In this week’s Success Newsletter, I would like to reveal ways to overcome other people’s opinions including peer pressure.
First a quick update:
**** Mel Gibson, Charlie Sheen & Battered Woman’s Syndrome:
While people are angry at Mel Gibson they are ignoring Charlie Sheen who has been charged with allegedly putting a knife to his wife’s throat. Why? Listen to the radio interview I gave to Russ Morley, host of 850 WFTL. I also explain that we give free-passes to people we like and we react harsher to racist remarks than we do to actual violence against women – although both are seriously wrong.
http://patrickwanis.com/RadioInterviews.asp#RacismViolence
Read the transcript of the interview here:
http://patrickwanis.com/blog/index.php/2010/07/26/mel-gibson-charlie-sheen-battered-womans-syndrome/
Now, let’s talk about how to become independent of the opinion of others.
Recently, I bought a new pair of sunglasses. “Look at the ocean and sky through these glasses” I would say excitedly as I passed them around. And people responded with amazement. These glasses – High Definition, polarized with a golden tint – made the world look completely different. The colors became more intense, the light was much brighter, the contrast was startling and the shapes were so much clearer while the soft golden glow made everything seem so much warmer and happier.
And as I walked away, I smiled as I pondered about how every one of us sees the world through our own glasses and just how different the world looks to each of us. And yes, there can be a lot of pleasure when we see the world through someone else’s eyes but pain can arise when someone tries to make us live the way they do.
For example, this week, I received a phone call from a distraught friend.
Julia is about to celebrate her 27th birthday but she feels so much pressure from her friends. Julia wants to find love, a partner, have children and build a family but her friends don’t agree. Julia’s friends want her to continue working and build her career.
“You have to be independent; you can’t rely on men” her friends admonished her.
‘But I would happy being traditional; I would be happy being a stay at home mom’ Julia would tell them.
Julia expressed her disappointment and frustration to me: “I feel so lost Patrick; I feel so pressured by my friends that I just don’t know what to do now.”
‘This is a challenge we all face, Julia; do we live for ourselves, following our heart, or do we live for others, living to please them?’ I responded.