What have Kobe Bryant, Beyoncé and Bo Jackson got in common? No idea? Well, they’ve all used Alter Egos to take their performance to the next level, while overcoming any internal blocks they experienced in their chosen fields of play.
We’ll come back to their specific Alter Egos a little later on, in the meantime what is an Alter Ego?
The Cambridge English Dictionary states that an Alter Ego is the part of someone’s personality that is not usually seen by other people.
It goes on to state that Superman is Clark Kent’s Alter Ego, but this is in fact wrong. Todd Herman creator of The Alter Ego Effect states “The Alter Ego isn’t Superman; it’s Clark Kent. Superman is the real person. He created the Alter Ego, mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, as a useful persona to go unnoticed day-to-day on earth and blend in to help him achieve a crucial goal: understanding humans. Superman would flip between his Alter Ego and the S on his chest at precisely the moments when he needed each persona the most.”
Professional athletes and business people who are consistently performing at the top of their game often become a different person when they’re on the their chosen field of play. Be it the football field, basketball court or in the boardroom. They do this because they need to consistently perform at a high level and transforming into their Alter Ego allows them to summon up the specific skills, confidence and consistency they need on demand.
Famous Alter Egos
Bo Jackson is a former professional baseball and football player. He’s the only pro athlete ever to be named an All-Star in both football and baseball and was heralded as one of the greatest athletes of all time. But it wasn’t always like that though, Jackson struggled to keep his emotions in check on the football field. He was inspired by the cool and calculated hockey mask-wearing killer Jason Voorhes from the “Friday the 13th” movies. He channeled this identity helped him focus on the game, and enabled him to show up on the field, without the detrimental emotional baggage.
Kobe Bryant’s ‘The Black Mamba‘, was an Alter Ego he created to get through the lowest point of his career in 2003 and 2004.
Tiger Woods is actually called Eldrick Woods, but developed the Alter Ego ‘Tiger’ after his father said he needed to emulate the animal’s behaviour on the golf course.
Another famous performer with an Alter Ego is Beyoncé. Sasha Fierce was Beyoncé’s Alter Ego for many years. Brought up in a religious family, Beyoncé found the start of her singing career very difficult and a far cry from her straight-laced upbringing. She needed a way to dance and act like a superstar on stage. “I have someone else that takes over when it’s time for me to work and when I’m on stage, this Alter Ego that I’ve created that kind of protects me and who I really am.” She ‘killed’ Sasha Fierce in 2010, when she decided she didn’t need her anymore.
Benefits of having an Alter Ego
Alter Ego’s allow someone to leave behind everything they currently are and create a new version of themselves that’s designed to be successful in a specific area of their lives. People, whether they are athletes or entrepreneurs, are subject to personal traumas, self-criticism and self-doubt. Alter Ego’s aren’t effected by any of those things. They’re always performing as their best selves during the moments of impact or in a specific field of play.
When you become more intentional about what characteristics will show up on an important field of play for you, you’ll trigger a creative energy which will take your performance to the next level.
Your trapped self lives in the ordinary world and you need your heroic self (your Alter Ego) to take you into your extraordinary world, where the magic happens. Often people find their Alter Ego to be their “truest self.”
The Moments of Impact (e.g. shooting the hoop or pitching to close the sale) important to you, show you what attitudes, beliefs, skills and traits you need to get the results you want.
How to create your Alter Ego to improve your riding
Be honest
It’s important that you are honest about your personal challenges with your riding.
Be specific and think about the cause of your issues. What’s going wrong with your riding? Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? Losing your temper when things don’t go as planned? Scared of competition? Do you become overwhelmed when people are watching you?
Define your superpowers and create a name
What are the attributes, traits and attitudes you need most to overcome what you are struggling with? Think in terms of both mental and physical. Maybe if you’re struggling with losing your temper during crunch times. If so then you would benefit from cool, calm, collectedness.
The Superpowers you choose for your Alter Ego will be these traits. The ones you need the most to enable you to become your heroic self in Moments of Impact or on your specific Field of Play. To recap – Think about…….
1. How do you need to show up (Skills, knowledge, actions, behaviours)
How will your Alter Ego act? How do they behave? Is its posture different to yours? Will your mannerisms change?
What would your Alter Ego look like? How do they dress? Do they have a particular item of clothing they always wear? How do they carry themselves?
2. Who are you (Expectations, attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, values)
What does your Alter Ego believe? What do they believe about the Field of Play? What do they value?
What thoughts will your Alter Ego have? What thoughts will your Alter Ego never have?
Identify a character who has the traits you want to replicate
What does your Alter Ego believe about themselves? What do people think about them? How would they be described? What would there reaction be during moments of impact?
When you’re thinking about these traits you might immediately picture a person you know? Or a famous person from the present day or from history. Perhaps you’re thinking about an animal?
You need to feel connected to this person/animal and know that they have the right characteristics/traits to help you show up as your best self.
Pick a name for your Alter Ego
Now, if your Alter Ego is a famous person then this would be the full name of the person, but it could also be two words or names combined; so an animal name and an action word, for example.
Now you need a trigger/totem
This trigger or totem helps you draw forth your Alter Ego. It’s the trigger that helps you switch from you to Alter Ego, from your ordinary world to the extraordinary world.
Martin Luther King wore glasses because they made him feel confident. He never needed glasses and had 20/20 vision. Superman famously used a pair of glasses to activate his alter ego, Clark Kent. Yours could be a necklace, a coin in your pocket, or a bracelet. Totems also provide a way to reignite your Alter Ego if you feel their powers slipping. Take the glasses off and put them back on, this acts to power up your Alter Ego.
Choosing your Totem :
- An item you wear
- An item you carry
- Something connected to the Field of Play – this is harder to use in some cases, as it might be a flexible venue.
Pick one totem which symbolises something to you. This will connect you to your Alter Ego.
Here’s what not to do.
- Don’t use the Totem all the time. Your Alter Ego is only to be used for one specific Field of Play, or you use it only for those challenging Moments of Impact.
- Don’t give your Totem away. Don’t tell others about it, as you’ll have to deal with their potential resistance too.
- Pick something you’ll enjoy wearing/carrying/using: It needs to be something you have a positive reaction to.
Activation Event
The Activation Event is when you use the Totem as a switch, signalling to your mind it’s time for your Alter Ego to take over. This can be anything that feels natural and comfortable, but it has to be a physical action, perhaps it’s when you slide the glasses over your ears, for example.
Act as if you are them
Don’t let your Alter Ego down. Act with complete intention.
You’re creating an alter ego to help you to change your behaviour, so you can achieve your goals. Now you have your Alter Ego, you need to ask yourself how would they feel? How would they act? Then feel and act in that specific way when you’re in your moment of impact or on your chosen field of play.
Creating an Alter Ego is about creating the version of yourself that you want to be. It’s about being able to show up the way you want to show up to achieve what you want.
Eventually, just like Beyoncé, you won’t need your Alter Ego. Your alter ego will have merged with your true persona, allowing you to perform at your very best. Are you going to create an Alter Ego to improve your riding?
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