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INFLUENCING OTHERS - MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD
Marian Baltazar
Class of 1980, University of the Philippines College of Manila
AB Political Science
How many of us are influencing other people’s lives and are really making a difference in this world? You will
agree with me when I say that we all have our own special way or ways of being able to influence the people
around us. We all play different roles as a parent, a son/daughter, a professional, a writer, a community worker,
a superior and many more. This means that we in one way or another play an important role in any person’s
life. Communicating with these people can really matter a lot and most often than not, we affect each other’s
lives.
Influencing others can also mean intervention in one’s life, allowing us to experience a positive influence on the
outlook and level of well-being of a person. The best influence that we can definitely have is on our family, that
is, when you create a positive influence on your loved ones. As a parent, it would be an accomplishment if you
are able to draw your children to become closer to God and have that holy fear. The best way to influence
others is to set the good example so they would follow your footsteps. We, as parents should encourage our
children to live an upright life and be good citizens of our country. We should teach them not only to harm
others but also be able to instill those good virtues that we have known of like honesty, patience, integrity,
loyalty and many more.
If you want to influence others, you must first start with your home so that others may follow too. Our children
are the reflection of our personalities and how we bring them up may greatly influence their lives when they
have their own families. Communicating with them will mean being assertive in such a way that we are not
really commanding them to do such things. Modeling positive behaviors for our children to follow can be one
of the best things to do. We can be authoritative parents who are lovingly setting limits for them but not really
controlling them excessively. Therefore, we could still show them love and respect when we correct them and
not really play as sinister.
In any field that you may want to influence other people’s lives, we should always have in mind to consider
their feelings and respect their totality as a person. We show them respect when we acknowledge their
opinions and ideas and not criticizing them all the time because they also need to be complimented at times.
We have to make sure that our choice of words is pleasant because this can be very crucial when you are trying
to give them a message. Yes, when you try influencing other people’s lives, you are making a difference in this
world that we live in.
Questions for discussion:
1.
How do you try to influence other people’s lives? Explain your answer.
2.
How can you make a positive influence with the people around you?
3.
Do you create a positive or negative influence with your immediate family members? Why or why not?
4.
Do you agree to the fact that when you influence others, you are also making a difference in this world?
Justify your answer.
5.
As parents, how can we positively influence our children? Explain your answer.