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The Alter Ego exercise
Try an interactive alter ego exercise: choose a real-life situation, explore qualities you want to practise, and leave with one small action to try.
A small rehearsal · about 3 minutes
You can practise a quality before it feels natural.
Choose one ordinary moment, imagine a version of you with a little more of the quality you need, and make a 1% plan. You can use a nickname, a role, or leave the name blank.
Your answers stay on this page. Nothing is saved or sent. Copying or downloading the plan is your choice.
Your 1% plan
- The moment
- The quality I’m practising
- A line to come back to
- One small action
What is an alter ego exercise?
Here, an alter ego is a name for a quality you want to practise. Imagine “The Clear One” answering a request: they can pause, notice what they can offer, and say one honest sentence. The point is to rehearse that action in a situation from your own life.
The idea behind it
Psychologists use the term self-distancing for taking a little perspective on your experience. Research by Ethan Kross and colleagues found that using your own name or non-first-person language during reflection could affect responses to social stress. This exercise borrows that perspective-taking idea; this particular Alter Ego activity has not been clinically validated.
Source: Kross et al. (2014), Self-talk as a regulatory mechanism: how you do it matters.
A worked example
You are asked to take on something you do not have time for. You choose “setting a boundary” and “clarity”. Your alter ego is “The Clear One”. Their line is: “I can care and still say what I can offer.” Your 1% step is to write one sentence before replying: “I can help for 20 minutes on Friday.”
Do I need to invent a different personality?
No. A simple role such as “The Steady One” is enough. Use it as a reminder of one quality you want to practise.
Is this a personality test?
No. There is no score or personality result. It is a short self-reflection and planning exercise.
Are my answers stored?
No. The exercise keeps the current answers on this page and does not send them anywhere. Refreshing or choosing “Start again” clears the exercise. A plan you choose to copy or download remains wherever you save it on your device.