Importance of Role Model on Self Development

Much of what you become in life depends on whom you choose to admire and copy.

Warren Buffet

Much of today’s inspiration is on the importance of role model in your life. This article touches on the impact of choosing the right role model for you and highlights the necessary consciousness to choose one.

Before delving into the details, let me ask three simple questions:

• How did you choose your role model?
• Do they live up to the standards you hold?
• Do they really deserve to be your role model?

I don’t want to be wasting your time on the importance of choosing the right role model. I am sure you are smarter than that. But I do want to talk about the necessity of a good one and your power in choosing or removing them from your life. In short, this article is going to be focused on you rather than the role model.

How did you choose your role model?

After all, you don’t want to be copying everyone you see. They have to be special in some way to be your role model. I want to know your reasons for choosing your role model. It might be an inspiration you derive from them, maybe their story which you can relate to or perhaps they are famous. There are multiple reasons for choosing a role model and yours is very important because you are letting someone influence you – 4 Types of Mentors to build your Startup

What do you look for in a role model?

Most of our lives are spent on letting others influence us. Sometimes, it is the society, our parents – people we network with and so on. The importance of role model is quite a special one – they have an influence which none of these have. And the beauty is – these role models can embody the standard and values you want to see in them.

Before settling on a role model – I would like you to think about their personality, influence and which characteristics you want to embody.

Importance of Role Model and Your Standards

Once again, I want to reiterate – this article is about you – not your role model. It is more about the influence this role model can have on you and to an extent developing a consciousness to ignore the facets you don’t like about them. After all, no one has to be perfect!

The key question I want to ask here is: What are your standards and values?

The choice of a role model is quite key and if they have the ability to influence you, they better live up to the standards and values you hold for them. If not, they are looking to be replaced.

If you look around, most of our decisions about these things happen rather unconsciously. They are intuitive and sometimes even based on aspects which we admire. But that doesn’t mean you have to succumb to everything you see. Our role models can have flaws in them.

You don’t have to love your role model for everything they do. Someone can be a role model just because they sing well and have worked hard for it. Their social and personal life need not be an influencer for you. The importance of role model is more in what you decide to copy from them.

Do they still deserve to be your idol?

This is rather an ongoing question. Choosing a role model need not be a be all and end all. Your role models can change on a consistent basis and for specific values only.

You may want to copy someone for their financial astuteness, someone else for empathy, another for grit and so on. In the end, these role models are values and standard you want to live by.

These role models represent a character or a value side of you. You cannot let some random person fill in this role – they ought to earn this place. The presence of this role model is to enhance the quality of your life and ensure that you keep pushing your standards to a higher value.

The role model cannot act as an influencer to bring you down – their job is to elevate you. If the role model is not doing that – the importance of role model is on a steady decline and maybe you will need to find someone else.

With that, I leave you with the lovely quote from Warren Buffet to influence some thoughts:

Much of what you become in life depends on whom you choose to admire and copy.

Warren Buffet (Source:)