Becoming Is Not Polite Work: A Guide to Unlearning, Disrupting, and Reclaiming Yourself

 The Story: When Shadow Work Became a Trend

If you’ve scrolled TikTok lately, you’ve seen it: candle-lit journal sessions, moody captions about “meeting your shadow,” and creators whispering affirmations like spells. Shadow Work is trending—but for many of us, it’s not a trend. It’s survival. It’s the sacred, messy work of becoming.

What started as a psychological concept rooted in Jungian theory has morphed into a digital ritual. People are naming their suppressed emotions, confronting internalized shame, and reclaiming the parts of themselves they were taught to hide. And while some posts feel performative, others crack open something real: a hunger to be whole.

But here’s the truth no algorithm will tell you—becoming isn’t aesthetic. It’s disruptive. It’s inconvenient. It’s the kind of healing that doesn’t always photograph well.

 What Is “Becoming”?

Becoming is the process of returning to yourself—not the self you were taught to be, but the one you buried to survive. It’s not linear. It’s not tidy. And it’s not always welcomed by the people who benefited from your silence.

To become, you must:

• Unlearn the roles that kept you safe but small.

• Disrupt the systems—internal and external—that demand your obedience.

• Reclaim the parts of you that were exiled, mocked, or misunderstood.

 1. Unlearning: The Art of Shedding

Unlearning is sacred rebellion. It’s the moment you realize that “coping” isn’t the same as “living.” It asks:

• What beliefs did I inherit that no longer serve me?

• What roles do I perform that feel more like armor than truth?

• What stories do I tell about myself that were written by someone else?

Metaphor: Think of unlearning like molting. You’re not broken—you’re outgrowing the shell that once protected you.

 2. Disruption: The Courage to Be Inconvenient

Disruption is messy. It’s the part of becoming that makes others uncomfortable. It’s when you stop apologizing for your boundaries. It’s when you say “no” and mean it. It’s when you stop shrinking to fit someone else’s comfort zone.

Metaphor: Becoming is a wildfire—it doesn’t ask permission to burn. But it clears space for new growth.

 3. Reclamation: The Return of the Exiled Self

Reclamation is the part where you stop asking for permission. You take back your name, your voice, your rituals, your joy. You become the person you needed when you were hurting.

Metaphor: Reclamation is a throne. Not for dominance—but for dignity.

 Why Becoming Is Essential to Healing

Healing isn’t just about symptom relief—it’s about identity repair. When we heal without becoming, we risk reinforcing the very roles that harmed us. We stay functional but fragmented. We survive, but we don’t return.

Becoming is the integration point. It’s where:

• Trauma meets transformation. You stop being defined by what happened and start choosing what happens next.

• Boundaries become sacred. You stop performing safety and start embodying it.

• Spirituality becomes embodied. You stop outsourcing your worth and start reclaiming your connection to something greater.

• Relationships shift. You stop contorting to be loved and start showing up as loveable, whole, and sovereign.

Becoming is not a phase—it’s the architecture of healing. Without it, we’re just rearranging the furniture in a burning house.

 A Ritual: Write a Love Letter to Your Becoming

This is not a productivity exercise. It’s a sacred act of witnessing.

Instructions:

1. Set the scene. Light a candle. Sit somewhere quiet. Let your body know this is sacred.

2. Begin with tenderness. Start your letter with “Dear Becoming…” or “To the version of me I’m becoming…”

3. Name what you’re shedding. Write: “I am unlearning…” and list the roles, beliefs, or stories you’re releasing.

4. Name what you’re disrupting. Write: “I am disrupting…” and name the patterns, systems, or relationships you’re challenging.

5. Name what you’re reclaiming. Write: “I am reclaiming…” and list the parts of you that are returning.

6. Close with reverence. End with: “I see you. I honor you. I will not abandon you again.”

 Final Words

Becoming is not polite work. It will cost you your comfort, your camouflage, and your compliance. But it will gift you your truth. And that is worth everything.