{"id":5784,"date":"2011-03-25T14:05:13","date_gmt":"2011-03-25T18:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/becomingblog.wpengine.com\/?p=5784"},"modified":"2019-05-07T14:30:09","modified_gmt":"2019-05-07T21:30:09","slug":"try-brainwashing-it-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.becomingminimalist.com\/try-brainwashing-it-works\/","title":{"rendered":"Try Brainwashing, It Works."},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: This is a guest post by Bernice Wood of Living the Balanced Life<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.<\/em>”\u00a0– Wayne Dwyer<\/p>\n

Our Story<\/h4>\n

The journey towards minimalist living is an ongoing,\u00a0continual process. Similar to healthy eating, you’ll need\u00a0to continue the habits and actions that got you to your current point. This may be daunting to the aspiring minimalists, but it should be a source of comfort. After all, there is no checklist<\/a>, there is no certificate of achievement, you travel at your own pace, and you get to\u00a0decide when you have “arrived.”<\/p>\n

As a child, I was raised by 2 packrats (not quite hoarders, but close to it). I married young and took many of the tendencies of accumulation I saw as a child and tried to create my own home.\u00a0With the addition of\u00a04 children over the next few years,\u00a0my\u00a0family\u00a0had a houseful of stuff before\u00a0we even\u00a0knew it was happening. Fast forward 25 years…\u00a0we had become a\u00a0married couple who had been overworked, overwhelmed, and had spent years trying to\u00a0keep up with all the accumulated stuff that\u00a0had come along with\u00a0our family.<\/p>\n

However, as the kids began moving out, we realized we were ready to lighten our load and\u00a0began that process. But first,\u00a0we\u00a0needed to change the way we thought about things.<\/p>\n

Clearing the mind first<\/h4>\n

Sometimes, before you can change your lifestyle,\u00a0you have to remove the doubt, fear and self-limiting beliefs from your mind. For example, when it comes to removing the\u00a0stuff and belongings from your life,\u00a0here are some things you may be thinking:<\/p>\n