By Adegoke Olawunmi
One of the things we will keep doing all through life is handling pressure. Pressure can either be self-imposed or from an external source. This can come from family, self-fulfillment, relationships or even career-wise. In simple terms, Pressure is defined as the feeling of unrest, usually causing one to be unstable, unnecessarily jittering over some perceived expectations and deficiency.
Most of the times, we do not all set out to feel pressured, saying in my Igbo tongue- I get odeshi. But certain situations just pester for long and it could lead to pressure. Here is some form of pressure we all could face:
Personal Pressure
Personally, one of the greatest pressure I have always faced as an individual is the pressure of self-performance. I hear this happens a lot to people in their 20’s. This is very understandable, as once one starts attaining the age of ‘’30’’ so many responsibilities are laid on you, with an expectation to always perform.
Family Pressure
In a typical Nigerian setting, as the first child of a family, there is a kind of pressure you face, that may be called- The Role Model Pressure. Where everyone expects you to be the relatable model or a parent figure to your younger ones.
Another very obvious pressure most people face is that of the first girl child of a family— Let me call it, The ADA Pressure. This type of pressure is often linked to a lady settling down in marriage at a certain age. This type of pressure has driven many women into the hands of men, they never should have settled down with.
Societal Pressure
The societal pressure is obviously the commonest we see these days. Without giving it a second name, I will call it in white and black-The Social Media Pressure. Whilst the idea behind social media is for integrating and building relationships, a lot of people have fallen into the trap of undue pressure because of posts they see on social media. As I often say, there so much love and hate on social media, you barely know which is real.
One very common thing about the social media life is that everyone appears so good, well kept, always looking prim and proper. Everyone seems to be living the best lifestyle on social media. But don’t forget, it is what I post and want you to see that you actually see on social media.
Other types of Pressure
Other forms of pressure could be at work, from colleagues who just don’t understand how to communicate happiness, pain and even their lifestyle without sounding pompous to oppress others.
Pressure could also be from family members, trying to analyze where they think you should always be at certain times of your life. (hey, it’s your life, not theirs)
In it all, the world which we live in has its mechanism by which it induces some kind of pressure on us per time. This is what we have to face every now and then. But there sure are ways to handle pressure and still live your best life. These will help:
- Build tough skin around yourself to shed off unnecessary pressure.
- Look out for relationships that may constantly place you under undue pressure and run
away from them.
- Hold on to yourself and believe that no matter what, you sure will be fine.
In conclusion, we all are exposed to some kind of pressure or the other, but the way we handle it is really what matters. Don’t hate your life because of another person’s success, don’t judge your journey by another man’s standard, rather, continuously look out for ways to become best of yourself daily and live your best life.
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I am Adegoke Olawunmi Joyce. I work as a Research and Product Developer at an IT firm in Lagos State. I am an inspirational writer/ blogger @joyceolawunmi.com, budding Public speaker and Self- development coach. I am passionate about helping people live better lives by taking simple steps daily. I currently run an online reading group “30 Days Reading Challenge’’ where I help people develop/ revive their reading habit. I believe that the best way to live is to ”Love God and serve Humanity”
Blog: www.joyceolawumi.com
My IG: joyceolawunmi_blog
My Facebook: Adegoke Wumi
