WHAT IS A SIGNATURE EGO? WHY SHOULD YOU CREATE ONE?

Well, by definition, an alter ego is a “second self,” that is distinctly different from your normal persona. Now, I want to start by saying that I am not encouraging you to create a second self opposite of who you are. That is the opposite of self-improvement. Which is why I am encouraging you to create a signature ego—one that truly enhances your most idealized version of yourself created out of your level of self-awareness. Whether your interest in this blog is to become a better version of yourself, or to help motivate you to show us as a more confident version of yourself, you will find what you’re looking for. We all know that celebrities use this powerful technique to accomplish great goals and show themselves to the world as something greater and more powerful. Beyonce had Sasha Fierce, Stefani Germanotta has Lady Gaga, Clark Kent has Bruce Wayne, David Bowie had The Thin White Duke & Ziggy Stardust, and so on. So, who’s your Ziggy? Before you begin to create her, let’s dive into how this really works.

HOW DOES THIS WORK?

Most of you are probably thinking that this all sounds fun and exciting, but can this really work? Can using your alter ego really bring your more success? Well, let’s move away from fiction and look into the science. Just as Beyonce reminds us, if we are planning on achieving success, fears do not belong where we are going. You show up differently when your fears don’t hold you back. You take on goals that you otherwise would be too still to pursue. As aforementioned, many musicians use this technique—as well as athletes, opera singers and politicians. As Carol Dweck says, author of Mindset—and Stanford University developmental psychologist—”we all have the potential to make [changes to our mindset] and we are wasting that potential if we don’t.” With recent research, we have discovered that “those who believe their personalities and abilities can change…are more resilient, more open to experience, and more likely to take risks” (Psychology Today.) Taking on the power behind our signature ego can further imprint the structure of a growth mentality, which encourages us to pursue the best of our lives. It reminds us that we are not yet where we want to be, and helps to keep us in perspective. We will never be able to fully embrace our Bruce Wayne 100%, 24/7. If we tried to, we’d constantly be disappointing ourselves. If we use our signature ego’s as something to strive toward, like a mentor or role model, while embracing our journey, we find that we can naturally be more in alignment with our higher self. It is a very useful and necessary perspective that we need in order to bridge this gap.

7 STEPS TO CREATE YOUR SIGNATURE EGO/HIGHER SELF:

1. DETERMINE YOUR WHY.

Why do you want an alter ego? Are you lacking the confidence to go for your dream job? Do you want to stop attracting people that are not worth your energy? Are you just bored with your look and want to take on a new persona? Regardless of your intentions, you need to be real with yourself and determine why you want this. Chances are, your reasons are not internally motivated. That’s okay in the beginning, but if you truly want to level up, you need to be in this for yourself. Create a list of at least 10 reasons that you want this.

2. CONSTRUCT HER PERSONA + LIFESTYLE.

What is her personality like? Are they more confident and boastful, or are they more humble? For this part, I find that it is best to envision yourself 5 to 10 years from now, and imagine that you are a fly on the wall just watching your higher self go about her day. Determine what kinds of people she interacts with, what she eats, how she responds to stress, what her hobbies are, etc. Create a list of every detail about her persona and lifestyle.

3. GIVE HER A NAME.

This isn’t the most essential step, but it can be fun. You can put a lot of thought into this, or get inspiration from your favorite movie character. Whether it has meaning or not is up to you, but be sure that it works well with the image that you are creating. Create a list of names that resonate with your most confident self.

4. SELECT YOUR ROLE MODELS + LIST THEIR CHARACTERISTICS.

Who do you idolize most? Is it a celebrity, a family member, a teacher? Consider the people that you admire and determine what it is that you love most about them. What about their character do you enjoy? What skills do they possess? What do they do for a living? How do they start their day? How is this person most like your higher self? Create a list of their skills, their characteristics, interests, etc.

5. CREATE HER SIGNATURE SELF.

Start gathering images that best represent your higher self. It is important to find images of women that you look most like you. Consider images of women’s makeup looks, fashion looks, hairstyles, etc. You will want to create a signature style for her. How does she wear her hair? What fragrance does she wear most? What do these things say about her? Create a list of every detail about her physical appearance.

6. BUILD YOUR BLUEPRINT TO BRIDGE THE GAP.

Create a chart that clarifies your current self and distinguishes it from your signature ego that you have created. Once you have determine who your higher self is and what her life is like, it will become more clear for you to determine the best way to channel her. For starters, you may find that you’ll wear your hair a certain way and put on your best makeup look to assume this role. Once you begin to vibrate with your higher self, you will find that your transformation will feel more natural as it moves from superficial qualities to lifestyle changes. Create a list of 5 milestones that you would need to reach to get closer to being more like your signature ego.

7. CREATE YOUR SIGNATURE SELF SHRINE.

This is my favorite part. Once you have your higher self acutely refined, start planning your Signature Ego Day. This day will be dedicated to you assuming your higher self in her entirety. You will look like her, talk like her, walk like her, and so on. Celebrate the woman that you have created in any way that you deem fit. You may be inclined to take yourself out to dinner and show up as your higher self. You may want to schedule a photoshoot and channel your inner goddess. You may end up dressing up in full gear and spending the day working on your business plan. Whatever goal you have in mind—whatever your why—dedicate this day to showing up as your higher self. Document as much of this day as possible. This will be the start of your Signature Self Shrine. Pick a place in your living area, and dedicate it to building a shrine to your higher self. You can use this to store images of yourself living as if, receipts from places that you love, text messages that prove feedback that remind you of how powerful your higher self is, etc.

What is the most recent way that you have showed up as your higher self?