forget oneself

Idioms  

1. Lose one's reserve, temper, or self-restraint; do or say something out of keeping with one's position or character. For example, A teacher should never forget herself and shout at the class. Shakespeare used it in Richard II (3:2): “I had forgot myself: am I not king?” [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

Active strategies may be the best response to those emotions, not to take care of oneself but to forget oneself in responding to the larger crises.

From The Guardian • Jul. 13, 2018

I mean the ability to forget oneself sufficiently so that the ball flows smoothly from the arm and hand and makes its true way to the waiting glove.

From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2017

That which is true of the master worker, the artist, is true of all lesser workers: the highest efficiency is conditioned on the ability to forget oneself.

From Essays on Work and Culture by Mabie, Hamilton Wright

To forget oneself in heroic action as did Drake, or in heroic toil as did Symonds and Stevenson, is to make even disease contribute to health and mastery.

From Essays on Work and Culture by Mabie, Hamilton Wright

And this only is true service—to forget oneself in love towards all, to lose oneself in working for the whole.

From The Way of Peace by Allen, James