Pressure: get used to it. It seeps into every aspect of our lives and amounts to much of the stress that we feel.
Everyone feels pressure.
It comes in many forms for various reasons.
The best way to understand pressure and deal with it is to define it.
Pressure is the use of influence to make one do something.
Pressure to do something.
Whether self-inflicted, or by other people, or even society, pressure is inevitable.
The way we learn to use pressure in a constructive way, is to understand the intention.
Here’s a scenario:
You study and work hard for a test you have. The grade comes in and you get an 80%. Your parents, angry with you, put pressure on you to do better and improve.
Their intention is to push you to do the best you can. The way you perceive it is that you failed to measure up to expectations. This creates the negative pressure– the destructive kind.
The expectation leads to destructive pressure.
Often the expectations we have of ourselves or others lead to pressure. If things don’t measure up to expectations, pressure is the result.
Expectations are premature resentments.
If we feel pressure from others to reach a high standard or to act a certain way, we need to evaluate the intention of the pressure.
Often people want us to be the best they think we can be. Parents push (sometimes too hard) for us to reach high, because they want the best for us.
Others put pressure on us with more of a malicious intent. People pressure others to do or act in ways that are harmful.
Once the intention is identified, we can better understand the pressure and how we can respond to it.
Pressure we put on ourselves so that we get a good grade or make the varsity team is used to motivate us to work towards a goal.
This pressure is good. This pressure is healthy.
It is when this pressure becomes unrealistic or beyond our capabilities that it becomes unhealthy.
Pressure where the intent is to do harm should be ignored. Understand that this pressure is external and pay it no mind.
Easier said than done, but it is necessary. Harm is done to us when we take on malicious pressure from others or ourselves.
Moving away from the negative pressure is an important step in the process of better one’s life.
Unless it is serving you, cut it out.
Negative pressure and pressure with the intention to do harm is what permeates into our lives and creates stress.
The stress that comes from pressure and expectations is damaging to us and the people around us.
Pressure is a guarantee no matter where we are in life. In high school, college and beyond, we feel and experience pressure.
Rather than over inflate the issue, when we feel pressure simply evaluate whether it can be a motivator or whether it is harmful overall.
We have a choice; let the pressure affect us or disregard it as not constructive.