The Importance of Models of Excellence
The sad news today that the “King of Golf” Arnold Palmer died today, made me consider the importance of models of excellence. Now the concept of models of excellence comes primarily from NLP. When Bandler and Grinder developed the model they looked for “models of excellence” that they could learn from. These original models were Milton Erickson, Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir and Gregory Bateson. From their core beliefs and concepts, NLP was created.
In the case of Palmer, he was a model of sportsmanship and grace and what it was to be a gentleman. He represented his sport, but actually did far more than that. He was a face that people recognised, whether or not you were a fan of golf. For many who came after him, Palmer was the template as to what a professional athlete should be.
We have a tendency to build people up with the real goal as to bring them down. Which seems to me to be a fatal flaw in our sociological mental health. To develop in a healthy way we need heroes, and whilst some will let us down due to their human frailties, it surely is right that we have people who we aspire to emulate. Take a moment today and think about someone who has inspired you, and consider how much richer your life is because of that person’s influence.
