4 simple steps to unstuck yourself and step into the new version of you

Do you ever feel stuck in life? Does it feel like something is holding you back and you just cannot go forwards? Then you may be stuck in the old version of yourself, and you need to step into that new version of you.

On your life path, you’re constantly growing and learning, and in this process, you keep developing new versions of you. Those new versions of you are formed to meet the requirements of your present. But sometimes it happens that we cannot let go of an old version. When this happens, you feel stuck, because to let every new version shine, the old version must be released. As this can be quite hard to do, I provide you with a simple 4-step process to let go of the old you and unstuck yourself to live your best life!

4 steps to your new version

Let’s take the example of snakes; they are constantly growing, just like you are, and for them, it is indispensable to shed their skin every once in a while. However, the old skin only peels off once the new skin underneath it is strong enough to protect it. What does that mean for you? It means you need to strengthen your new version so that you can let go of the parts of you that you don’t need anymore.

But first, you need to realize that it is time to let go and say goodbye to the old you. Let’s walk through these steps.

1. Realize you’re stuck

When you’re stuck in an older version, there are a few ways it manifests itself in your everyday life. Read through them and analyze whether that’s how you are feeling:

• You are constantly thinking about how you managed things in the past
• You justify your behavior with phrases like “I’ve always been that way”
• There are tasks in front of you but you don’t feel ready to tackle them because they are new to you
• You make excuses for something because you failed at it in the past

2. Realize it is time to let go

After realizing that you’re stuck, you must also identify it is time to let go, and for that, keep an eye out for these signs:

• You justify your behavior with experiences of your past
• You’re aching for some change in your life but can’t think of how to do it
• You feel bored by your current life situation
• You feel stuck and hate it
• Habits that you’ve had for a long time start to hinder or annoy you
• You feel like there is more to life and you want to discover what it is, but can’t think of how
• You lack energy

If these signs sound anything like you, then you are probably aching for the new version of you. That new version of you is growing inside of you, but yet not strong enough to break through the old one, so you’re feeling stuck and lack the energy to take action.

3. Goodbye the old version

To welcome the new version, you must first say goodbye to the old version of you and finish with it. Acknowledge the parts of the old you that you need and want to get rid of and then actually let go of them.

Stop making choices of the past

A way to let go of the old version of you is to stop making the choices of the old you. You made those choices in relation to where you were in life and what you needed BACK THEN. Now it is time to identify what you need to do RIGHT NOW. Read more about how to make choices here.

Let go of the habits hindering you

If there are habits that maybe once were useful, but now have come down to doing nothing but hinder you, then you need to take action to change them.

Make peace with the past and stop looking back

Whatever keeps you looking back and reflect about the past… forgive it. Forgive what happened in your past. Forgive yourself. Of course, your past will always stay a part of you, and you should not completely forget about it, but you should decide to let go of it and come to the now. You cannot change anything that happened in the past, but you can make changes in the present now. So stop trying to change the past, it won’t lead you anywhere.

You cannot change anything that happened in the past, but you can make changes in the present now.

4. Strengthen the new version

Just like we showed with the example of the snake, it is necessary that the new version that is growing inside of you is strong enough to “protect” you. This means for you that your new version must be supported by your beliefs and goals, so it can withstand the new challenges in front of you. Like this, you can avoid falling back into the old version to seek protection there. Because that’s the good old comfort zone, and I am sure that’s just where you don’t want to go back.

Form and practice new beliefs

If you want to achieve something, you first must believe you can. Buy a nice journal and write down new beliefs you want to adopt. Those beliefs can be the way you want to feel, the things you want to be able to do, etc.. Write them down in form of positive affirmations, and as if they were already true. Use “I am”, “I have” etc. Here are some examples:

“I am confident”, “I am successful in [fill in the blank]”, “I deserve [that job].”, “I can achieve everything I want”, “I am good at…”, …

Now write those beliefs down every day and maybe even speak them out loud to yourself. Like this, they will slowly but surely manifest in your personality, and they will turn into your new beliefs.

Start new habits that support the new version of you

As you let go of the habits that hinder you, you can now ask yourself the question:

• How can I improve/change this habit so that it benefits me?
• What new habits could I adopt that help me to [fill in the blank]?
• What habits can I build that help me achieve my goals?

Trust

This is an aspect that should never be forgotten: Trust in the process, and trust in yourself. This letting go and strengthening your new version is not going to happen overnight, and you should not blame yourself for the struggles you’re encountering; you should trust instead and don’t rush or force, because…

The grass doesn’t grow faster if you pull it.

So don’t pull, but trust. I suggest you read more about this in my post about the number one way to boost your self-confidence.

Visualize your goals and dreams

Visualize daily where you want to go in life and what you want to achieve. Because those dreams and goals are what made you want to let go of the old you, right? You wanted a change, you ached for something new, didn’t you?

And in case you don’t know what you’re actually aching for, then visualize you the way you want to feel. Visualize yourself happy, active, courageous, motivated, inspired, etc… And your brain is going to figure out how to get there.

Challenge yourself

You had that random idea of applying for that job, or register for that training? You want to go see that certain country? Is there a book you’ve always wanted to write? Maybe a class you want to try? Go for it and make all those experiences. Challenge yourself to all the random ideas in your head. Never dismiss them, because they there for a reason, and they are valuable new experiences that will make you grow! But only if you commit to them. You grow with your tasks. Always keep that in mind.

Invest in your self-confidence

Self-confidence is what you need to beat the whispers or even cries of self-doubt in your head. They are what form limiting beliefs that want to drag you back into your comfort zone. So to strengthen your new version, invest in that self-confidence. You can read this post where I share 25 ways to build your self-confidence with you.

Be happy

You can always make yourself so much stronger if you only start working on your happiness. Become happy with where you are and with yourself. Happiness gives you strength, it gives you motivation, it gives you energy. Feel free to browse my posts on happiness here.

Now that you have majorly strenghened your new version, you can finally let go of the old one!

Now you are ready for a fresh start with that confident and strong new version of you! Go for it, dive in into that amazing thing called life and remember to never look back!