If you are human and you have a circle of friends or you mingle with people at all, you are not immune to peer pressure.
It doesn’t matter who you are or what category you fall into. Dad, mom, student, friend, lover, etc.
We see this everyday and we may personally have experienced it in life at some point or the other with close friends, family or colleagues at work.
But what exactly is peer pressure and how do you know when it’s lurking around you?
Peer pressure also known as social pressure is the direct influence an individual or a group of people have on their peers or friends which encourages them to change their minds about a situation, their values or attitudes, to blend in or conform to those of their influencers.
Have you been under pressure by friends, family or even a group of random people you don’t know?
Like someone, at the store telling you to buy something you know you don’t need simply because it’s pretty or because they bought it for themselves? Imagine that! Even total strangers want to have a say in your life! Haha.
Related: Overcoming The Guilt Of Having An Abortion
Peer pressure could be dangerous but it doesn’t have to always be a bad thing. You could also be pressured by friends to make good decisions when you never planned to.
As a result, peer pressure could either have a positive or negative effect, or both on an individual.
If you have positive peer pressure, that’s a good thing.
But what if it’s the other way round which happens in most cases? What can you do when you want to do the right thing but evil or wrong is standing right there with you in form of friends or family wanting you to go the wrong way or take wrong decisions which could be detrimental to you in the end?
Related: How To Deal With Yourself In Your Waiting Season And Not Feel Defeated
How To Get Out Of Peer Pressure
These are some of the easiest ways to get out of peer pressure. Imbibing and putting them at the center of your individual core values could go a long way in helping you out:
1. Confidence
By being yourself and confident in who you are and what you believe in.
Confidence in who you are and your personal values and beliefs, are key in ensuring that you are not easily pressured by everyone or people in your close circle.
When you know why you chose to do what you have chosen to do and what dividends you would receive at the end of the day as a result of your choices, nothing anyone says to the contrary should matter to you because you know where you are going and have your eyes fixed on your goal or destination.
Related: What To Do When What You Cherish Is Being Threatened
2. Contentment
By being not easily swayed or lured by what other people have that you don’t.
Contentment with what you have no matter how little or much can take you far from succumbing to peer pressure.
When you are contented and satisfied with what you have, nothing anyone has would appeal to you enough to be easily swayed to do wrong.
Keep working at what you have to make it more or better than what it currently is and don’t get discouraged if you are not there yet.
3. Being happy with where you are in life but believing that things would be better than it currently is
Happiness is important in life and good for the soul.
If you are always down, weary or put on a sad face all the time, people would want to help you get out of whatever it is that’s weighing you down.
Though they sometimes might not necessarily mean bad, they could in the midst of trying to help you out, come up with different suggestions which may include bad ones.
Also, some may not even consider or fully process the options they are offering you at all because they just want you to be okay and these options at least to them, are the very least they could offer, to give you some comfort and help- even if it’s going to be disastrous for you down the road.
If you have opened yourself up by showing you are needy and not fully in charge of your life, it could be difficult for you not to bow to peer pressure when it comes.
Avoid pity parties.
Be happy with yourself and believe things will definitely get better with you and for you.
4. Loving yourself for you and not wishing you are someone else or living someone else’s life
Self love is crucial.
Before you can love someone else, you need to love yourself first.
When you love yourself, you would do anything to make sure nothing hurts you or your future.
You would guard your life jealously because you know not only would you have to take responsibility for your decisions, you will also be the one to face the consequences of your actions on the long run.
5. Not being a people pleaser
If you always like to please people all of the time, doing what others tell you to do when you know it’s detrimental or bad for you or not doing what you should do when you know it’s going to help you, could be very hard.
Pleasing everyone in your circle is not always a viable option because you will end up hurting yourself.
You need to be able to sieve both good and bad information you are given and choose the ones that work best for your situation – if need be.
6. Seeking Counsel and being accountable
Having an accountability partner could put you back on track when you are about to make wrong decisions out of peer pressure.
An accountability partner is someone you respect and can share things with without fear, shame or judgment.
When you have someone in your life that you are accountable to, you can get good counsel that can help you in many ways.
Many people who are successful have accountability partners they check in with from time to time.
Just checking in with an accountability partner could help you make sure you are still on course in any of your decision making process.
Bonus Tips
-You could politely turn down different advice and let the people know why you can’t go the route you have been encouraged to take. Don’t be afraid to say “No”.
-Don’t compare where you are in life or your life itself with those of others around you.
-Everyone has an individual journey and it looks nothing like anyone else’s – even if they look pretty similar.
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