Each person must live their life as a model for others.

Each person must live their life as a model for others. – Rosa Parks

Where do you think he learned that pose? He modeled it from someone. That is why I believe it’s important to be a good role model.

What does that mean?
Think about that for a moment. There are people who have famously said that they are not a role model, but they are exactly that, even if they don’t want the title.

Someone out there, someone is watching. Someone thinks you are something special. So many of us are role models, whether we want it or not. We *are* being modeled by the next generation, or others looking to learn what does and does not work.

This quote is from someone who refused to be bullied. She took a stand, even though she was sitting down. In this way, she became a model for millions of people in the USA, and to others all across the globe. The world became a better place because the example was an exceptional one.

Whether it’s your kids, the kids down the street, or your friends. Everyone is looking for someone to whom they can look up. The only question is what will they see? Will they see something good, or something less so?

Why is proper behavior important?  
People are watching, people are paying attention. Do you want to be the person they talk about as being a great example of what to do, or of what not to do? You really do have some influence, however small it might be. However, it might become very large, if the right person notices.

That person could be someone with an audience who spreads your example to many others. It might be someone who remembers what your example was at a point many years from now, and becomes famous (or infamous) because of what they end up doing.

By behaving properly, we can be someone who others model themselves after and help raise the world by a tiny bit. Or we can be someone that helps to make the world a little worse for our example. Which we will be is a choice we make with every small decision in our lives. But are we aware of what we are doing, and the impact it could have?

Where can I apply this in my life?
The movies, as usual, tend to take things to the extreme. They show an alcoholic father beating the family, and how the children often use that as their example of how a family is supposed to work. But things like that do happen in real life.

While it is rare that it is as bad as things are portrayed in the movies, it still happens. I have found myself using patterns my parents and grandparents used. Not all of them are proper, but I still find myself using them as models. Take a moment to consider who has influenced you life, who have you model yourself after?

This quote is about living a proper life, as we believe it to be. What they did was illegal, but it was also the proper and moral thing to do. She became the model for others to follow, and it began a national movement which helped a whole race take a great step towards equality.

What kind of model are you interesting in being? What are you willing to risk to do what is right and proper, moral and ethical? Are you willing to risk going to jail for your convictions? She was, and she did. That is part of what make her such an interesting and powerful role model.

How often have you taken time to consider how your decisions might impact the lives of those who are watching you? You might have thought that no one was looking, but what if a kid who looked up to you saw it? What would you think if you were the reason they got in trouble later, from modeling themselves after you?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not holding you responsible for the decisions made by someone else, but I am asking you to consider what the possible impact would be if you were an influence. I’m also not claiming that every single thing you do will leave it’s mark on someone else, but any single action could.

If we are prudent in our behavior, being proper, moral, and ethical, we should have little to fear should someone see us. The more often we do so, the better off we are, and the ripples we spread will improve the human condition, not make it worse. That, in my opinion, is a noble goal.

When people see you, will they say they want to be like you, or would they say you were a bad example? What would their parents say? Like it or not, there are people who look to you as an example of some sort. Be a good example, as often as you possibly can.

From: Twitter, @2morrowknight
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rosaparks133667.html
Photo by Sherif Salama

Happy Hundredth Birthday to Rosa Parks, born 4 February,1913