There are many situations in life that no one can solve for you as an individual. In such cases, the only person who can save you is yourself. For instance, You’re randomly scrolling through social media, and come across a post from someone your age who already seems to have attained a milestone. You choose to compare yourself to the person and so begins your misery. This kind of problem will forever be yours to solve because it originated from your mind.
As humans, most especially young people, there’s usually a need to measure achievements by virtue of what is seen in others. There’s the need to use other people’s successes as a yardstick for our own succeess. Peer pressure is something everyone has experienced at one point in life or the other. Pressure to get a certain item because other people are getting it, the pressure to be in a relationship because everyone around you seems to be in one, the need for validity through possessions.
Throughout my childhood days, it was ingrained into my ears, the need to avoid peer pressure, the need to be contented, but most of the time, you don’t even know that you under the influence of peer pressure. It would sometimes appear as a justified feeling. I would come across a random person wearing something I couldn’t afford, and I’ll stare dreamily, wondering how nice life would be like if I owned something like that at the moment. I would come across something someone has achieved, and the feeling that I am not doing enough, assails me. This lifestyle gets to a point where you begin to make life harder for yourself. I’ve been there before, and I will tell you this - The only thing you will feel, living such a lifestyle is sadness.
There were times where I would rush to buy myself things because people around me got them, and after getting all those things, I would revel in the validation, the admiration from others with low self esteem and all that. But you know what I never felt in all of those times? Satisfaction. There will always be something to buy, there’d always be someone who does it better, there’d always be something trending. It’s a never-ending cycle. Know this and know peace.
In times like these, I like to remind myself that I am Me. He or she are who they are. The fact that I don’t own whatever it is now, doesn’t mean I can’t own it later. So why should I be bothered by what I do not have, when I have so many other things to be grateful for? Reminding myself of these has helped me a great deal in overcoming peer pressure and comparison thoughts. We all have so many things to be grateful for, so rather than sit, crying about the things we do not have, why don’t we appreciate the things we have, and move on with life?
So, for this prompt, I invite 
Thanks for reading.
Images are mine.
