What do we mean by Success – Blog 21: Your Role Models?

A Role Model is someone who we look up to in our life. They are someone who we aspire to be, someone whose behaviour we hope to copy, someone we aim to emulate in our lives. Everybody has had, or still has, a Role Model in their life, right? So if this is the case, then can we use our Role Models as a determining factor to base our success in life on?

This is what we will be exploring in today’s “What do we mean by Success?” blog!

Hello and Welcome to Sweeney’s Blogs!

Today’s blog is the 21st blog in the “What do we mean by Success?” series, which is going to be tailored around Role Models and if they have any effect on our ‘Success’ in life. In the blog, we are going to be looking at what sorts of Role Models people have, traits that make up a good Role Model, the relationship between Role Models and Success & then if we can ever fairly base one’s Success off of the Role Models they have in life.

When we mention the words Role Model, it is very common for people to associate different people in their life with the term. As we go through life, who we see as a Role Model can fluctuate greatly. This is all down to the different kinds of Role Model that we can have. Role Models can stem from a large array of different places you see, some people can have Academic Role Models, Celebrity Role Models, Sporting Role Models, the list goes on.

Is there a right answer for who you choose to be a Role Model? Well surely that all comes down to who you are, as well as who you want to be, as a person. Lots of people choose to have their parents as Role Models, some people look to their Teachers, others to their Football Coaches and in all honesty there is no ‘one size fits all’ kind of answer to this part of life.

When you look at a Role Model, the only question you need to ask is why do you lookup to them? What qualities make them a good Role Model, not just in a general sense, but for you?

I came across an article by Seedlings, when researching for today’s blog, that broke down some of the common traits that we look for in a good Role Model. I am going to be looking at some of those traits in just a minute, but it is worth mentioning that there is a difference between a good and a bad Role Model.

Today’s blog is going to look more heavily on the good Role Model angle, but I could have just as easily done a blog on bad Role Models and their affects on what we see as “Success” and “Failure”. In saying this, it all goes back to a point that I made earlier on, who am I to say whether someone is a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ Role Model, it is all down to what you think as a person, is it not?

Going back to the question at hand, let’s take a look at some of the qualities that Seedlings have used to describe a good Role Model.

The first trait, or characteristic, that they mention is “morals”. Your Morality refers to your ability to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong. What Seedlings bring up is that good Role Models support worthwhile causes, that they help, support and believe in processes which develop themselves, as well as others, and that they “behave ethically and demonstrate honesty” in their life.

Seedlings also mention 2 very important qualities to look for in a Role Model, hardworking and creativity. When we commonly look for a Role Model, we look for someone who can help us better ourselves. We choose someone who is or has achieved something in their lifetime. Someone who has put the work in to fulfil a goal that they hard. We do not look for someone who sits around and waits for things to be done for them, we look for hard workers, who are willing to put in the time.

As well as the ability to work hard, creativity is also key. Creativity sparks passion and interest from others. People who create a new way of thinking, living or even a new show to watch can be seen as Role Models by so many. Take a look at Adam Peaty, the British Competitive Swimmer, who completely revolutionised the way that Breaststroke is taught to swimmers.

Many people look to Adam Peaty as a Role Model, I even do myself, as his sheer skill at Swimming is absolutely incredible. He has beaten record after record and continues to improve. He swims Breaststroke in a very creative way, focusing on the scull and pull of the arms, which has completely changed the game.

I could go on and on about the different qualities that help make up a good Role Model, but all that is going to do is distract us from the main theme of the blog, the relationship between Role Models and Success. For me, I do have a lot of Role Models, some are more general such as my family, teachers and lecturers, but then some reach out further like people I have in m LinkedIn group, I look to Michael Phelps as a Role model, David Attenborough, Deshauna Barber, the list goes on.

So, the relationship between Success and Role Models, do both terms coincide with each other?

Personally, I believe that Success & Role Models are closely linked, but that is only when we take action and try to develop ourselves. If we have Role Models and just do nothing about it, then the question rises, what is the point in having them in the first place?

I have seen Michael Phelps as a Role model since the first time I saw him swim in the 2005 World Championships. Watching him swim made me want to be better and led to be trying more in my swimming lessons. I took action to develop myself, as a result of having Michael Phelps as a Role Model. I bettered myself after watching him swim, I developed myself, which to me is one of the main aspects of Success.

In this instance there was a very visible relationship between Role Models and Success, as Michael Phelps inspired me to work harder on my swimming, which led me to practise more and more, which then led on to me swimming in a lot of competitions and winning some medals. My Role Model helped shape who I wanted to be, which was a key driving factor of Success, in this instance.

In conclusion, I believe that there is a strong relationship between Success and Role Models, but it does heavily depend on the kind of Role Models that you choose and if you take any action to better or further yourself because of them. In my opinion, the play a part in what ‘Success’ means to me, but they are not the full story, just one chapter of a bigger book. The answer as to whether Role Models are a determining factor to if you are successful or not heavily relies upon what you see as Success as the end of the day!

That’s al I wanted to talk about in today’s blog, thank you all for reading! What do you think? Do you have any role models? What makes a good Role Model to you? Do you think Role Models have an impact on your definition of Success? What does Success mean to you? Do you want to see more blogs in the “What do we mean by Success?” series? Are there any other topics you would like to see me cover? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day!

James Sweeney