Book Excerpt

Turn off the auto-pilot.  You may be stubbornly clinging to an old persona that has served you well in the past, but no longer feels authentic to you. This is your opportunity to reassert your values and reclaim your self-esteem.

There are several techniques for reintroducing yourself to the person you really are inside. You can make a clean break from the environment that sustains your "assumed" identity; give your underutilized self room to grow by learning something new; or try on another identity for a while—like a cloak—just to see how it feels. Any of these will help to overcome the inertia keeping you from changing lanes.