If you’ve ever stepped onto the field of competition and been distracted by your own thoughts. You’re not alone. Thousands of amateur athletes and pro athletes battle the same thing daily.

That nasty little inner critic in your head that causes you to worry about what other people think of you, stress about making mistakes or feel anxious about impressing other people can spiral out of control and cause you to just plain suck.

(And, Yes. Sucking is a technical sports term )

The confidence-sucking little critic in your head that can seemingly never stop putting you down, is actually there to protect you. Protect you by keeping you in a safe comfort zone where you won’t get hurt. The problem is, people that strive to achieve great things need to constantly be growing and expanding into new and better versions of themselves. And staying in a comfort zone, won’t help!

Now, this is where Beyonce can help you…

Keep reading to learn more about Sasha Fierce…

I have no idea whether or not you’re a fan of her, and frankly it doesn’t matter. What can’t be ignored is her success despite being a painfully shy person in a world where shyness won’t get you anywhere.  Yikes!  She also has trouble with stage fright.  Double Yikes!  Now, having a fear of performing in front of others when you’re an entertainer is NOT helpful.

You might say, “Are you kidding me! I’ve seen videos of Beyonce and she doesn’t look shy at all on stage in her skimpy outfits and provocative dancing!”

And, that’s where you’re wrong. You see, that person on stage isn’t Beyonce at all, it’s her alter ego—Sasha Fierce. Here’s how Beyonce describes it:

“I have someone else that takes over when it’s time for me to work and when I’m on stage, this alter ego that I’ve created that kind of protects me and who I really am. Sasha Fierce is the fun, more sensual, more aggressive, more outspoken side and more glamorous side that comes out when I’m working and when I’m on the stage.”

Of course, the singer created her alter ego Sasha Fierce in an effort to separate her own shy personality from her stage persona and give herself the courage to be free and sexy while performing. Now, I’m pretty sure you don’t feel the need to be sexy while performing your sport. But, I’ll bet you’d love to have the feeling of being free and (insert any other descriptor) while you’re performing.

On Day 36 of The Champions Challenge I go into great detail about how to do this, and examples of great athletes I’ve met, spoken to or read about that have used alter ego’s to feel free to perform in competition.

Beyonce, has now gotten to the point where she no longer has stage fright or a fear of performing, so she doesn’t need ‘Sasha Fierce’ anymore. But, if it wasn’t for that alter-ego she probably never would’ve achieved the level of success with the shy Beyonce Knowles, that’s her authentic personality.

Creating an alter ego for performance is probably the least talked about or known strategy that many of the greatest athletes have used. It’s helped them rise to the level of success, they’ve enjoyed. So if you battle with not performing your best, because of an inner critic keeping you down. You might want to develop an alter ego for yourself, so you’re free to explore your limits in competition!