Photo of Ashia Nkontsa

How you can unlearn habits that you grew up with

People have different childhood memories where they have accumulated habits that may be unacceptable to some people they’re surrounded with in their community or in a workplace. Some even get comfortable in their ways to a point where it gets difficult to transition to a new environment and end up being lost and confused by how everything unfolds. You can’t change your past, but you can always change who you are and how you see the world.

Here are some of the different habits:

Character building habits

Emotional habits

Intellectual habits

Unlearning habits from your childhood can be daunting. According to psychotherapist Rachel Velishek, “Unlearning requires an individual to replace automatic behaviors with conscious understanding and choices. It is a process of complete control. To unlearn requires dealing with moments of discomfort, willingness to confront fears. Unlearning is necessary for transformation.” 

For example, being in a different city like Cape Town coming from a village in Eastern Cape can be difficult because back from the village there are set ways of doing things and when you get to Cape Town it’s a whole new culture you have to adapt to. According to Paul Ebbage “Unlearning is the process of discarding something from our memory. It’s destroying thoughts, preconceptions, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, feelings, and biases.”

Key things about unlearning habits is about changing your mindset by accepting change, things no longer work the same and if you’re accustomed to things working a certain way it might no longer be the case. If you’re struggling to adapt there is no need to unlearn what has transpired in your past but only what can be detrimental to you in the future.   

Also see: Tips for traveling with children during the holiday seasons

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