Peer Pressure

Lance Armstrong.....

Peer Pressure, comes from many angles – friends, family, various outside forces, you name it. These two words can become intimidating and destructive depending on how strong is our footing. It can lead us to dark areas, areas that are forced upon us to fit in.

Coming from a family of nine brothers and sisters I can relate to these two words. It is something we all have experienced and maybe still having struggles with. It happens all the time and it can happen to the best of us.

Our struggle with pleasing and fitting in becomes an inconsistency with adequacy or inadequacy. We become misplaced with who we are and what we really would like to do for ourselves because we are being pressured to do/be.

Last week I was watching the program of 60 minutes and was disappointed to learn of Lance Armstrong’s drug enhancement in order to produce perfect results and immediately I thought to myself that maybe he was pressured into it. I am not making any excuses for him, competing has always been and will continue without a doubt to be an ugly nemesis to mankind. I know that competiveness is what keeps us in the game of staying ahead of others yet, at the same time the lengths that we go through to stay on top is rather disturbing. The need to showcase ourselves becomes life threatening and I believe this is one of the reasons that brought his cancer on.

Being pressured as a child is one thing but becoming an adult and forever trying to please others because of what society may say or want is ridiculous. Why do something that you are not feeling good about or care enough about? Our needs and our self preservation should take precedence. By saying “NO” we become clear of our surroundings and by becoming clear we can develop a better understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live. It is only then, we can absorb who we are without fear.

What I have learnt after my situation with cancer is that I needed to learn how to master my life in order to cope and adapt. Adapting for me meant that I needed to learn how to change me to fit into my environment and my emotional centers which helps me to improve my life and my thought process daily. It’s an ongoing journey. Dr Mona Lisa Schulz says in her book Awakening Intuition, “We need both the Yin of vulnerability and the Yang of power in all the organs of our bodies in order for them to function optimally.”

We must remember that we are built with both strengths and weaknesses. Therefore we should take time to find our balance and by doing so it will enhance our lives tremendously.

Fanga!