Influence

Influence

Do you ever wonder if you influence people in a bad way? Do you ever wonder if the way you act affects others negatively? I wonder if I’m the reason that kids begin to curse. Do kids get mad when I annoy them?

Around the age of 11 or 12, I came up with a motto that I could go by for the rest of my life. By watching people all day everyday, I came up with this motto, “The way I act can affect how people around me act, and the way people around me act can affect how I act.”

I sat with all my 14 year old junior high friends, talking and listening. It seemed as if every other word was a curse word. They began to influence me in a bad way. I started to curse as much as they did or even more and didn’t even realize it.

That is when I found out that the way I act can affect how people around me act, and the way people around me act can affect how I act.

I know all people can be affected in a good way, but usually they are affected negatively. Most of the time, in life, I see people affecting others in a negative way. They usually influence others by doing the wrong thing. The reason I think this is, is because it’s usually easier to do the wrong thing than doing the right.

I try to live life by this motto because it seems to help with my behavior and others behavior also. I know I can affect others. That is the reason why when I see someone doing drugs, cursing, or getting in fights, I try not to behave like them or do as they do, even though it is a hard temptation not to curse or fight.

One example of having to be a good influence is when I babysit. When I babysit I have to watch what I say and what I do so that I don’t affect the younger ones negatively. I babysit little kids all the time. Therefore, I can not be cursing or getting into trouble around them because that would influence them negatively. I could lose my babysitting job by doing the wrong thing like, cursing around little kids or misbehaving. Parents and other people look at me differently when I’m acting inappropriately. To me, that motto is a good motto. That motto has kept my life in order and I will hopefully never forget that motto. This I believe.