DEALING WITH PEER PRESSURE

This term, PEER PRESSURE, is a common thing in the present. Most of us, if not everyone has experienced this some time in our lives. Peer pressure is an external psychological force coming from someone who is of equal standing. It is an influence that is optional whether you accept or not. And this is not only a problem that we young adults face… actually, we face peer pressure ever since we were children, and perhaps, if we won’t be able to cope with it, it will stay for our entire lives.

So how do we Deal with it?

• DEAL WITH YOUR SELF-CONFIDENCE - most of the time, we tend to follow roads where someone has left their tracks to make our journey easy. What we don’t know is that, that same road may shape you into something you wouldn’t think you’d be, since you didn’t use your own decision-making abilities.
• KNOW WHERE YOU STAND - you should have a clear idea of what you are, and what you want to be. Having a strong foundation of what your ideals and values are will make you less manipulatable.
• LEARN TO SAY “NO” - most peer pressures we face can try to persuade us overtime. However, no matter how many times, or how long people try to persuade us, if we know how to say “no”, it is most likely that you are in the defensive form and resist the pressure your friends put on you.
• OBSERVE BIASES - most of the pressures your friends put on you are biased towards them. Try to observe when things get biased and you will have a good idea when a pressure is coming towards you.