5 minute read
The Art of Unlearning
The Art of Unlearning 5 Practical Ways to Start Today
by Jocelyn Marie Dietrich
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un·learn verb gerund or present participle: unlearning discard (something learned, especially a bad habit or false or outdated information) from one’s memory.
After blindly following the masses for most of my life in terms of diet culture, the products I use and how I spend my money and time, I came to an epiphany at the start of my own healing journey. This epiphany was that I alone have the power to heal and it is my bodies innate right to allow it to do so by using natural and alternative methods. I don’t have to be trendy and following the crowds hasn’t done me a lick of good in my 30 something years here on earth.
I don’t blame myself or you for following what everyone else is doing and being lured into this culture of trends and fast information. We are programmed from a young age to just go about our business without much thought. We are inundated with information from morning to night and most of it doesn’t fall on the positive side. We are hunched over, tuned out and stressed out. We have lost faith in our self and in our body to do what it needs to be done to take good care. And what’s worse? We are disconnected from our intuition.
This realization was very freeing to me albeit slightly daunting and so began the start of an obsession to unlearn and dig deeper for the raw truth. Here’s the thing, you and I can live a more intuitive life. It’s ok to slow down, take a breath, and disconnect from the masses. It’s ok to walk the opposite path. Give yourself permission too and see what happens!
The process of unlearning can be overwhelming when you take the time to really think about it but is a process that can be so beneficial in all aspects of life. I would like to share with you 5 practical ways to start unlearning today.
1. Set Goals Understand the why behind your desire to unlearn. Sit down with a good old-fashioned pen and paper and write down all of the reasons why you want to start this process. Ask yourself what your motivation is? Do you want a more productive and relaxing morning routine? Do you want to spend more time outside and less time hunched over a screen? Do you want to find more peace in your life? After you have written down your answers, set yourself small tasks and give yourself a time frame to achieve these tasks. Getting specific and goal setting is a great motivator to help the unlearning process along!
2. Ditch the diet culture and just eat real food I know this is a hard one for many to let go as we are often promised gold at the end of the rainbow – gold being losing 20 pounds in a small amount of weeks or that if we just count this many calories and get rid of X amount of carbs we will tone up and look sexier for the Summer time. But diet culture is so dangerous, and it will never end unless we ditch it and for good. Lets get back to what our ancestors did. Ditch the processed foods, eat more fruits and vegetables, buy in season whenever you can, cook from scratch and eat at home. Get back to basics and our bodies will thank us.
3. Disconnect a little every day Before you go to bed what do you do? When you wake up what do you do? I’m willing to bet that most of us despite best intentions reach for our phone and scroll mindlessly. Here’s the thing – this can disrupt a healthy sleep cycle and put us in a negative frame of mind to start the day. Try to replace the scroll hole routine with 10-20 minutes of walking outside or yoga in the morning and stretching, meditation or reading a good book at night.
4. Embrace Minimalism We have become a society of “stuff”. We want the next best thing yesterday and we will spend our hardearned money to get that. And then we wonder where all of our money went?? As we head into Spring I encourage you to think about where you can minimize
and downsize. If it doesn’t make you happy, if you haven’t worn it in a year, if you are feeling suffocated by all this stuff – it’s time for a purge! Think about what can be donated, regifted and recycled before just tossing out into the trash as well. A decluttered home can ease feelings of anxiety and can make everyday tasks like cleaning and cooking easier. Take it step by step with just one area of your home and life at a time. Over time these little steps will add up.
5. Experiences over material things Try saving your dollars for interesting experiences over material things. Even though the internet has told you that you need the latest hottest shoes or this amazing brand of mascara – guess what, you really don’t! I for the longest time spent all of my money on clothes and makeup without much thought. I can’t believe I wasted all that money! Since starting my unlearning journey I have tried to prioritize experiences or practical things over material items I likely won’t care about in a year or two’s time. Experiences could mean
a memorable trip, doing something fun with friends or family or could even be something like paying off your debt.
About the author: Jocelyn Marie Dietrich is the creator and author of the Intuitively Healing website and blog over at www.intuitivelyhealing. com Jocelyn writes about her struggle with food addiction, weight loss, and spiritual journey that has intertwined throughout it all.. Jocelyn is currently pursuing her passion of writing and sharing intuitive readings full time. She lives in a small rural town in Ontario Canada with her husband Brent and rambunctious Chocolate Lab, Lola. You can connect with Jocelyn on her website or over on Facebook at https://www. facebook.com/IntuitiveJocelyn/
