A question on a role-playing game forum asked, “How do I make a character different from myself? I feel like I keep bleeding into the characters I play.”

Let’s be clear, any character you create and play must come from you. It follows, then, that if you want a character who contrasts from you significantly, and you seem to only play yourself, you need to grow as a person.

This fundamental truth is one of the main reasons I started this blog. I truly believe by attempting to be different, we can become better, more interesting people. We can become more by exploring through imaginative role-play, perspective taking, and creative introspection. Which is so frickin’ cool.

Materials like the Brené Brown values list can inform both ourselves and our characters. Take a look. Think about what values you care about. Then think about how your character has a different view than you. Think about how that person’s worldview is different, how their decisions differ from yours.

Build a room in your mind palace for a unique, interesting person who you could have been, and integrate those experiences into yourself to become more than you could have been otherwise.