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Role models are everywhere. Some are worthy of the term, others are thrust into the role for whatever reason and are not worthy of emulation by any stretch of the imagination. Yet it is human nature for all of us to seek out role models. We all want to see ourselves reflected in the faces of others who are successful and "just like us".
Think of some pivotal moments in history where a whole new world opened up for a certain segment of the population just because they could finally see someone "just like them" out there in the world succeeding. Consider Obama being the first black President. Remember the day Billie Jean King won "The Battle of the Sexes" and women athletes everywhere breathed a sigh of "I told you so" and celebration at the same time? How about when Ellen Degeneres came out on national television? The list can go on and on, but what holds true is that sudden moment of realization that "there are other people like me" and "if they can succeed maybe so can I."
Role models can be great for your career or business. Finding successful people you admire and respect and that are successful in the way you wish to be can help you tap into that greatness within you. After all if there is one thing that rings clear from my training to do shadow work as a coach is that when we see something we admire in someone else it is just a reflection of our own light shadows, those positive aspects of ourselves that we haven't yet acknowledged or embraced.
Paradox of Reality has this excellent post "7 Ways Role Models Influence Your Success". I love her intro:
Just as water moulds it way into rock, the people we encounter leave their mark on the bedrock of our world too.
As you think of areas in your life that have been influenced or shaped by others, it can seem as if the enriching encounters happen more by luck and good fortune.
When luck is an attitude, you control the influences entering your life. You can cherry pick just the right kind of positive influence on your experiences, actions and thoughts.
The seven ways she presents are really thought-provoking and an excellent discourse on the ways we choose and are influenced by role models. The fact that you will never be your role model is an excellent take away point. I can't tell you how many times growing up and into early adulthood that I would have a role model in my life, put them on a pedestal, and then have it come crashing down around me when -- drum roll -- I realized they were human too. That's the lesson that took me longer than I'd like to admit to learn. Everyone is just human. All those spiritual gurus? Yep, just human too. Celebrities? Once again, just human beings and often even more internally tortured than your average bear because of their status. That super successful business person? Alas, they too are just human too.
Whether we like it or not, this whole role model awestruck thing comes at us from the time we are young girls. We all want someone to look up to. In this post about role models for girls, Between us Girls talks about both the wanted and unwanted role models that pop up in a young girls life.
Too often the message girls get is that they need to be better than they are - prettier, sexier, skinnier, more popular. Somewhere in early adolescence, girls who once followed their hearts and believed they could do, or be, anything, get derailed. They begin to doubt themselves and to try to become what they think they're supposed to be rather than who they want to be.
To help them to stay true to themselves, as parents we have to help them to see their own value as individuals and to provide them with role models that show them how it's done. Whether it's musicians, poets, politicians or a fictional child-spy, girls and women who choose to be who they are and to be proud of it can inspire our daughters to do the same.
Dare I say that this conundrum does not end after you cruise through puberty and become
