You probably have role models, people you admire and want to learn from. They can be your friends and family members or celebrities and notorious figures from history. They are people who inspire you. But what if you could also become a role model? It would allow you to share your values with other, leave a positive impact on the world, and also create an experience that goes beyond your life and ripples into other people’s. Here is how you can become a role model.
Be authentic
The first important thing to keep in mind is that you have to be true to yourself and do what you are passionate about. It’s very hard to succeed when you dedicate most of your time to things that interest you little or when you are constantly pushing yourself to put up a front. That takes energy.
Be authentic. Speak your mind (though don’t forget about tact) and focus your efforts on the things that truly matter. People are drawn to those who love what they do, and you are far more likely to actually become a role model.
Show competence
You need to master your area. A role model needs to be someone who is a true expert in what they do and has proof of what they have achieved. This doesn’t mean you need to be a Nobel prize winner or the top leader of your field. But it does mean that you need to have the competence to back up your advice.
This means that you need to commit to lifelong learning and improvement. Take opportunities to develop your skills and seek out courses, workshops, and other situations when you get the chance to improve.
Learning and staying on top is important to become a role model, as it builds your competence and shows you as a master in your field, whatever this might be.
Be a mentor
One thing that makes people into role models is being willing to share their know-how and talk about their journey. You might be able to become a role model directly by becoming a mentor and bringing a person along to benefit from your expertise. But there are other ways to be a mentor.
Many people who are role models open up about their journey. They talk honestly about what was easy and what was hard, what helped and hindered them. They point out the things they have learned. Mentors can make videos or podcasts, do interviews, write books, or find other avenues to share their knowledge with people everywhere.
Be consistent with your values
Another important characteristic that a role model has is following their values. We can see how hard a person can fall when they break one of their cardinal values, so, in addition to being authentic, you need to follow your values.
The first step is to identify what are your core values and how you show them in your work. If you value family, do you put family first? If you care about health, are you proving that in the way you work or how you schedule your day? To be a role model, you need to live your values, which will bring people closer to you and help your words feel true.
Be vulnerable, to a degree
A role model is not somebody who appears perfect, because nobody can actually be perfect. Those who try to portray perfection are doomed to fail sooner or later. A role model can be somebody who shows that they struggle and opens up about the issues that they face in their lives.
You might consider the things that you want to share with others. It is useful to showcase some of your mistakes, your struggles, or obstacles that have held you back. If you do so honestly, it is sure to make you more relatable. However, there is also information that might feel to sensitive, and it’s fine to keep it to yourself. Vulnerability can help you appear more approachable and relatable, which makes it more likely that people will view you as a role model.
Overall, becoming a role model often comes as a side effect of achieving success in developing your true potential. Go for your goals, and you will often see that others want to follow in your footsteps.
