Role Models
Without sounding like an old fart, it seems as though there may be less role models now than there were before. And, as I consider that, I disagree with myself and qualify my assertion that the quality of role models has significantly shifted.
I find a lot of people don’t spend time thinking about what, exactly, a role model is. There are certain terms we toss around without actually considering the specifics of their meanings and I believe this to be one of those. So, first, what does it mean to have or be a role model?
The most useful definition of a role model that I’ve come to use is this: a character or characteristic of a person who embodies who and how we wish to be in a specific context.
Since considering what a “role model” means, I’ve taken the time to be more deliberate and conscious about choosing role models. I have role models for business owners, husbands, fathers, men, women, rock climbers, etc.
Where I’ve found the concept of a role model to be most useful is when I recognize a specific trait possessed by someone I admire. I then consider where I would like to have that trait. I then place that person, in that context, as a role model.
An example of one of my role models is a friend’s dad and how he is as a husband and father. This contrasts with another friend’s dad who’s a different kind of husband and father role model. They each hold their roles as husbands and fathers very differently, yet I hold both as role models for myself in different kinds of situations.
Since being more deliberate and conscious of choosing role models that embody who I want to become or how I wish to produce results, I’ve found myself making more significant progress in my own personal change. It’s as though a role model provides a tangible outcome of who I’m able to be, allowing me to more clearly work toward embodying those characteristics.