Society and popular culture puts a lot of pressure on us to “be yourself.” There are a lot of presumptions that go into quippy catch phrases like this, not the least of which is that we have the slightest idea of what we want ourselves to be. Thankfully, we have the capability and capacity to observe and interact with other people to get a better idea of what we want to be.
I have had this idea rolling around in my head over the past few months that if we see someone else living in a way that we respect and desire for ourselves we can simply copy their behaviors. I don’t know why, but this morning I finally connected the dots and realized I was thinking about identifying and selecting role models.
In its original context, the term role model was used to describe people who influenced others based on their behaviors and achievements. They did great things and lived inspiring lives. I grew up in the US during the 1980’s and 1990’s so some of the role models of my youth included athletes like Micheal Jordan, Bo Jackson, and Tony Hawk. Leaders like Ronald Reagan. Artists and musicians like Stan Lee, Kevin Smith, and Kurt Cobain. I looked up to Astronauts, fighter pilots, and adventure seekers. Sounds pretty standard when I think about it based on my upbringing.
There were also many role models in my life that weren’t celebrities. My Science teacher Greg Domeyer and his love of computers… also his playful admonishments for getting something wrong in class or answering questions correctly “for a red hot.” My Scout Master Dee Fairbanks who expected us to lead and manage the troop but also showed us how to do it effectively. Frank Gomez who packed more energy and enthusiasm into life than anyone else I remember from those days. My Uncle Calvin who seemed to always be working harder than anyone else I knew. Emil Ruby who survived a horrific motorcycle accident and showed us all what resilience was. June Trask was my theater teacher and literally set the stage for many of us to emerge from awkward teenagers to young adults… even if we had to act our way through it. Denis Burnam and Scott Moss, my basketball and football coaches that set high standards of performance and held us to them while also showing their own passion and drive to work hard in order to win.
I could go on, but I want to get to my overall point. We learn who we want to be by observing the lives and actions of others and then making choices to model their behaviors. I am grateful to have had some amazing role models throughout my life and would challenge each of you to take a few minutes and reflect on who was influential enough in your life for you to model yourself after them.
