Pressure and Influence
Positive Pressure
* Encouragement: Your friends are all trying out for a sport at school this year and encourage you to do the same. * Reasoning: Classmates are volunteering in the community to make a difference and build their resumes and suggest you should join them. * Acceptance: A group invites you to ride bikes to the pool on Saturday to hang out and swim. * Unspoken Pressure: Everyone at school seems to be eating healthy and working out, so you choose to do the same.
Negative Pressure
* Insults: There's a guy at school that everyone laughs at; they start making fun of you for not joining in. Reasoning: You're at a party where there is beer, and everyone tries to convince you why you should have some. * Rejection: Your friends all make fun of the sports and clubs at school; you're worried they won't like you if you try out for a team. * Unspoken Pressure: The girls at school just seem to care about how skinny they can be instead of trying to be healthy.
Good Actions
* Owning up to mistakes * Saying "I'm sorry" when necessary * Asking for help when needed
Bad Decisions
*Making fun of a classmate *Going out instead of studying *Trying to do everything yourself
Be confident
It is okay to be different from others. Being an individual is a great thing; people were not meant to all be exactly the same! Own who you are, and accept others as individuals as well. You can still find common ground as friends or teammates without always dressing and acting alike.
Choose your friends wisely
Meeting new people can be an opportunity to make new friends, but not everyone needs to be in your inner circle. Choose friends who have similar values, and who treat you and others with respect. This might mean finding friends who are active and healthy, or who try to do well in school so they can get into a successful career.
Talk to someone
Sometimes you just need someone to talk to so you can vent about a problem or get advice for something you're going through. Try to find someone in your own life, like a trustworthy friend, parent, or teacher, who you could trust to give you mature advice while also respecting your privacy.
Remain true to yourself man
There are times when you will feel like you need to change something about yourself, such as beliefs, behaviors, appearance, or actions, to fit in better with a group. Whether the changes are big or small, be careful to evaluate what you're changing and why. It's important to remain true to yourself and proud of the decisions you make.
Understand your own values
When you know who you are and what you value as important, you are more likely to make decisions that fit with those values. It can be great to try new things, as long as you know those things are safe and do not interfere with you being the person you want to be.
Be the positive influence
Your actions can speak louder than words. A good mood and kindness can be contagious, so try to be friendly to those around you and treat them the way every person deserves to be treated. Try to be a positive influence to those around you by making healthy choices, like choosing some veggies with your lunch or finding time to exercise today.
Peer Influence
the capacity to have an effect on someone's character, development, or behavior. Maybe your friend's straight A's inspired you to spend more time on your own schoolwork. On the other hand, a friend's negative attitude might start making you feel down.
Peer Pressure
when classmates, friends, and others your own age try to get you to change your attitudes, decisions, values, or behaviors in some way. Some pressure can be positive, like when a friend encourages you to make a healthy decision. Others can be more negative, like when someone offers you a cigarette or makes fun of you for who you hang out with.
