How to Create an Alter Ego

When I was in junior high, a classmate of mine renounced the name her parents bestowed upon her at birth. It seemed that "Elizabeth," while unequivocally a classic moniker, was beginning to put the squeeze on her limitless, fourteen-year-old ambition. "I'm Chynna now," she announced one Monday morning. Word spread like...like...well, I guess there is no better description than to say that word spread exactly like gossip through a junior high school: fast, forceful and with ample amounts of eye-rolling and sneering commentary. Despite the skepticism, it only took about nine school days for the new name to stick. Even the stodgy old teachers cooperated. Thus, Elizabeth transformed to Chynna and won legendary status as the girl who performed a self-possessed metamorphosis in front of what has historically been one of life's most unforgiving group of critics: adolescents. The moral of Chynna's tale? It is never too late (or too early) to give yourself a new identity. If there are feats you wish to accomplish in life that seem to be too out of character for your current name, perhaps it's time to give yourself a boost with an alter ego.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Tap into the buried talents you'd like to bring to the surface. In Latin, alter ego means "the second I" or "the other I." Thus, by naming our alter ego we breathe life into those parts of ourselves that we would like to expand and move to the forefront.
2. Take a hint from the pros. It's common for actors and musicians to create alter egos with a stage name. A stage name can help performers ease nerves and portray a persona with ease. It also turns clumsy or forgettable names into phonetic gems that roll off the tongue and stick in the mind. Robert Allen Zimmerman created Bob Dylan; Erica Wright changed to Erykah Badu; Alecia Moore chose Pink; Paul David Hewson decided on Bono Vox and Vickie Lynn Hogan became Anna Nicole Smith. Think of your alter ego as the stage name for your life.
3. Get emotional. Your alter ego can be silly or serious, spiritual or secular, obscure or obvious. It can represent a complete overhaul of your life, or just offer a self-esteem boost when you need it. Whatever assistance you need from your alter ego, make sure the name you choose stirs the right emotions. Hip hop star James Todd Smith built a compliment into his alter ego name when he dubbed himself Ladies Love Cool James or LL Cool J.
4. Develop a character. When I was 24, I ended a romantic relationship that I had been in for six years. I hadn't dated since high school (if you can even call what we did then dating) and as a newly single young woman the prospect of meeting new guys was both exciting and terrifying. I was shy and awkward and unsure how to go about it all. So to ease myself into the dating waters, I created a character who was beautiful, confident, sassy, flirty and fearless. I named her Ella. Whenever I found myself tongue-tied or in need of dating direction, I would ask myself, "What would Ella do?" Since I had made up an entire persona around my alter ego, this question almost always gave me the clarity and confidence I needed.
5. Celebrate. Naming ceremonies are common in many cultures and religions. Welcome your alter ego to the world by lighting a candle, cooking dinner, reciting a poem, dancing on a bar top. Invite loved ones or do it alone. My ceremony included adding Ella to my outgoing voicemail message: “You’ve reached the home of your favorite girls, Amanda and Ella.”
6. Dress the part. My friend Jen bought a huge blonde wig that she wears out to the clubs whenever she needs a break from her stressful, yet slightly mundane job. Whenever she wears that wig, she is no longer Jen the tax attorney, but Juliet the poet and part time strip aerobics instructor. My friend Allan wears solid black whenever we go mountain biking. He playfully refers to himself in the third person as the biking ninja (who he has named Crouching Cougar Badass Biker) and he's unstoppable on technical climbs. As soon as my friend Alex bought himself a new pair of fancy dancing shoes, his swing dance skills shot to a new level, and when my girlfriend Karen wears her knee-high mauve boots, she walks like she owns the world.
7. Ignore naysayers. If you choose to announce your alter ego to the world, be prepared that some people will laugh, critique your name choice and potentially call you a crazy eccentric pain in the ass. Ignore them. They are boring and unimaginative.
8. Bid farewell when the time is right. My alter ego Ella got me through a rough breakup and became the muse of my mid and late 20s. I no longer need her, so I encouraged her to chase the man of her dreams to Argentina where she now spends her time surfing and dancing the tango.

Tips & Warnings

• They say "you are what you eat." Well you’re also what you call yourself. While you can’t choose your family or your skin color or your height, you can choose your name.
• If the name you choose doesn't resonate down to your bones, it's not the right name for you.