You need to become who you are not to be who you are supposed to be
Think about how you act when you’re serious about something. You stand differently, speak differently, think differently.
“I am the best. I don’t think someone can outshine me. I’m the first permanent movie star” ~ Shah Rukh Khan; considered as the most charismatic and beloved actor in the world, and the richest in the global film industry.
Kobe Bryant used a pre-game ritual to step into The Black Mamba; a mentally sharper, colder, more focused version of himself. Sports psychologists cite this as a reliable performance-enhancement strategy.
MrBeast recorded messages to his “future successful self,” acting as if he had already made it.
The pattern is consistent: Mike Tyson. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Eminem. John Cena; They all built and stepped into an alter identity to perform beyond their limits.
They didn’t wait to become successful.
They behaved as the person who already was.
That’s the alterEGO Effect.
But before we talk about what is alterEGO and how to create one, you need to understand what “EGO” really means.
What is EGO?
Most people hear “ego” and instantly think arrogance, pride, or narcissism but that’s only one side of it. Ego is your inner sense of identity. The voice that says, “I am.” It’s the invisible line between who you are and who you believe yourself to be.
At its core, ego isn’t good or bad. It’s energy. It’s the force/version of yourself you protect, defend, and strive to live up to. And when this identity gets challenged, you only have two options: collapse or evolve.
When you channel it intentionally, ego becomes an engine…. but… There’s one problem: your brain is wired to hold you inside your current identity.
Also Read: Modern Life is the Zombie Apocalypse
The Egocentric Bias (The Reason Why You’re Trapped Inside Your EGO )
Egocentric bias is your brain’s built-in tendency to view everything through the lens of your current self. It’s the invisible gravity that keeps you orbiting who you already are.
- You overestimate your own role in success or failure.
- You assume the way you see things now is the “objective truth.”
- You evaluate new experiences, new ideas, even your future self through the limitations of your present self.
This bias is the reason you underestimate how much you can change because your brain is wired to protect its existing identity. It doesn’t want transformation; it wants safety.
This is why you stay stuck—not because you lack talent or discipline, but because you never step outside the identity your brain is protecting aka your EGO
And that’s exactly where the alterEGO comes in.
Because the goal isn’t to erase the ego (that’s neither possible nor desirable) but to put it in its proper place: a useful part of you, not a prison.
The alterEGO and the “alterEGO Effect”
The alterEGO taps into this same mechanism of Ego but It doesn’t kill it; it redirects it.
In essense, an alter ego is your second self—a version of you that already has the traits/attributes, mindset, and confidence you wish you had. That “altered” version does the things your current self keeps avoiding. alterEGO helps you to re-write your Mindware and Reflective Intelligence.
It’s like the superhero version of you that steps in when your normal self hesitates. Just like Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Both share the same person underneath, but the moment the mask goes on, everything changes: posture, confidence, energy, purpose.
“The Gimmick”
This was John Cena Before – https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOWXNIjDIPi/?igsh=MTQwdWhpNDlwdXh0ag== and now he’s the greatest of all time
In Wrestling, every superstar have a “gimmick”—their version of an Alter Ego.
John Cena evolved through multiple eras:
- Ruthless Aggression (pure fire, no filter),
- Doctor of Thuganomics (the lyrical assassin),
- Hustle, Loyalty, Respect (the soldier, protector),
- Heel Cena (the mirror of the world, cold and detached),
- and finally The Final Era (the real, raw, vulnerable John).
Different versions, same man. Just new attributes each time.
In Movies, Heath Ledger locked himself in a hotel room for six weeks to write the Joker’s thoughts into a diary to gave the performance of a lifetime.
And there are several more examples of these kinds.
The idea that I want you to stick in your brain is that:
You could become larger than life by simply choosing who you want to be.
Manifestation – Visualization – alterEGO
They all work in a loop
Align your current self with the vision you have of your future self.
The same principle drives affirmations, visualization, and the “fake it till you make it” mindset, affirmations—they’re all ways of aligning your current self with your future identity aka identity alignment
Think of manifestation as planting the seed. The raw idea of who you want to become.
Visualization is watering that seed daily, feeding it with belief until it takes root in your mind.
But. But. But… The loop doesn’t close until you act as the version of you who already lives that dream aka your alterEGO.
So once you do the “act” part, everything aligns. Manifestation stops being a wish, visualization stops being imagination, and the alterEGO becomes proof.
That’s why stop asking, “Who am I?” and started answering, “Who do I need to be?”
And let’s answer this in the next section, probably the one you’ve been waiting for.
How to Create an alterEGO (Step-by-Step):
Source: James Clear
We’re going to do 5 steps:
- Name it
- Define Its Core Philosophy (The Code)
- Shape Its Daily Embodiment aka How it Operates DAILY
- Reinforce Your alterEGO by Creating Identity-Based Habits
After step 4, it’ll not be a concept anymore.
Step 1: Name It
Some examples:
- Kobe Bryant – The Black Mamba
- Kristi Yamaguchi – The Killer
- Russell Westbrook – The Brodie
- Raven Saunders – The Hulk
You need to name your If you say it out loud and you instantly feel a slight shift in your body language then that’s the right one. If it feels cheesy, you won’t use it under stress. If it feels clean, simple, inevitable, keep it.
You can use your name as it is. I call my alterEGO: “Dewansh Jain”
That’s step one. This name is your lens through which you live, think, create, and respond.
Step 2: Define Its Core Philosophy (The Code)
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you think, ‘Man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore. The ‘hurt’ part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself. >>> “Ego is what helps you stay 10 minutes longer than your competitor and those 10 minutes decide everything.”
“Who do I need to become to get what I want?”
Not “What should I do?” or “How do I stay motivated?”
Because behaviour follows identity and your alterEGO is a way of life.
Ask:
- What does this version of me believe about life, work, relationships, discipline?
- What are the non-negotiables?
- What does he refuse to tolerate in himself?
Something like:
“Dewansh believes in consistency over intensity. He acts before he feels ready. He respects time. He doesn’t chase validation. He earns his sunsets.”
This becomes your compass. Make your character as detailed as possible (In the next step we do that). Just like writing a main movie character.
- Give it attributes.
- Make it a living breathing character.
- Choose “your movie” songs to “GET IN THE ZONE”.
Step 3: Shape Its Daily Embodiment aka How it Operates DAILY
If you want to become your alterEGO, you have to teach your body what that feels like.
This means asking small, grounding questions that defines your character aka your alterEGO.
Disclaimer: This step sounds super exciting, I know. But you can easily drown in the whole “creating a character” thing and in the end, you’ll never use your “alterEGO”. I have went through the pain believe me.
My whole point of writing this post is to make YOU use the alterEGO. That’s why just answer the “CORE QUESTIONS” and you can build of it anytime (thanks to step 4’s reflection routine).
Here are some of the example questions that you can ask yourself. For the first time, time yourself for 30 to 60 minutes. Then start using your alterEGO. Comeback in your break and build your character.
Before answering the questions, visualize this:
Imagine the best version of yourself, the version of yourself that has what you want, that does what you say you’ll do. Envision this version of yourself as clearly as possible and write down who they are.
Core Questions:
- How does he wake up and at what time? What does his ideal morning routine look like?
- How does he sleep up and at what time? What does his ideal night routine look like?
- What traits is he currently developing?
- What long-term identity is he stepping into?
- What are the bad habits that needs to be eliminated?
- What micro-habits make him 1% better daily?
- How does he speak to himself when no one’s listening?
- What emotions does he refuse to feed?
- What does he do even when he doesn’t feel like it?
- What does “bare minimum consistency” look like for him?
- What does his deep-work mode look like?
Additional Questions:
- How does he walk into a room?
- How does he handle boredom, anger, stress?
- How does he carry himself around strangers?
- What triggers does he no longer give power to?
- How does he warm up mentally before work?
- How does he handle cravings, distractions, and dopamine traps?
- What question does he ask before saying “yes” to anything?
- What does he prioritize in moments of overwhelm?
- How does he talk to friends?
- How does he handle disrespect?
- How does he set boundaries?
- What energy does he bring into conversations?
- How does he start his workday?
- What standard does he hold his work to?
- How does he recover when he loses momentum?
- How does he treat his body?
- What is his relationship with food?
- How does he train?
- How does he rest?
- What does he do when he feels low energy?
- How does he protect his sleep?
- How does he behave when everyone else panics?
- What does his room/workspace look like?
- How does he think about money?
- How does he plan his day/week?
- How does he handle creative blocks?
These micro-moments are where identity locks in.
Over time, your nervous system learns that this is who you are.
GOLDEN RULE:
Simplify what doesn’t align.
Keep reminders like a journal, a quote, a photo, a song music that triggers the mindset instantly.
When your space reflects your new identity, the brain stops fighting it.
Step 4: Reinforce Your alterEGO by Creating Identity-Based Habits
Identity-Based Habits are the glue between belief and behaviour.
You can’t rely on vague “I’ll try to be my best self today.” That dies by lunchtime. You need something physical + intentional that tells your brain: He/She is THAT identity.
Here’s an excerpt from James Clear’s Atomic Habits book:
Your current behaviors are simply a reflection of your current identity. What you do now is a mirror image of the type of person you believe that you are (either consciously or subconsciously).
To change your behavior for good, you need to start believing new things about yourself. You need to build identity-based habits.
Imagine how we typically set goals. We might start by saying “I want to lose weight” or “I want to get stronger.” If you’re lucky, someone might say, “That’s great, but you should be more specific.”
So then you say, “I want to lose 20 pounds” or “I want to squat 300 pounds.”
These goals are centered around outcomes, not identity.
Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe. When it comes to building habits that last—when it comes to building a system of 1 percent improvements—the problem is not that one level is “better” or “worse” than another. All levels of change are useful in their own way. The problem is the direction of change.
Many people begin the process of changing their habits by focusing on what they want to achieve. This leads us to outcome-based habits. The alternative is to build identity-based habits. With this approach, we start by focusing on who we wish to become.
Changing your beliefs isn’t nearly as hard as you might think. There are two steps.
- Decide the type of person you want to be >>> we’ve built our alterEGO
- Prove it to yourself with small wins.
Here are five examples of how you can make this work in real life.
Want to lose weight?
Identity: Become the type of person who moves more every day.
Small win: Buy a pedometer. Walk 50 steps when you get home from work. Tomorrow, walk 100 steps. The day after that, 150 steps. If you do this 5 days per week and add 50 steps each day, then by the end of the year, you’ll be walking over 10,000 steps per day.
Want to become a better writer?
Identity: Become the type of person who writes 1,000 words every day.
Small win: Write one paragraph each day this week.
Want to become strong?
Identity: Become the type of person who never misses a workout.
Small win: Do pushups every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Want to be a better friend?
Identity: Become the type of person who always stays in touch.
Small win: Call one friend every Saturday. If you repeat the same people every 3 months, you’ll stay close with 12 old friends throughout the year.
Want to be taken seriously at work?
Identity: become the type of person who is always on time.
Small win: Schedule meetings with an additional 15–minute gap between them so that you can go from meeting to meeting and always show up early.
BONUS HACK:
To build an unbreakable alterEGO do Night reflection. Use this template:
Write one line as your alterEGO about how the day went.
- ONE WIN I am proud of today:
ONE BEHAVIOUR I disliked today:
- ONE IMPROVEMENT FOR TOMORROW (1% better):
This reflection routine will create a tangible feedback loop and these are the loops that keep identity alive.
Without them, the world slowly pulls you back into your old patterns.
And that’s it. Once you have:
- the name,
- the philosophy,
- the daily routine,
- the ritual,
you have a usable alterEGO.
Learn the science behind how curiosity supercharges your learning: The Dopaminergic Curiosity System
The Most Important Part – Why Everyone Fails:
It’s not lack of time.
It’s not resources.
It’s self-belief.
Most people never make it to the result because they don’t see themselves as the person who can achieve it. They try to do without first becoming the version of themselves who can handle the doing.
Before Conor McGregor ever touched a championship belt, he already held it in his mind.
“You have to see it in your head before you see it for real. I was a world champion in my mind long before I ever was.” — Conor McGregor
Manifestation > Affirmation > Visualization > alterEGO aren’t some woo-woo manifestation hack. It’s identity rehearsal. You mentally show your brain the future so your actions naturally move toward it.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Shah Rukh Khan did the same.
“I am the best player in the world. — Cristiano Ronaldo
Your actions follow your beliefs. So
You want a better output?
You need a better identity.
Your AlterEGO is that identity.
