The Choice Of Peace Over Pressure

In the world we find ourselves today, a lot of people are being pushed to do more, become more, achieve more, a lot of pressure here and there. At this point, choosing peace over the numerous pressure can become one of the greatest gifts that you can give to yourself. You will be surprised how many people live each day like a competition. Waking up early, rushing out of the house, getting engaged in hustles and bustles, trying to meet standards, comparing with others, etc. All these have one purpose, to put one under intense pressure. In all these, you need to understand that your peace is very important, and that you are not in competition.

I have come to understand that peace is not really the absence of responsibilities, neither is it the nonexistence of challenges, but it is the ability to stay calm even when handling the challenges. By choosing peace, you have to understand that not everything should catch your attention, not every battle is worth expending your energy on. As a matter of fact, not every invitation deserves your presence. When you understand this, you will not put yourself under any form of pressure that will put strain and stress on you; both emotionally and physically. You may not know but pressure is demanding. It contends with your time, energy, resources, strength, and even your approval. If you start to give in to pressure, it will keep coming back to make higher demands. This is why you have to choose peace of mind. In the midst of the loudness of the pressure, peace is quiet.

I have come to discover that one of the biggest pressures is the expectation from people. A lot of people have seen themselves caught in the web of trying to please everyone, or trying to meet the expectations of everyone. This has made them to say "yes" where they should have said "no" and they end up putting themselves into unnecessary stress. Peace actually starts when you no longer try to squeeze yourself through the corners not meant for you, nor trying to take on roles that are not yours. The truth is that you cannot meet every expectation. In fact, you cannot be everything to everyone, so you have to choose what matters. You do not need to meet the expectations of everyone, you have to stay true to yourself and know that your peace matters.

Pressure can also come from perfectionism. Some people believe that everything must be done right or it is not done at all; no room for flaw, no room for learning by trial. This is part of the things that put people under pressure. I once served under someone some years back where I went to do my internship. She was the kind of person who would always insist on perfectionism and performance. It was so much that it became discouraging. Sometimes, people would just avoid undertaking certain tasks because of the fear of perfectionism and the consequences that would follow if they make any flaw. This also put the staff in the department under intense mental stress. At the end, it became counterproductive, because output declined and a lot of things went backwards while other departments were doing well. This shows how counterproductive perfectionism can be.

One of things you have to understand is that you do not need to be perfect before you will be valued. Over-reliance on the thoughts of perfection will simply rob you of your joy, your confidence, and your creativity. You also do not need to figure out every single step before you move forward. Sometimes you may just have to take the steps nonetheless, and other steps will be unfolded along the line. Simplicity and peace of mind will teach you to focus on the process more than perfection. That is, embrace intention over speed and performance. Remember that it is really about knowing that you are human and you have your areas of imperfections. When you embrace this, you will not be weakened by it.

Peace tends to grow when you learn to simplify things instead of pursuing everything at once and putting yourself under pressure. Imagine someone learning 5 skills all at once and crashing the entire programme together, he may end up not achieving anything and then putting himself into undue pressure. But when he learns one at a time, he will simplify things and move at his pace. By that, he will achieve peace of mind. Remember that peace is a result of the choices you make. Make good choices, and avoid pressure.

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