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Creating and maintaining an active social identity can be hard work. Sometimes the upkeep and hype can make you forget who you are and why you began those social entities. Sometimes we need to take a step back and re-evaluate what we are doing and what we want from our social relationships.

As an admirer of Bridget Jones, I took this opportunity to reflect on her journey to self-discovery and explore how it relates to maintaining a social persona.

“And that was it. Right there. That was the moment. I suddenly realized that unless something changed soon I was going to live a life where my major relationship was with a bottle of wine… and I’d finally die, fat and alone, and be found three week later half-eaten by Alsatians. Or I was about to turn into Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.” – Bridget Jones

Although tidying up your social entities may not be as dramatic as Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, there is something to be said for Bridget’s aforementioned epiphany. Sometimes change needs to happen in order to improve and allow you to reach and expound upon future endeavors. Bridget set out to do just that, giving herself three goals as she started her journey from spinsterhood to social acceptance.

Goals: “To lose weight, gain a boyfriend, and achieve inner poise.” – Bridget Jones

Here’s how you can apply these same goals as you start your own journey to re-discover your ideal social identity:

Lose weight: Clean up your social accounts. Shed that extra weight that is filling up your Facebook and Twitter newsfeeds to make room for something or someone new.

“Come on Bridget, we belong together — you, me, poor little skirt. If I can’t make it with you then I can’t make it with anyone.” – Daniel Cleaver

“That’s not a good enough offer for me.” – Bridget Jones

Gain a Boyfriend: Have you found those influencers on Twitter that are important? Find people you can learn, network and grow from. Ultimately build meaningful social relationships — go crazy and gain 50 new social boyfriends.

“This is an occasion for genuinely tiny knickers.” – Bridget Jones

Achieve Inner Poise: Now that you are feeling a little lighter and have built up some budding relationships, find that inner balance and dedicate time to grow your network and make meaningful connections that last longer than 140 characters or a Like.

“It is proved by surveys that happiness does not come from love, wealth, or power but the pursuit of attainable goals.” – Bridget Jones

As any good Bridget fan would know, her path to self-discovery was anything but smooth. One key thing that Bridget had to understand and accept was that she was who she was. Social media is about being who you are and understanding that people should accept you “just as you are.” So many people and brands try to brand speak or in ways that are not genuine because they feel it is a place to be different. Wrong. It is a place to be yourself (transparent) and to find influencers to network and connect with. Build a community of people who, as Mark Darcy so cleverly put:

“I like you very much. Just as you are.” – Mark Darcy