WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A ROLE MODEL AND A MENTOR ?

Previously, we looked at ' what you should know about your mentor'. Now we are going  to look at the difference between a Role model and a Mentor. These two words though they look alike, but they actually mean different things. Most time we tend to interchange them in our daily usage of the word mentor and role model.

Often times when we are asked who is our mentor, we tend to mention our role model and the reverse tend to be the case when we are ask who our role model is, then we mention our mentor. But this ought not to be.

I wouldn't blame for not using them correctly but at the same time you are not excused for not knowing it because ignorance they say is not an excuse. Ignorance of the law does not make one free or excuse from the law! click to read the previous. http://gconsultservices.blogspot.com/2015/07/10-things-to-know-about-your-mentor.html

For reading this article, it shows that you really want to learn, and I can assure you that before you are done reading this article you must have gotten a full knowledge and understanding of mentor and role model.

Having said that let's now look at the meaning of a mentor again for the benefit of those who didn't read the first article on 'What you should know about your mentor'. I would advise you read it.

A mentor can be seen as a person or friend who guides a less experienced person by building trust and modeling positive behaviour. In other words,  a mentor is a person you have close relationship/ contact. Someone you know and see physically and not from a distance. He is more experienced than you, it could be in your chosen career, and he is more experienced than you in that field and as such you look up to him for advice so that you can become a better person.

On the other hand, a role model is a person whose behaviour, examples, or success can be emulated by others especially by younger people. True role models are those who possess qualities that we would like to have and those who have affected us in a way that makes us want to be better people.

From the definition of a Role Model you can easily tell, that a Role Model is somebody we admire, and most times, Role Models are being admired from a distance. For instance, the person could be a celebrity in the music industry and you are always moved by the way he or she sings. 

And you would be like wao. Someday I would like to be like her, and sometimes consciously and unconsciously you start behaving like them because of your great admiration for that person, regardless of the fact that you have not met with the person physically. This also means that distance is not a barrier when it comes to Role model unlike in the case of a mentor.

From this little piece, I believe I have being able to break down the difference between a  Mentor and a Role model to a reasonable extent?

For your contributions and questions, please feel free to leave a comment.