the answer or have it all together might carry too great a price to fully embrace development. To truly commit to new learning frontiers requires that I show up with vulnerability, declaring that I have weaknesses, I may be incompetent and have room to grow in areas of life.
#THREE: Mood of Resignation – This enemy whispers in our ear that learning will make no difference anyway!…Why bother? Calling this enemy a Mood suggests that learning is emotional. Resignation is a mood that causes me to oppose and opt out of the challenges that learning requires of me, demanding that I take positive action, that I explore further, that I persist when the task gets hard.
#FOUR: Lack of Patience – This enemy wants it now! There is a wonderful scene in the Keanu Reeves movie: The Matrix, where Neo (Reeves' character) becomes proficient at Jujitsu simply by downloading a program into his head. If only!! To truly embed learning…to see it stick…to see it permanently transform our behaviour…to develop a craft…IT TAKES TIME. Related to Enemy #2, most of us squirm at the idea of being in the learning seat for too long. If we slow down enough, we might observe ourselves more deeply as learners and develop in ways we may never have known otherwise.
#FIVE: Cognitive Blindness – This enemy blurs the vision of ourselves to the point where we do not know that we do not know. We begin most of our learning journeys here, however choosing to stay here is a form of ignorance or burying our heads in the sand. Becoming self-aware and acknowledging the limits of our knowledge and owning up to the areas of life that may not be working as well as we would like them to be is a significant first step toward overcoming this enemy.
Which of these resonated for you as an identified enemy of learning, potentially preventing you from exploring new possibilities?
At Oasis People and Culture, we begin most of our learning initiatives with an exploration of these as part of a more comprehensive list and reflect on what it means to be a learner. Contact Oasis People and Culture to learn more.
By Clint Vawser
Source: Developed from Enemies of Learning resource, Newfield Institute
