Got time to read and want to pull a piece of yourself into higher performance and processing standard? I always recommend the Alter Ego Effect by Todd Herman. I used the Alter Ego I developed from the book to become a better Jiu Jitsu practitioner, and also to overcome obstacles mentally and physically.

There is something about believing a part of you can overcome anything and making small adjustments mentally, that makes you feel like another person or thing. To start the process, you want to identify who or what it is you want to be like when this part of you is activated or needed. From there, identify what characteristics you are wanting from this person or thing and being able to identify what keeps you from inheriting those characteristics.

I based mine on a Chinese warrior that I studied over a large span of my life. He was described as skilled, relentless, as a quick learner, lacked fear and was able to overcome overbearing odds with ease. While there are a lot more adjectives to describe him, these are parts I wanted when I was doing anything that required my athlete self, and by being consistent with applying these to myself, within weeks, I found my automatic thoughts and reactions to be more of what I wanted.

Fatigue was non-existent, challenges were welcomed, nothing was too big for me and there was nothing I couldn’t do. After a month of having this “Alter Ego” I noticed I made the biggest strides athletically since ending my football career some years ago. There is a whole book on this method, but reach out and subscribe as i pull bits and pieces from it and create conversations around the benefit of a healthy athlete mindset.

-Malique Taylor