As a very young child watching Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, a little green puppet named Yoda turned my world upside down as he told Luke Skywalker: “You must unlearn what you have learned.” Of course, being that young, it took me many years to appreciate this important wisdom. Yet this little cryptic nugget stuck with me, haunting my thoughts every time I encountered something that didn’t quite add up.

Rising above our indoctrination is an absurdly difficult challenge, requiring us to first recognize that the steps we’ve been taught are, in fact, completely out of rhythm with reality. How much of what we “know” is just stuff we’ve been taught to accept without question? Yoda’s words pushed me down the path of asking why about everything. Why do we believe this or that? Is this “truth” the result of some inherent universal law, or is it simply a product of collective human laziness, repetition, or authority? 

Unlearning isn’t just about questioning what we’ve been taught. It’s about realizing how bizarre and downright absurd some of these beliefs are. I was taught as a child that Pluto is a planet. But some years later, due to new discoveries at the fringes of our solar system, it was downgraded to a dwarf planet. The world rioted as now one of the fundamental truths about our universe was suddenly displaced. It’s hard not to feel for Pluto, a celestial object trapped in our ever-shifting need for categorical neatness. But if planetary classification is this unstable, imagine what that says about the certainty of any other “truth” we hold dear.

We only cling to these outdated, sometimes harmful teachings because unlearning is deeply uncomfortable, and comfort is the drug we’re all addicted to, whether we like it or not. But unlearning is necessary if you want to transcend the taught beliefs that have been holding you back, and honestly, most of them are nonsense anyway.

There are countless historical examples of individuals who only achieved greatness by daring to unlearn the garbage of their time. One of the most famous examples is Galileo, who was rewarded with house arrest because the 17th century Catholic Church wasn’t ready for that spoiler that they weren’t actually the center of the universe. Unfortunately, unlearning rarely wins you friends and often makes you enemies. But in the end, you could be proven correct.

So, how does one begin unlearning? You need to welcome discomfort. Questioning long-held beliefs feels dizzying, but you have to stand in your conviction to search for the truth no matter how unpopular it might be. Then, work on satiating your curiosity. It’s often the only thing standing between us and complete mental stagnation. Ask questions about everything, especially the things that seem most certain. “Why?” is the operative word here. 

Why do we insist on arbitrary social rules? Why can’t we challenge what’s been deemed ‘truth’ just because it’s uncomfortable? Why is there such a high charge for extra guac on my burrito? 

Finally, be open to the idea that you don’t know everything. In fact, uncertainty is what makes our lives more interesting. When you let go of the need to have all the answers, you’ll start realizing how laughably little we truly understand about anything. It’s quite liberating. Suddenly, there’s no pressure for you to have it all figured out, which frees up your mind to stop overthinking about things that you were taught that never made sense to you in the first place.

The art of unlearning requires an ongoing practice in curiosity, humility, and, of course, accepting absurdity. Unlearning also means learning to appreciate the beauty of stepping out of line. Just wait until you start dancing circles around those still clinging to their outdated, sometimes even harmful beliefs. 

Yoda made me realize that the hardest part of any journey is letting go of the old, useless baggage we’ve been hauling around since childhood. This is why the ability to unlearn is perhaps the most underappreciated art form of them all. It’s just unfortunate that it took me well into my thirties to finally take his command of unlearning to heart.

~ Amelia Desertsong