How to change the people around you

"We may not be aware of it, but the way behave is perceived by others then imitated....We provide signals to others of what is normative, what is desirable...social learning can be an incredible opportunity, a tool for positively affecting the people around you by simply modeling the desired behavior." 

~Tali Sharot

"Imitate me as I imitate Christ." ~The Apostle Paul

Whatever you regularly do shows who you really are.  And who you really are makes a single powerful impression.  You impact others the most when you are most powerfully genuinely you.  

This can be good or bad.

Think about how you've already experienced the good and bad of this.

I'll share how I've experienced it, and maybe it will trigger your experiences.

When I was in school, I noticed that a fellow student named Michael wrote extremely organized reports.  As a result, I imitated how he did his reports from that time on.  That's an example of a powerfully good impression leading to imitation; Michael impacted me by just being the organized person that he was.  Here is an example of a person making a powerfully bad impression leading to imitation.  I'm sure you can relate.

Antonio talked to me with a very rude attitude.  I felt my heart rate speed up, and I talked back at him with attitude...imitating his rudeness.

For good or bad, we imitate.  We are born imitators.  We were made to imitate and be imitations.  This is the purpose of our creation:  to be the Creator's imitations, as it is written,

"Let Us make Man in our Image, according to Our Likeness..."

"In the image of God He created him, male and female He created them..."

"(...Adam) had a son in his own likeness, in his own image..."

As Adam had a son in his image and likeness, and imitation of himself, we are born imitating our mothers and fathers, who should be imitating God the Father.  We should be imitating our mothers and fathers as they imitate the Heavenly Father.  Sometimes that happens.  Sometimes it doesn't.  One way or another, whether imitating fathers or mothers, brothers or sisters, friends or teachers, imitation is inevitable, and thus powerful.

Think of the power of others, and think of your own power.

Others have the power of impacting you so deeply that you imitate them in the moment.

And you have the same power; the stronger your impression, the most likely the imitation, good or bad.