Have You Thanked Your Role Models?

Today is the 5-year anniversary of my blog. I’m surprised I have kept it up for this long. But it is more surprising that I even started. I had been following research in the new field of positive psychology and became convinced that creating more positive organizations would boost employee success and well-being. I thought blogging would be a great way to share my ideas. But I was nervous. Would anyone read what I wrote? Would they be interested in what I had to say? I was especially worried about adding more work to my already packed schedule. Could I do it?

Around that time I had lunch with Michele Miller. Our mutual friend Molly connected us because she thought we had common interests. Over lunch Michele, a marketing expert, told me about her experience blogging at wonderbranding.com. It was her enthusiasm that finally persuaded me to start blogging. I haven’t seen Michele since, but I am grateful to her for being a role model. I realized that if she could do it, I could too. Michele has no idea about the impact she has had in my career, so I am thanking her today.

While I’m at it, I’d also like to express my gratitude to other role models who have inspired and encouraged me throughout my career. Isabel Gutiérrez hired me for my first job as a professor in Madrid. I watched her as she managed to combine her demanding professional roles with motherhood and it gave me hope that I could do the same. Leanne Atwater later hired me at Arizona State. As a professor, dean, journal editor, and mother, she also served as a wonderful example of a successful female academic. Then Nance Lucas invited me to join Mason’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being as a Senior Scholar. Her positivity, vision, and ability to bring diverse people together to make a difference inspire everyone around her.

There are many others who have also positively influenced my career. I am grateful to you all! What about you? I encourage you to think back on your path and to note those who have served as role models along the way. I’m sure you, too, will find many to whom you are thankful. Why not let them know?