How to handle Peer Pressure

Friends are always fun to have around. But there are times when they force you to do something which makes you fall prey to peer pressure. You can’t escape it but you can still handle it.

One pressure that every individual in college or school life undergoes is to excel in studies. Every school and university life puts pressure on an individual to compare themselves to the other members in their group. Even if you don’t like it, comparison is the only thing that tags you on how much you are favored or how famous you are in your group or class with respect to academics or any other activities. Sometimes these things lead to other problems like isolation, inferiority complex as well as bullying among friends. And if you are the targeted one, there is no way of escaping it.

                           

What you can do if you are the targeted one is to remain silent. If you feel that you can’t handle it any more, be courageous to speak up. Make them note that there is a limit to everything and in case if you have to, you have every right to complain to the concerned authorities. But if they happen to be your friends, make sure that they are crossing their boundaries.

And in case if you aren’t the targeted one, then flatly refuse to take part in any activities that are designed to cause harm or distress to any other person .Make sure that your friends understand that bullying is harmful and never take part in those activities. Note that ragging is one of bullying activities too. Be a leader and make others follow you. Though at first it may sound different, very soon people will understand how much you mean it by your own good activities.

It is not an easy task to stand on your views .Some people may hate you for telling what is right and wrong to do. If you give in to their peer pressure, than it means they have overpowered you which in this case they don’t respect your views. In that case, it is better to be alone than being in those groups that don’t respect what you have to say.

Finally, handling peer pressure is much easier if you learn to say no. It is your right to say no and it means you respect your views .These qualities of respecting oneself will slowly bring in positive changes to you and your surroundings.