We LOVE fantasizing and feeling that rush of serotonin when we imagine ourselves in the future, all of our problems and shortcomings transform into opportunities. This new future version of us is happy and exactly where they want to be in life and seeing ourselves in the shoes of a brand new version of us, one that is shiner and smarter and more organized and all the things that we have yet to be – it is hopeful.

But hope is not enough. We need to actively be making changes in our lives to transform ourselves into our ideal person rather than just sitting and dreaming about being that person. And I’m gonna tell you just the way to do it. Two words.

Alter ego.

Now before you roll your eyes and click off let me explain why this is such an incredible and powerful way for you to transform your entire life. Seriously, you can change everything. By giving yourself a clear and solid idea of what you expect from yourself and how you can reach those expectations, it will be far easier for you to make the right choices in the right direction. Having an alter ego takes away the whole guessing part of the equation and is a proactive way of teaching yourself a new way of thinking and a new way of behaving.

So here is what you do.

1. Who exactly is your alter ego?

You can do all of this in a special journal just for your self-development journey. Or just take a pen and paper or even just open up a new note on your phone, and in detail describe what your alter ego is like. You can give them a different name if you like, but the main idea is that they embody all the traits that you want to eventually embody as well.

Talk about what they’re like. What do they like to do? What are their qualities? What are their hobbies? What do their Monday mornings and Sunday evenings look like? What is their diet like? How are their relationships with other people?

For example: My alter ego Jen is confident. She always speaks her mind and is not afraid to voice her opinions and stand up for what is right. She is also very organized and productive and gets her work done as soon as she can, rather than last minute. She goes running every morning right after she wakes up and eats a healthy breakfast of oatmeal.

Go in as much detail as you can. Don’t let this daunt you this far, just think about the exact type of person you want to transform into and the exact type of lifestyle you want to live and simply write it all down!

2. Apply your alter ego’s personality in real-life situations

Now its time to apply your alter ego’s personality in situations you might encounter yourself. You can write this down as well or you can simply imagine the scenarios in your head. The point of this exercise is to live through your alter ego.

So let’s assume there is a scenario where your alter ego is at a party. What would they do? How would they approach people? What would they talk about? Continuously doing this will allow you to really solidify the existence of your alter ego and understand the true and deeper essence of their personality – which is helpful because when it comes to attaining that personality for yourself, the better you know it the better you can become it.

3. Choose what your alter ego would choose

This one is the hardest part, but it is also the most crucial part. After you’re so carefully constructed the persona that you want to transform into, and decided how they would act in certain situations, it is your turn to act the same way in those situations.
To simply put it, ask yourself: “What would my alter ego do in this situation?”.

If you’ve been keeping up with imagining all the scenarios this should come fairly quickly and easily to you but if you haven’t that’s okay, you can take a minute to decide how you would want your alter ego to act.

So for example, your alarm goes off at 6 in the morning and all you want to do is hit snooze and let yourself sleep in for another 3 hours. Ask yourself, “What would my alter ego do right now?”. If the answer is to get out of bed and wash their face with cold water, then as hard and annoying and daunting and tiring as it seems, you get up and wash your face with cold water and get ready for that run you were planning to do.

If you promised you would cook a healthy meal at home but your exhaustion is making you turn to takeaway instead, ask yourself: “What would my alter ego do?” And if it isn’t “order that pizza and call it a night”, then you get yourself to put your cooking skills to the test no matter how tiring it may seem.

The Bottom Line

Let’s be honest. It’s not going to be easy. But you have to realize a couple of points:

• Your alter ego isn’t a fantasy, it is you. Your alter ego is living your life in your body with all the resources that are available to you. So it is very possible for you to become this person.

• It will get easier. The beginning will be hard because you are not used to this level of self-control and it will seriously push your willpower to the extreme, but it does get easier with every choice that you make.

• Every choice you make in the shoes of your alter ego is one choice closer to being your alter ego; This is an incredibly powerful and helpful tool for all areas of life, whether it is career, studies, working on your confidence, your social skills or even just your self-love.

In time, with constant hard work and self-control, making these choices will become easier and easier and easier. One day you are going to be making these choices without having to think “What would my alter ego do in this situation?”. Because you no longer need that persona’s input anymore since you are the persona now.

You will have become your own role model and the person best fit to make decisions for your own success! Reminding yourself that your alter ego isn’t a mythical creature rather an alternative version of yourself that you can attain one day is KEY. Learning how to set the right goals so that you know exactly what to expect from yourself.

And eventually, when you are finally the person you have always wanted to transform into, you can know that the person you have become is far better than the person your alter ego was, due to all that hard work, self-control, dedication and willpower – all which deserve for you to have pride in.