Hello, I’m Michelle from Opting Out, based in Brighton (and sometimes London), UK. Subscribers can enjoy monthly posts around slow living, rest, and opting out of burnout culture, plus my weekly Weekend Mood Board of what’s currently inspiring me. Paid subscribers get access to ALL my work, including the Slow Reading Group, live Co-Resting sessions, yoga nidra audios and pre-recorded full-length restorative and yin yoga classes.
It’s my intention to create a community of resters, questioners and misfits. Are you in? ✨
Today I step into the last year of my forties, and instead of making a list of things I want to achieve before I turn fifty, I’m making a list of what I’m leaving behind. A conscious shedding, an opting out.
Here’s what no longer has a place in my life:
Feeling rushed
The cult of “productivity”
Anti-ageing rhetoric
Hair dye
Endless self-improvement
FOMO
Turning away from difficult emotions
Traditional gender norms
Alcohol (I stopped drinking socially over 8 years ago)
Immediate replies to emails
Cosmetic foundation
Avoiding conflict
Superficial conversation
Energy vampires
The attention economy of the Algorithm
Coffee
People-pleasing
Saying “yes” too quickly
Burnout
Background TV
Worrying about what other people think
Doubt
Self-pity
Fast fashion
Over-scheduling
The 9-5 grind
Black Friday
The hard sell
Unethical marketing
The “wellness industry” (*vomit emoji)
Influencer culture
Instagram Yoga
Toxic hyper-individualism
Anything that aggravates my nervous system
“Dressing for your age”
Dancing to the beat of someone else’s drum
Blame
Keeping the capitalist machine turning
Culture wars
Othering
“You” statements
Harsh movement practices that don’t honour my almost-50-year-old body
Negative body image
Guilt
Fitting into a neat little box
Urgency culture
Performative positivity
Measuring worth by output
This feels less like a rejection and more like a clearing. A way of creating space for what truly matters.
Opting out is, for me, an act of love, of resistance, of returning to myself.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
If you were to make your own “opting out” list, what would be on it?
What are you ready to leave behind as you move into your next season?
How might clearing away what no longer serves you create more space for what truly does?