Create an alter ego and unleash your hidden potential
What if you could create an alter ego that would allow you to have more confidence, preform at a higher level and accomplish things that you could not have been able to do before? If this sounds too good to be true I have good news for you. You can. It is actually possible to unleash the inner potential you didn’t even know you have.
If you have never heard of Todd Herman, he has coached everyone from business experts to top-level professional athletes. A large part of his coaching techniques uses the idea of creating an alter ego. Using an alter ego is a mental technique that can be used by anyone to get over fears, anxiety and self doubt that keep us from becoming the successful, confident person we have inside us.
Todd did not invent the idea of using an alter ego but he has shown how we can tap into our true potential by imagining to be someone else that has the exact skills and confidence and attitude needed for success in any given situation. The thing is, a lot of us already do this to some degree and don’t even realize it.
It’s good to remember that using an alter ego is not just about pretending to be who you are not. It is not about being inauthentic. It is about unleashing the person we are truly capable of becoming by tapping into the real you that is laying dormant inside us. It is about becoming the real person who we all have inside but are afraid to tap into do to life getting in the way and telling us who we are supposed to be instead of who we really are.
According to Todd, it’s been proven that people who have a single identity that they try to act through, actually creates the highest level of mental-health disorders — depression, anxiety, stress — and then catapulting down into even worse things.
So how do we tap into an alter ego to create success? There may be a fictional character that someone really resonates and feel connected to. Maybe someone from a movie or a TV show or maybe it is someone you personally know who possesses traits that you wish you had yourself. In high school I wasn’t a big fan or presenting reports or giving speeches in front of the class. In order to achieve unflinching confidence I would channel my inner Andy Kaufman and suddenly I didn’t feel self conscious in front of the class no matter what I was talking about or how the audience reacted to my presentation.
One interesting example of using an alter ego is Bo Jackson, a former professional baseball and football player named an All-Star in both football and baseball would take on his own alter ego the moment his foot touched the football field. That alter ego was Jason Voorhes from the Friday the 13th. series. Bo used the cold calculated killer instincts that Jason possessed in the series of movies and took those traits onto the field in a way that worked for him. This included an unflinching, unemotional drive to accomplish the next play in the game. This way, Bo could leave his admittedly poor temper behind and concentrate on “cold calculated” plays on the field. Even though Jason Voorhes is a killer in the series of movies, Bo only took that parts that he needed to be the absolute best he could be on the field and left the other traits behind.
There’s a lot of interesting science behind how and why taking on an alter ego works and I would encourage everyone to read Todd’s book for a better explanation of what’s happening in the brain and why it works.
For whatever trait you may feel inadequate with, there is an alter ego you can tap into to transform your confidence, outlook, and results.
Do you need more confidence when speaking in public? Are you an entrepreneur feeling doubts about your idea after all the negative comments from the people who don’t believe in you? Are you trying to be a better parent, or spouse? Are you struggling with staying calm when life gets crazy? Do you want to achieve the seemingly unachievable? If so, I have good news and even better news.
The good news it there is an alter ego for any accomplishment you are trying to achieve and any weakness you are need to overcome. The better news is you already have all these abilities inside you. We all do. The alter ego just helps to find them to let you be the best possible version of yourself.
