I have mentioned in previous posts that the world we live in has something to teach us, every day. This is the 30,000' view. If we were to zoom in from 30,000’ view down to the human element, what we begin to see is this. It is not the world that is teaching us, it is people. Every day, we see the interactions of others. We see parents who love each other, friends who laugh together and co-workers who respect and support each other. On the other hand, we see parents who argue in front of their children or don’t show love, we see friends who stab each other in the back and we see co-workers who are not respectful and don’t support each other.
What we often forget is that while all this is happening, we are actually teaching those who are watching. If children see their parents fight or argue. They are learning to argue and fight and they will mimic you. Children learn aggression from parents who don’t even realize it. What you accept, be it arguing, loving each other, giving to those less fortunate or anything else, you are teaching others and not always in a good way. Maybe you are a manager who comes in late every day, what you are teaching is that it is ok to be late OR maybe you allow staff to do things which are not in the best interest of the mission/vision/values and instead of having a crucial conversation, you let it go. This too is teaching other staff members that behavior is appropriate when in fact, it is not. Some label this Social Learning Theory and others have dubbed it Observational Learning.
So I ask you, when you go about your day.. work or home, do you think about those who are watching you who may possibly mimic you? Would the actions you are displaying be appropriate for someone else to do? I find this a rather strong measuring stick. Remember, someone is always watching… and learning.. do your best to model appropriately. For your children? Be the model of the person you want them to be. In the end.. they will be you!
I leave you with this video, I have posted this before in a previous blog, can you tell I love it?