PEER-PRESSURE

Hey fit people! This post will be short but sweet. The subject: PEER-PRESSURE. I know some only equate this to something pre-teens & teens go through, but peer-pressure exists in the adult world, too; you can be pressured by your peers at any age. I'm specifically referring to the peer-pressure a lot of us healthy eaters receive from others who haven't chosen the healthy route. For instance, have you ever been at a party and you're looked at as being "rude" because you choose not to eat the cake? Instead of everyone else taking the attitude of "no problem, more for the rest of us", or being applauding you for being so strong willed, or just simply accepting your decision not to eat cake as no big deal (it's your mouth and not a crime after all), you not eating a slick of cake is almost ridiculed! I've been in this situation more than a couple of times and to be honest it really annoys me. No one should ever be made to feel like an outsider, especially over something so ridiculous. And for some, this is too much to handle and they are peer-pressured into eating that slice of cake (or whatever unhealthy food that applies). Now I know you may be thinking, "it's only one slice of cake", and you're right. It is only a slick of cake, and if you had chosen to eat it of your own free will that would be fine, but being peer-pressured to do anything that you don't want to do, whether that be something really serious or something as simple as eating cake, is NOT HEALTHY. In life you are either a passenger or a pilot, it's your choice. Ever heard the saying "be a leader, not a follower"? As adults we often quote these type of words to the children in our lives, but why are we often criticized when we, as adults, actually put these words into action?

As I said before, this post was intended to be short but sweet, so I'll end with this, don't ever let anyone guilt or peer-pressure you into doing something you don't want to do. It won't be worth it and can actually result in negative consequences. Take for instance the analogy with the slice of cake. Let's say you eat that cake, knowing it wasn't good for you or your goals, but you eat it anyway. Then the next day you're peer-pressured into eating another slice. A couple of days later, it's cake time again! Before you know it, your diet is all screwed up. The weight on the scale that you were aiming for that was so close before is now pounds and pounds away. Things got out of control. And it all started with 1 slice of cake, that you never even wanted in the first place and was pressured into eating from people who don't and can't control or live your life. Was it worth it? Not by a long shot. Whether the situation be health related or not, be a pilot, not a passenger and NEVER BOW DOWN TO PEER-PRESSURE.