The fourth self-management strategy is to throw it out or store it. Are you holding onto something like an old self-concept? Sometimes we carry an image of our old self that doesn’t fit with what we want to become. Or perhaps we need to evolve that old self into a newer version. For example, I have two old views of myself from school. First, I was a jock. Second, I was just a B-average student. I cared more about my sports than I did my academic performance. My entire self-concept was based on being a jock, from my friends, hobbies, and things I watched on TV. I didn’t apply myself in school, but managed to pull off Bs. I performed just enough brain power to make Bs, but didn’t excel in any particular subject.

What’s Hold You Back?
Is it holding you back? Are the values or performance of your old self limiting your potential? For example, as I went into college, I was unable to adapt to an academic environment. I wasn’t in college sports. It was a difficult lesson to learn that there was life after sports. My old self wasn’t helping figure out what I needed to accomplish in the following areas: knowing what degrees to pursue, what career to enter, and what my new work ethic would be.

Throw it Out
Throw out any old ideas that you have of yourself that no longer serve you. Throw out that old self-concept, making room for your new one. By the time I went to graduate school, I had discarded all the trophies and awards I had won in sports. I remember feeling a sense of closure, since they symbolized my old academic work ethic. For the first time, I felt I could achieve more than what I had accomplished in sports. Silly as it was, sports was all consuming for me to the point of distraction.

Store It
Some of us like the finality of throwing out the things or ideas that represent what is or could hold us back. If you can’t throw it out, then store it. Put it in a box or put on the shelf, in a closet, or in a store room. Do whatever you need to do to store the things or ideas that may be holding you back.

Previous Post: The 12 Simple Self-Management Strategies

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