The Psychology of an Alter Ego

 

Did you ever notice a few of your favorite athletes…

Have an alter ego.

A persona that leads to practical benefits.

 

The Baddest Man on the Planet – Mike Tyson

Teddy Ballgame – Ted Williams

Black Mamba – Kobe Bryant

 

These are just a few names that come to mind.

 

It’s not like these are individuals were acting like a superhero in their rooms.

As I said, there were practical benefits to the way their alter egos drove them.

 

What’s the psychology regarding this?

Is this something a lot of us can learn in regards to being a top performer?

Maybe, there is a method behind all this madness…

 

What is the Alter Ego?

 

The ego is our sense of identification with our lives.

We have a certain baseline of experiences that we remember from our life.

Those experiences accumulated into a holistic picture leads to our self-image.

 

An alter ego is an extension of that self-image.

It can be formulated consciously or subconsciously.

 

We may form an alter ego mimicking the behavior of someone else.

Like that little kid who read Harry Potter for the first time…

Then puts a lightning bolt on their head & starts riding on a broom.

 

Other times, the alter ego is set more intentionally.

The person sets a few targets of what the renewed person will seem like.

You can say ‘the ideal person.’

 

And 2 things happen:

Either the person adopts that identity for a long period of time.

Or, in situational bursts.

 

Do You Have an Alter Ego?

 

I would like to argue that an alter ego is not something that is anything peculiar.

You don’t have to wake up & become Batman all of a sudden.

 

Rather, it’s something that a lot of us already implement.

It’s an ideal.

It’s a target for the mind.

 

One example was Kobe Bryant.

He was known as the Black Mamba on the court.

A fierce competitor who did all it took to win in a game.

Also known as the Mamba Mentality.

 

However, off the court, a lot of fans who met Kobe in a grocery shop were like:

‘Damn man, you’re a lot nicer than I thought!’

 

This was a case of him having a situational alter ego.

A game like basketball requires INTENSE competition.

Therefore, targeting the mind to have the Black Mamba persona unlocked that supreme competitive spirit.

 

Going to the grocery shop does not require that level of intensity.

Well, unless you are shopping for the last box of Cheez-Its.

 

Applying an Alter Ego To Our Lives

 

The question is, can we benefit from a certain level of an alter ego?

A lot of us are already doing it in a certain field.

Or we did at one point or another…until it became ingrained in our personality.

 

That’s where the mantra:

“Fake it take you to make it” comes into place.

 

I like hearing:

“Face it till you become it.”

 

The latter is what it’s like to integrate the alter ego (psychology) into our nervous system (physiology).

 

True self-improvement happens when we are able to distinguish the brain from the mind.

A lot of us view the 2 as the same thing.

Nope.

 

The brain is an electric circuit board. This is a rough analogy.

The mind includes the thoughts that we perceive in the realm of space-time & causation.

Our goal is to use awareness to program the mind which ends up reprogramming the brain.

That’s the magic of building an alter ego.

 

‘How do I know if this renewed personality is working?’

When you start subconsciously behaving as the renewed personality.

 

Targeting the Mind with an Image

 

What do I do in my life?

What does my line of work concern?

And what is it that I want?

 

These are just a few questions we can ask ourselves.

I like to call this the weeding out process.

 

Many will be like:

“Man this is weird, I don’t need to redefine who I am. Fuck it!”

And that’s perfectly fine.

 

But for some, a part of you may say something along the lines of:

“I can be more creative, competitive, fit, etc. Heck, I just need to get out of this rut…”

 

In this case, just have a rough image of what that ideal person looks like.

A rough image is better than a hyper-targeted clarified image… for now.

 

Because the rough image allows for evolution and adaptability.

Focusing too much on the hyper-targeted clarified image turns everything into an intellectual exercise.

No fam. Time to be scrappy.

 

No need to have it perfect to begin.

Begin, then perfect…

 

CRUCIAL POINT of Alter Ego’s

 

This is the biggest insight in regards to the alter ego.

Listen very carefully.

 

It’s not a game of you going from here to there.

It’s only a game of HERE.

 

So let’s say you are looking to become more creative.

You create the alter ego which envisions that you’re the most creative person in the universe.

 

Well, now the goal is to act like that person…NOW.

NOT working your way up to acting like that person.

 

‘How can I act like that person now? I don’t feel like that person.’

Don’t matter homie.

Get a rough idea of who that person is, and act it out now.

The behavior will clarify as needed.

 

For a field like writing, you can have this creative mindset for life.

For a field like sports, you need to activate the alter ego in situational moments. Aka: the game.

 

In the context of the ArmaniTalks brand, my enhanced ability of choice was Artistic Engineering.

I view myself as the Artistic Engineer.

This was & is my desired personality & philosophy.

 

This viewpoint allows me to feel more creative while engaging logic at the same time.

‘Did you ever get any training for art & engineering?’

I got formal training in engineering. Got my bachelor’s & masters in that field.

And spent 6 years of my career in a variety of engineering fields.

 

However, there was a strong DESIRE to be an artist.

More specifically, a storyteller.

After taking up the role as the Artistic Engineer (rather than just an engineer) my subconscious mind eventually picked up the clue.

 

For the past 2 years, I’ve written & created 100s of stories that have reached millions of people around the world.

No formal training needed.

Just a rough vision & operating in the NOW.

 

Influencing Psychology with an Alter Ego

 

The beauty of the alter ego is that it eventually becomes a renewed way of life.

This is a great way to build upon a practice.

 

Why?

 

Because practice alone just deals with mechanical acts.

The psychology of an alter ego comes down to ENGAGING the narrative seeking mind.

 

What we do with faith, knowledge & routine grows in power.

And once we engage the narrative mind, things start to amplify that power.

 

This is what allows consistent people to have fun.

They don’t just do the boring task.

They add color to tasks even if it does seem boring.

BIG difference.

 

Is an alter ego right for you?

Analyze yourself, understand your field & see what you want from life.

That’s when the answer magically presents itself.

 

To build an Alter Ego, check out the Level Up Mentality: A Guide to Re-Engineer your Mindset for Confidence.

 

– ArmaniTalks 🎙️🔥

 

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