Learning the easy way

I am writing this blog post in the Wyndham Cabo San Lucas Resort, Mexico. I have come here for my trainer’s training, to learn how to teach hypnotically. No, it’s not about turning my audiences into a crowd of submissive zombies – just to clarify. It’s actually the opposite: it’s about turning them into fast and effortless learners. Although the term “turning into” is a bit misleading. Because we all are fast and effortless learners. Naturally. And this is no you-can-do-whatever-you-want pep talk. (Although you can. But more about that later.) It’s just that I’ve come to realize that no matter what we do, even when we’re sleeping, the brain is always learning. Even if you have no intention whatsoever of doing so.

Let’s say you start a new job. The first couple of weeks feel pretty overwhelming because there’s so much new stuff to learn: You have to remember 20 or so new names (and faces), learn how to do your new job and where to go for what. While most of you would make a conscious effort to excel at the former there is a lot of extra information your brain picks up in passing. For example that you shouldn’t talk to Bill in the morning or that Nancy needs her Starbucks xy latte four times a day or she gets grumpy. Now why is your brain taking in and storing this information if all you consciously focus on is the above mentioned tasks? Because it is programmed to do so. Think back to a time when our species was still mainly driven by instincts. What does that translate to on a neuronal level? That the brain is learning without the “I” making any conscious effort. Because its survival depends on it: We have to learn fast, even automatically so that we don’t die. That’s why people develop phobias – the brain learns “snakes/spiders/needles want to harm me” and installs an automatic fear response so that we don’t even have to think about running away, our legs just start moving as soon as we pick up the first sign of danger. The same applies to the new job situation: We are social animals which makes us extremely sensitive to social information. We read body language, voice tone and facial expressions effortlessly and automatically react to the signals we receive. The interesting thing is that you would actually do a much better job of becoming the next “employee of the month” (if that is your goal that is) if you handed over the reins completely to your unconscious mind, not only when it comes to interpreting other people’s kinks. Why? Because it’s much more efficient than the part of ourselves we call consciousness. At least in the beginning.

One of the first things our trainer Igor Ledochowski told us was: All learning happens unconsciously first. So why aren’t we all geniuses? Because our conscious mind screws it up. By having certain expectations, wanting specific results, excluding interpretations and conclusions that don’t fit our model. That’s why babies are such great learners: they just do it. The trouble begins when we learn how to judge. Babies and toddlers don’t try to be good at something (like crawling) because they don’t know (yet) what good means. They just do it because it’s fun and because their brains want to learn.

Let’s go back to the new job: What if I told you that you would pick up and integrate all the new information much faster if you didn’t allow your conscious mind to interfere thereby taking up lots of brain power? If you didn’t hamper the learning process by putting pressure on yourself and - what’s more important – by trying to understand everything on a rational (aka accessible) level right away? If you just trusted in your ability to learn how to handle your new responsibilities competently faster provided you gave yourself the necessary time and space? Maybe you should try it. Your conscious mind will take back control soon enough, don’t worry.