Pressure

Pressure is a universal weight we all feel at times, mainly from society, others, and ourselves.

Societal expectations around relationships, appearance, and how you should live their life are constantly making us compare. There are academic or career expectations that you “should” reach by a certain age and if you don’t, something may be “wrong” with you. Then there are internal pressures of being a perfectionist, fear of failure or judgement, and struggle of feeling like you may not belong. The pressure to have it all figured out, to optimize and be productive every waking minute, or to live up to your own potential.

It’s a lot and can often be paralyzing.

Not all pressure is bad though. Sometimes we need that little push to get over a fear that’s holding us back or a motivation to get something done you’ve been putting off.

The difference between the healthy pressure and unhealthy pressure in my experience is whether or not the end goal aligns with my values. An example of a healthy pressure might be training for a marathon or endurance event but giving yourself enough time to prepare. It challenges you physically and there is a set race date but the training schedule is manageable. An unhealthy pressure might be one from those pushing you into a career that doesn’t align with your interest of values. This could lead to internal conflict or resentment.

Is the pressure challenging but manageable? Does it align with your values or over all well being? These are some questions I’ve been trying to ask myself more often.

If there is anything that I’ve learned about dealing with pressure, it’s being able to discern which pressures I can influence and the ones that are our of my control. I try best I can to select which pressures I let affect me.

Many pressures are self imposed or based on assumptions about what others expect from you.

At the end of the day, I think it’s important we all learn how to deal with pressure, not for our own success but for our own sanity.