Peer pressure, financial pressure, academic pressure, social pressure- the number of pressures we face in our day-to-day lives is limitless, and significantly exceeds those I listed above. As I get older, it seems like the pressure continues to build and build… One day I’m going to crack, right? 

Trying to maintain a balance between being a student, a child, an employee, a friend and even simply a benevolent human being is a demanding and strenuous task. These pressures often lead to stress, poor decisions and unhealthy coping mechanisms. It’s important to identify the source of your pressures. It could be coming from your parents, teachers or bosses, but more often than not, the pressure we face is pressure we are putting on ourselves.

I think we’re our own worst critics. We strive to reach perfection, even though we know it fails to exist. We set these expectations for ourselves and push and push in an effort to not only reach, but also exceed these expectations. We make life a competition and are placed under this enormous pressure to surpass our peers. This self-inflicted pressure is influenced by society’s constant judging nature, so we feel as though in order to feel inferior we have to be better than those around us. The moment people expose themselves to this pressure, they begin to change. Their actions do not represent who they are, or whom they want to be, but because of the internal pressure they continue to put on themselves, they forego what they know is right to do what they feel they have to do to not just survive and get by, but reach their often unachievable goal. This is often how people’s moral compasses become skewed.

It takes a conscious effort to ensure you don’t let the pressure get to you. Putting pressure on yourself to reach success isn’t a bad thing. As with all things it’s okay in moderation and it’s good to challenge yourself and to have goals. It’s when you lose sight of those goals and become distracted along the way that issues arise.

Managing and maintaining a healthy level of pressure isn’t always in your control; however, if you stay on top of what you can control, things will more than likely go your way. Make sure the pressure you’re putting on yourself is necessary, as well as manageable. Have expectations and high aspirations that challenge you to be the best person you can be. That being said, don’t compare yourself to others because what you’re capable of achieving varies from what they’re capable of achieving. Pressure can either motivate you or hold you back; it’s how you choose to handle it that decides how it’ll impact you. But hey, maybe eventually we will all figure it out….. right?