I Didn’t Ask To Be A Role Model

I Didn’t Ask to Be a Role Model

You should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1

John Stallworth was one of my role models. When I joined the Pittsburgh Steelers, I was still just a kid—a good guy who had been raised right but who was trying to learn my way around an unfamiliar situation. John had already been there three years and would go on to be a four-time Super Bowl champion, be named to four Pro Bowls, and become a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And he was (and still is) an outstanding person. Whenever practice was over, he would head home to be with his wife and family. He was friendly, engaging, and faithful to his commitments. As a young player susceptible to peer pressure, I needed someone like him to look up to.

I found myself wanting the kind of life John had—a stable home life with plenty of interests outside of football. John never preached or talked down to people who had other lifestyles; he just lived his life for others to observe. And that’s how being a role model works. You don’t choose to be one. You just are. People look up to you not because you ask them to but because you live in a way that attracts their attention.

Everyone is a role model to someone, whether for good or bad. We all have influence. We may not want to be or feel that we’re worthy of role-model status, but people may be watching and following our examples when we aren’t aware they are doing it. We may think our behavior affects only ourselves, but that’s not how life works. We don’t choose to be role models, we just are. People look up to us not because we ask them to but because we live in a way that attracts their attention.

Everyone is a role model to someone, whether for good or bad. We all have influence. We may not want to be or may not feel that we’re worthy of role-model status, but people may be watching and following our examples when we aren’t aware they are doing it. We may think our behavior affects only ourselves, but that’s not how life works. We have family, friends, and coworkers who see what we do and are influenced by it. Our examples make a difference.

Since you can’t help being an example to others, why not strive to be a good one? Understand your influence and use it wisely. Someone may be watching.

Uncommon Key > What others see in you will make a difference, one way or another. Make it a positive difference today.