5 Things I’m Unlearning at 36

I turn 36 today.

And if I’m honest, it feels less like a birthday… and more like a threshold.

A line between who I’ve been — and who I’m becoming.

This year has already stirred something deeper in me. A quiet voice. A knowing.

Not asking for more achievements. Not even answers.

Just asking me to return.

To truth.

To simplicity.

To the parts of me I’ve left behind while trying to “do life right.”

And that return, for me, is less about learning something new — and more about unlearning everything that’s not really me.

So today, I want to share 5 beliefs I’m unlearning — to return to my most authentic self.

These aren’t surface-level insights.

They’re truths I’ve had to wrestle with.

Because unlearning isn’t passive.

It’s a shedding. A releasing. A painful, beautiful reckoning.

Here they are — raw and real.

1. My worth is not tied to what I achieve

I’ve spent most of my life thinking I need to do something to be someone.

It’s been wired in me since childhood — the gold stars, the grades, the wins.

And that conditioning doesn’t disappear just because you’re now an adult running a business, leading a family, or building a brand.

Somewhere along the way, I internalised the belief that achievement = worthiness.

That if I just hit the next milestone, I’ll finally feel like I matter.

That when I “make it” — I’ll feel enough.

But it’s a lie.

Because the more you chase worthiness through achievement, the emptier it feels.

The moment you hit the milestone, the bar moves again.

The truth is, I am worthy — without doing anything.

The billionaire and the homeless man are made of the same essence.

It’s just one remembers, the other has forgotten.

And the world of AI makes this even more important to realise.

Because if my worth is tied to productivity — I’ve already lost.

AI is infinitely more productive.

So my value now must come from presence. From essence.

Not from what I do, but from who I am.

My commitment:

I am the extension of the Universe. I will allow the Creator to work through me.

People will judge me, laugh at me, and even heckle me.

I am still the extension of the Universe.

And I’m all good with what comes with my aligned action.

2. Things don’t take time — they take becoming

This one’s big.

For years I’ve believed that things take time.

That success takes time.

Transformation takes time.

Receiving what I want… takes time.

But lately I’ve realised: that’s not quite true.

Einstein proved that time is relative — a made-up construct by human beings.

So, what actually takes time?

The becoming.

The letting go.

The shedding of old identities, stories, and survival patterns.

Things don’t take time — they take alignment.

And alignment can happen in an instant, if I’m willing to release what’s in the way.

It’s not time that’s making things slow.

It’s my clinging to stories I haven’t let go of yet.

So now, instead of asking “how long will this take?”

I’m asking: “What am I willing to release today — to become who I need to be?”

It will look like: the fear of being judged, belief that it’s not possible, seeing myself as inferior.

The quicker I let go of this utter nonsense, the greater miracles can enter my vicinity.

My commitment:

I take inspired action, no matter how big or small, in the now.

I don’t wait for the right time.

I focus on embodying my higher self now. In this moment.

I meet every desire with the energy of now.

3. Scarcity is an illusion

Scarcity is one of the greatest illusions we’ve ever believed as humans.

And I’ve been caught in it more times than I care to admit.

It shows up in subtle ways:

“I can’t invest in that right now.”

“I need to wait for the money to come in.”

“I’d love to, but I can’t afford it.”

But the truth is: money isn’t scarce.

Ideas aren’t scarce.

Opportunities aren’t scarce.

Energy — the very substance of life — is not scarce.

We live on a planet where nothing has been imported from other planets.

Everything we’ve created — homes, planes, medicine, technology — was created by the human mind.

That same mind exists in me.

So when I look at my business and think,

“I don’t have the cash to invest in that right now,”

I ask myself:

→ Can I create more revenue?

→ Can I ask for investment?

→ Can I remortgage the house?

→ Can I call in a loan?

The question isn’t “do I have enough?”

It’s “am I willing to get creative?”

The moment I let go of scarcity, I remember:

everything I desire already exists — I just have to align, ask, and go get it.

My commitment:

I no longer see lack — I see leverage.

I commit to meeting challenges with creativity, not contraction.

Abundance is not something I wait for — it’s something I choose.

4. Success doesn’t come from doing things a specific way

This one’s been a deep unlearning for me.

I’ve spent years — since 2017 — building routines, structures, systems.

Morning practices. Business strategies. Sales funnels.

I’ve hired coaches, studied frameworks, followed formulas to the letter.

And some of it helped.

But too often, I placed the structure above my intuition.

I followed rules that weren’t written for me.

I ignored my inner pull because it didn’t make sense on paper.

I sacrificed what felt right for what looked right.

Even in business — I’ve spent tens of thousands on marketing programs,only to realise: the most aligned clients always come when I speak from truth.

Not from strategy. Not from scarcity. From soul.

So now?

I still use structure. But it serves me — I don’t serve it.

And I trust that my way of being — my essence, my presence — is what attracts what I desire.

Not someone else’s playbook.

My commitment:

I will no longer betray my intuition in favour of someone else’s roadmap.

My authenticity is the strategy.

My truth is the method.

And my unique energy is what creates aligned outcomes.

5. My definition of success is living true to myself

There’s one truth that hurts to admit.

Because when I look at my life with honesty… I see where I’m not being fully myself.

I see the places I’m playing small.

The ideas I haven’t shared.

The risks I haven’t taken.

The impact I’ve held back — out of fear.

And the truth is:

Success, for me, isn’t how much I make.

It’s not how many people follow me.

It’s whether I lived true to myself — or not.

And some days, I’m not.

Some days I’m still performing, still holding back, still doing things half-heartedly.

But that stops now.

Because I feel the shift in the world.

The energy is rising. A new consciousness is emerging.

And I know — if I don’t rise with it, I’ll feel that quiet emptiness forever.

There’s more for me to express. More to serve. More to give.

This is my time.

To step into what I’m here to create.

Who I’m here to be.

What I’m here to do.

My commitment:

I will live fully expressed.

I will speak the truths I’ve been sitting on.

I will serve from the depth of who I am — not the safety of who I’ve been.

This is the season I stop waiting and start living.

Less seriousness. More fun and joy.

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– Jaineel