One of the basic motifs of superhero stories is the importance of a double life.

When the hero puts on their costume, they are a courageous individual who rushes into the battle to save lives. But in order to conceal their true identity, they adopt a mild-mannered persona that is the total opposite of their superhero personality.

Batman is secretly Bruce Wayne, an aloof billionaire playboy.

Susan Storm of the Fantastic Four is secretly a scientist.

Spider-Man is secretly Peter Parker, a nerdy newspaper reporter.

Superman is secretly Clark Kent, another nerdy newspaper reporter.

Wonder Woman is secretly Diana Prince, an ambassador to the United Nations.

Superheroes aren’t the only ones who live double lives. We writers can develop an alter-ego if we’re not careful.

It’s easy to appear bold and brave on the page… but how do you handle the challenges of real life? Let me ask you a few tough questions:

Are you dealing with your personal problems head-on, or are you avoiding them?

Do you engage in conversations about hard things, or do you shut down when you’re confronted by a truth you don’t want to hear?

Would the people who know you best describe you as brave? Focused? Determined? Disciplined? Or would they say you’re aloof, timid, or uncaring?

It’s hard to face your real-life problems instead of running away from them. And it’s easy to turn to substance abuse or other unhealthy patterns as you try to escape from reality.

Henry David Thoreau said, “How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”

Just because you’re a writer, it doesn’t give you the license to check out of real life. You need to show up on the stage of life where the action is happening.

Nobody is perfect. But your writing should reflect the person you are trying to become—bold, brave, and above all, a true-life superhero to the people you love the most.

Today’s Challenge: Think about the past twenty-four hours. What did you do that was brave, bold, or fearless?