Think about the most confident person you know. They probably have an alter ego.

I decided to explore this weird psychological crutch Beyonce, Adele, Rowan Atkinson, LeBron James, and many others use to boost their confidence. https://theprofile.substack.com/p/why-the-worlds-most-confident-people

Early in her career, @Beyonce created an alter ego she called ‘Sasha Fierce’ that allowed her to perform with a level of confidence she herself didn’t yet have.

“I’m not like her in real life at all,” Beyoncé said. “I’m not flirtatious & super-confident and fearless like her.”

Inspired by Beyoncé, @adele followed suit with her own alter persona she dubbed "Sasha Carter" — a composite of Sasha Fierce and country star June Carter

"I went out on the balcony crying hysterically & I said, ‘What would Sasha Fierce do?’ That’s when Sasha Carter was born.”

British actor Rowan Atkinson was bullied as a child for having a stutter. But his speech impediment went away when he was performing on stage.

“I find when I play a character other than myself, the stammering disappears,” he says.

Research supports these mental tricks we play on ourselves.

Adopting an alter ego is an extreme form of “self-distancing,” a psychological tool that helps people reason more objectively and see the situation from a slight distance.

One way people can create a temporary alter ego is through illeism, which is defined as “the act of referring to oneself in the third person.”

One famous example of illeism was when @KingJames talked about his decision to leave Cleveland for the Miami Heat.

He says, “I wanted to do what was best for LeBron James, and what LeBron James was going to do to make him happy.”

Illeism is not generally well-received as it makes the subject sound arrogant, but it can be a powerful tool if used for the purpose of reducing anxiety and building confidence.

The point is that you’re not permanently tethered to the identity you currently have.

“Your current behaviors are simply a reflection of your current identity,” @JamesClear writes. “What you do now is a mirror image of the type of person you believe that you are."

In the beginning, your core self and your alter ego may seem like two disparate entities. But over time, they begin to merge.

Here's Beyoncé in 2010: “Sasha Fierce is done. I killed her. I don't need Sasha Fierce anymore, because I've grown, and now I'm able to merge the two.”

This quote from actor Cary Grant sums it up nicely: “I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until, finally, I became that person. Or he became me. Or we met at some point along the way.”

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