The best role model

What is a role model? A role model is a person that has a trait or collection of traits that we admire. They have in their life things that we would like to have in our own.

Some of the most obvious examples of role models would be celebrities, and wealthy people. Most of us would like to have enough money to be able to have the freedom to do what we want when we want. Rich people have that so we admire, desire and in some ways pay homage to them. Likewise sports icons are the best at what they do. We want to be like them so we dress like them, style our hair like they do and do what we can to be as much like them as possible, even if we aren't so good at the thing we actually admire them for.

The same thing happens with movie stars. We see traits in either the actor themselves or the characters that they portray that we want and we strive to be just like them in one or more ways. Musicians are the same way. There is something about your favorite musician that you envy. It might be their charismatic personality, an awesome voice, or simply their record sales, but there is something about them that you wish was in your life.

There are more different role models than there are enviable traits to emulate. In fact, in some way, every person is a role model for at least one other person. Whether you are a sibling, parent, teacher, friend, lover,confidante, or co-worker, other people look up to you, maybe in one way, perhaps in many.

This is especially so where children are concerned. They are like little sponges that absorb everything they see and hear. Even if they do not understand what is going on. What they see and hear becomes part of what they believe is normal and right.They often have no frame of reference to compare a person's actions to.

Unless you are completely alone, all the time, other people interact with you and see what kind of person you are by the things that you say and do. We show others by what we say and do and how we go about doing it what we think is right and what we think is wrong. The things that we do and the things that we put up with show others what is right and acceptable to do. And the things that we do not do and that we will not put up with are the things that we are showing others, just by our way of being, is wrong and not acceptable.

We need to be on our best behavior all the time. No that's not quite right. We need to be our best behaviors, all the time. The former statement implies that it is just an act. The latter shows that our behavior is a reflection of who we are.

The reason we need to be the very best role models we can possibly be is two-fold. First, always doing your best, is the only way to make sure that you get the most and the best out of life. And second, it leads all of the people that are going to follow you, whether you want them to or not, down the right path.