Alter Ego with Sean Mahoney, MA

Hello! Welcome to the Monkey Mind Newsletter where we provide you with the tools to be a more successful and resilient athlete and human. 

TOPIC
Alter Ego

The Alter Ego. Clark Kent has Superman, Bruce Wayne has Batman, and Peter Parker has Spider-Man. But where would these civilians be without their alter egos? If I had to guess, probably performing at a lower level and leading less purposeful lives.

The alter ego, according to its literal definition, is an alternative or secondary personality. In a performance context, it is the person/performer we strive to show up as consistently. It can also be thought of as a personification of the optimal mindset for performance. You’ve likely seen some examples, notably “Mamba” (Kobe Bryant), “Cheetah” (Tyreek Hill), “Slim Reaper” (Kevin Durant), and even “Slim Shady” (Eminem/Marshall Mathers).

The alter ego embodies the thoughts, feelings, and actions we would like to portray in given performance situations, such as how we respond to challenges and adversity, how we perform under pressure, how we behave in terms of sportsmanship and being a teammate, and countless other examples. It also embodies our individual optimal performance characteristics, including but not limited to confidence, composure, aggression, leadership, present-moment focus, etc.

A common misconception to dispel about the alter ego is that it is a separate personality from ourselves and that we should strive to change our personality in favor of the alter ego. This is not the case. The alter ego allows a performer to shift into a persona that helps them effectively respond to their particular performance environment. Performers activate their alter egos to help them effectively navigate their performance environment and optimize their performance process, without having to portray certain characteristics in life outside of performance. This allows performers to be hypercompetitive, aggressive, and ruthless (if necessary) on the playing field without allowing these characteristics to dominate their everyday life.

MENTAL PERFORMANCE TOOL
Alter Ego Response

Fully developing an alter ego is a thorough and involved process. Here is an exercise that can be quickly and easily implemented to start the process:

• Step 1: identify a key moment in performance where you find yourself struggling mentally

• Step 2: imagine how you would respond to the situation if you were showing up as your “worst self.” Write down the thoughts, feelings, and actions associated with this response:

• Thoughts: _______________________________________________________

• Feelings: ________________________________________________________

• Actions: _________________________________________________________

• Step 3: imagine how you would respond to the situation if you were showing up as your “best self” (This is your alter ego response). Write down the thoughts, feelings, and actions associated with this response:

• Thoughts: _______________________________________________________

• Feelings: ________________________________________________________

• Actions: _________________________________________________________

When you find yourself in one of these key moments during performance, recognize how you are responding. Ask yourself: “Are my thoughts, feelings, and actions more similar to my worst self or my alter ego?” This exercise will develop the awareness and ability to influence your thoughts, feelings, and actions and shift them towards that of the alter ego.

CONTRIBUTOR
Sean Mahoney, MA

Sean Mahoney is a mental performance coach who received his Master’s degree in Sport and Performance Psychology program from the University of Denver. For as long as he can remember, Sean has been fascinated by human performance and how to gain an edge over the competition. For most of his athletic career, he focused on the physical aspect of performance but neglected the mental. Because of this, he struggled with performance anxiety, focus issues, and limiting beliefs pertaining to confidence and self-doubt. His lack of focus on optimizing his mental game prevented him from reaching his full potential.

Sean’s sport career began at a young age, with his efforts eventually consolidating towards football. Sean played competitive football through most of high school, but his athletic career changed course after he suffered a serious neck injury just before his senior year of high school. The injury caused him to retire from the sport and set him on course for a long journey of injury recovery. This experience led him to realize the importance of the mental aspect of injury recovery, and ultimately the mental aspects of performance in general. Sean‘s unique life experiences have fueled him with passion and drive to help others think, feel, and perform to the highest range of their capabilities as consistently as possible.

Sean has worked with youth, amateur, and professional athletes from a wide range of sports. Sean has worked with both teams and individuals and has experience working with adaptive sports and athletes with disabilities.

Education:

• M.A. Sport & Performance Psychology, University of Denver

• B.A. Psychology, Florida Atlantic University

Websites:

• northstarmethod.com

• cepmindset.com

Current organizations:

• Northstar Performance Psych

• CEP Mindset

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