Mirror Thinking

Maya Angelou is one of my she-roes. She’s what I call an aspirational role-model, someone we’re unlikely to ever meet but who inspires us from a distance. In Maya Angelou’s case she’s sadly no longer with us, but even when our role model is someone who is alive, who we admire and look up to they may not be a person we’ll ever meet. They show us a path to take through life, offer hope, represent voices that may otherwise not be heard. The science shows us (and not the government’s type but the real deal) that they help break down divides and create positive movement enabling those who come after them to see a way through. 

A big misnomer is that our role-models are only those we see from a far. So many influence our lives up close – our parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, sports coaches, teachers, healthcare workers and co-workers can all impact us massively. These people offer the daily influences that impact us more than we often realise. Prince Harry speaks about these calling them the ‘invisible role-models’, they are the ones who often don’t even know the positive influence they’ve had on our lives. I believe, like Angelou that they need to be recognised and celebrated. I explore this in my book Mirror Thinking – How Role Models Make Us Human which is out a month from today in the UK (Canada, USA to follow) in Waterstones, on Amazon and hopefully in some local bookstores too.

In the next few weeks I’m hoping to celebrate people far and wide, those invisible role-models in all of our lives. Please join me – more on how to come. Thank you for reading. 

#blacklivesmatter #rolemodels #nhsheroes #headstogether #mirrorthinking #heroes #sheroes #leaders