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10 Ways to be a Positive Role Model

By Operation Meditation

A mentor serves as an objective advisor and confidant for the mentee. A positive role model is someone others want to emulate, imitate, and follow. A role model is not a “molder of clay” exactly, but someone who others turn to for a source of inspiration. Good role models exercise caution when suggesting things that could affect someone’s life. A mentor is one who has reached professional success, experienced personal satisfaction, and has a true interest in less experienced individuals. While not every mentor or role model possesses every positive characteristic, there are ways you can be a positive role model for your children, the youth you sponsor, and your community members.

1. Develop Positive Choice-Making

Always have in the back of your mind that eyes are watching you and ears are listening to you. Your choices not only impact you, but also the children or juniors who regard you as their superhero. As a positive role model, you should make good choices and put them into action yourself.

2. Apologize and Admit to Mistakes

Not everyone is right all the time. Because you could occasionally err or make a bad choice, let those attentive to you understand that you must learn from these mistakes. Make a plan to correct the error and show your followers that it is alright to make a mistake. Also, apologize for the mistake. Admission to error is the first step in repair of the damage.

3. Think Out Loud

Show your followers that you are trying to work through a problem by talking out loud. Weigh the pros and cons of the given situation as you come to your decision. This process shows positive decision making skills. An effective role model not only shows someone which decision is best, but how they came to this conclusion.

4. Show Respect

Respect everyone and anyone. While you may be the mentor, understand that others’ attitudes and contributions are valuable. Don’t walk on others to get ahead, avoid taking others for granted, and show gratitude for others. Teaching respect is one of the best lessons for your mentees.

5. Follow Through

If you want your juniors to stick with their commitments, demonstrate how this. Follow through with promises every time. This means finish what you start, be on time, never quit, and keep your word. A successful role mode teaches others that it can and will be done.

6. Demonstrate Confidence

To ensure your followers develop the necessary confidence to be successful, you must demonstrate confidence yourself. Be proud of the person you’ve become and let your juniors know that you can always improve. Others should see that you don’t lose confidence easily.

7. Deal with Stress

Because stress, anxiety, and discontentment can sneak up on anyone, a good role model relieves stress by exercise and meditation. Meditation is a tool that allows your mind to be free from everything, if only for a short time. This stress reliever has psychological benefits that your mentees need. Many meditate to promote brain function, as well as to be well-rounded and healthy. For you to be effective for your mentees, you must be in optimum health and stress-free.

8. Share your Values

Let your followers know what you stand for and how you stand on things like drugs, tobacco, premarital sex, and alcohol. Having a religious value system promotes wellness and avoidance of deviant behavior.

9. Be Independent

The best way to teach independence is to be independent yourself. Show your juniors that it is alright not to have the latest and greatest. Teach that the value of a person does not depend on material possessions.

10. Show Your Love

Let your followers know that you care enough to teach and lead them. You can show love verbally, with facial gestures, and through physical contact. Everyone needs a hug once in a while.

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