3 Ways to Use Doorways (Yes, Doorways) as Learning Tools
Use doors (yes, doors) to unlock the power of your mind.
Through all of human history, one thing holds a special place in our hearts: doors. Yes, doors. We put them everywhere. We have front doors. Back doors. Side doors. Kitchen doors. Bathroom doors. What’s our most tasty snack food? DOOR-itos. Who liquidated the Wicked Witch of the West? DOOR-othy. And this happens everywhere. Who kills bulls in one-on-one combat? Mata-DOORs. Imagine how powerful you’ll be if you can learn to use Doors to become a master of the universe!
On the advice of a neuroscientist, I read an article about brains and doors. You might think it was about how zombies go through doors to find brains to eat (the zombie equivalent of DOOR-itos). But it wasn’t. It was about how our brains use doorways to create transitions.
Doors Change Brains
When you walk through a doorway, you tend to forget what you’re thinking about. Your mind gets cleared to make room for lots of great new stuff. Researcher Gabriel Radvansky explains that walking through a doorway creates an “event boundary” in the mind. Your mind separates episodes of activity and files them away.
The article doesn’t say how to use this. But maybe…just maybe…I’ve learned techniques in the past that worked, for no obvious reason. It may be that the doorway effect is why they worked. Here are some doorways. Use them and send along an email sharing your experience.
How to Become Confident Using Doors
Have you ever felt imposter syndrome? You’re invited to advise the United Nations on how to nullify the nefarious plans of Dr. Sinister. You think “They must have made a mistake. They can’t possibly mean to invite little ol’ me.” But they did. You’re the only one who even knows Dr. Sinister exists, much less how to thwart the evil doctor. That makes you the most qualified. You just feel like an imposter.
Almost everyone has imposter syndrome. And if someone doesn’t? Be very careful. They’re probably way too confident with absolutely no competence to justify the confidence.
When you arrive at the United Nations, stop. Look for the doorway leading into the room where you’ll meet the assembled Forces of Good. Imagine the doorway has a shimmering energy curtain. This curtain activates the most confident, intelligent, good-looking, heroic version of yourself. (It looks amazingly like me! What an incredible coincidence.)
When you step through the curtain, imposter-you will stay outside the chamber, and amazing-you will step in and save the world.
Now, go for it. Walk through the doorway and become heroic you! Address the Forces of Good and defeat Dr. Sinister! When you wish to return to your normal secret identity, step back through the doorway.
Open the Doorway to New Learning
In learning a new skill that’s similar to an old skill, I use “beginner’s mind.” Make your mind a blank slate. Learn the new skill from scratch. After you’ve gotten the basics, then bring in existing knowledge that can accelerate your learning.
I’ve found that bringing in existing knowledge too soon can cause me to fall into things I already know. That interferes with the learning. For example, taking German lessons with a blank slate makes it easier to learn the grammar. Once the grammar is solid, then bringing in existing knowledge of word structure and similarities can help you speed up the learning curve.
Here’s how you can prepare the way I did: close your eyes and imagine you’re looking through a doorway at a beautiful white room. This is the room where you build the foundation of your new skill. You’ll leave your old skills outside, so you can pick them back up when you’re done with your learning.
When you’re about to begin a learning session, imagine stepping through the doorway into your learning room. Inside the room, imagine your brain can learn and absorb new ideas even if they conflict with your old knowledge. Every learning session, leave your old knowledge outside when you enter the room. When you’re done, mentally exit the room, keeping the new knowledge safe inside, and pick up your old knowledge again.
(You’re doing all this in your imagination. Dr. Seuss would be proud.)
Integrate Your Knowledge
As you develop more and more skill, gradually make the walls of your learning room transparent. When the skill is developed enough that you want it to start integrating into your general store of knowledge, imagine the walls fading away. Now your new knowledge can form connections to everything else you know.
Doorways are more than just portals to other dimensions inhabited by strange purple beasts with the heads of unicorns. They’re portals to other dimensions of growth and learning. Your brain uses doorways to switch events. Use this magic to program your brain so you feel the emotions you need—confidence, curiosity—when you need them. And use doorways to create a blank slate for learning new skills. Go become amazing! Shift your emotions! Learn everything! And that is how you become 100% a-DOOR-able.
I’m Stever Robbins. Follow GetItDoneGuy on Twitter and Facebook. If you’re self-employed or a small businessperson, my Get-it-Done groups can help you stay focused on what’s important, and develop the habits you need for success. Learn more at quickanddirtytips mighty mommy. Image of doorway © Shutterstock.
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About the Author
Stever Robbins was the host of the podcast Get-it-Done Guy from 2007 to 2019. He is a graduate of W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management training program and a Certified Master Trainer Elite of NLP. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Sciences from MIT.
