Everyone wants to fit in and feel accepted by their peers. This can lead you to do things outside of your comfort zone. Things you would not have done if you were by yourself.
These things can either be great for you or potentially harmful.
Ask the question: Does this activity fit in with the person you want to be?
Positive
Peer pressure is a great way to push each other in sports and class. Pick someone close to your intelligence level and try to beat their ass in the next test or assignment. Encourage the rivalry with some light sledging.
‘How did you go in the test?’
‘88’
‘That’s not bad.’ Show them your score of 90. ‘Oh yeah brother.’
Encourage and support your peer group. Celebrate their success and be there to chat when they have a loss.
Your peer group can introduce you to sports and hobbies you have never tried before. Give every opportunity a crack. You might hate it, so what? You have lost nothing more than an afternoon trying something new.
Ask to borrow their equipment to try it out. It could be a skateboard or a tennis racquet. They might introduce you to the gym or a new boardgame like Warhammer 40,000 that you fall in love with.
Surround yourself with friends who make healthy choices. They exercise, eat right, respect other people and send positive vibes into the world.
Negative
When you feel like you need to join the activity to gain acceptance or to avoid being teased or called a pussy.
The most common negative peer pressures revolve around:
- Alcohol, vaping and drugs.
- Dangerous activities like gang fights and driving under the influence.
- Antisocial stuff like skipping class, shoplifting, tagging or bullying.
Life can be boring, and these activities bring the danger level and excitement.
They also bring the chance of some very shitty outcomes for you and your friends.
How to avoid negative peer pressure.
Be strong. Use your healthy lifestyle as a reason not to vape, drink alcohol or take drugs.
‘I’m not into that shit.’
‘I have to play footy on Saturday. Those pricks will smash me if I’m not on point.’
‘My body is a temple mate. You don’t get arms like these lifting bongs.’
‘I’m not getting in a car with you. You’ve had ten beers dickhead.’
You can also blame your parents as this takes the focus off you.
‘If my parents found out they would ground the shit out of me. I’m looking to ask (insert name) out for date.’
You can develop a code word or emoji you can send to your parents that let’s them know you’re in an uncomfortable situation and want to be picked up immediately. This is the ‘Eject Seat’ method. Remove yourself from the situation.
Pick your group
Constant worry about fitting in is not healthy. It can affect your grades and your home life. You might distance yourself from family and your true friends who are a positive influence.
Remove the toxic people from your life. Your friends should be competing in positive ways, trying to outdo each other on the sporting field, in the gym, classroom or skatepark.
Vaping, drinking and drugs impact your gains in the gym, sports and in the classroom.
Dangerous activities can be a thrill but can also land you in jail or hospital.
If you are constantly getting into bad situations, it might be time to reevaluate the people you are hanging with. Or if they are good mates, pick and choose the activities you do with them.
Be strong.
Ask yourself the question:
Is the juice worth the squeeze?