Don’t worry about imitating those you admire…you set yourself up for limited expectations and frustration. You can never do things exactly as someone else, it’s great to admire a person, but you have to do things YOUR way…do not try to fit yourself into a mold that you are not comfortable with. You will experience the most success when you are true to yourself and the qualities that make you unique.
It’s important to find mentors who can teach and guide you, but remember that you are you; don’t try to be something that you’re not. People will appreciate your authenticity, and the qualities that you bring to the table.
I remember a long time ago when I was going through college, I had this professor that I thought was the coolest prof ever. Her class was awesome and the materials and her preparation were clearly evident. Now she was considered an adjunct and her day job was as a Special Education Coordinator for a school district. I wanted to be her (or so I thought), so I stayed after class, put forth extra effort in all my assignments and tried to emulate her style. At some point in the semester, I had the opportunity to shadow this professor and I couldn’t wait.
Well I learned an incredible amount of info from her and I also learned that I couldn’t imitate her. I’m a very right brain person; I see the big picture and am not very analytical (I do not enjoy analyzing data at all). I’m very creative and imaginative, have a probably overdeveloped sense of humor, and to my surprise this professor did not. She had very different qualities in the way she approached problems and analyzing them then I did. I would point out situations that I thought were very funny, but she did not see the humor, which was perfectly fine.
My point here is that in getting to know her, I learned to incorporate some of her qualities that I admired and that worked for me, but realized that I needed to be true to my natural personality and couldn’t be exactly like her.
Do not lose your sense of who you are in trying to be something or someone that you’re not. Listen and learn from your mentors, but remember that to be the best you is to stay YOU!
All the best…
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