“Hey girl, do you want a puff of this? “. “You know, everyone is doing it.” “Just try it once. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it.”
Throwback to middle school….or every parent’s fears about their young kids experimenting with something that turns out to be dangerous, permanent or sends them down a road to addiction.
Peer pressure can take us to bad places. It can also take us on a course to better conduct and better outcomes which is what I have been experiencing lately. I guess I’m tired of the routine of Covid -Zoom day after Zoom day. So when I was asked to attend a monthly online class around diversity and inclusion, I said yes. Do I have the time? I don’t know, I’ll fit it in. Then a number of Vistage Chairs started signing up in groups for an 8 week course on Positive Intelligence. Oh, I’ll do that, too! Sounds like a perfect way to spend time with my peers on the work I love. And next year, I’m joining a one year course with a small cohort of Vistage Chairs to study the work of Lee Thayer.Very positive peer pressure and work I will enjoy.
However, there is a little voice in my head asking if I’m overfilling my plate with lovely things. What should be my answer when I complain that I don’t have any extra time to relax, or to read a novel or to watch a movie. Am I creating too much “busy-ness”? Right now I am amused, but soon I may be really annoyed with myself.
So while I examine my patterns of behavior so ingrained it makes me laugh, I ask you what yours are? Are yours still serving you? Pay attention to which peer pressure you may be listening to. Is it helping you to be healthier and help others, or to be angry and bitter? You can choose.
Photo of San Diego air show. 2019