Last week I was looking out my back porch window and saw my 95 pound Pyrador (a cross between a Great Pyrenees and Labrador and affectionately referred to as the Big White Dog) in the middle of the backyard. Circling around her was a white, fluffy, maybe 5 pound dog yapping noisily. My dog is not the most hospitable when strange dogs enter into her domain. The Fluffy Dog would run a little closer to her and yap, yap, yap and then retreat, run a little closer and then yap, yap, yap. Big White Dog stood firmly in place watching her. This went on for quite some time until Big White Dog had had enough…she let out a deep, loud “that’s enough” kind of bark and the Fluffy Dog ran away quickly and scurried under a part of the fence that was broken.
It’s interesting that a number of people who crossed my path last week told me stories about broken fences and needing repairs. I believe life’s stories are connected, and so I pondered further the incident between the Big White Dog and the Fluffy Dog…which led to this week’s blog post.
We talk about and hear a lot about negative peer pressure in the lives of our children and teens, however adult negative peer pressure is a reality for many. It’s comparable to the Fluffy Dog sneaking into our backyards and yap, yap, yapping….”come on buy this that or the other- you can afford it- put it on a credit card”, “come on work, work, work -your family will always be there- this is how to move ahead”, “come on everyone’s doing it, everyone’s smoking it, everyone’s watching it”…yap, yap, yap. Are you being disturbed by the noisy yap, yap, yapping of peer pressure in your life?
Your fence can be repaired to keep out the yap, yap, yapping. How? Like the Big White Dog…Stand your ground by knowing yourself. Plant yourself in the foundation of who you are…that one of a kind, no one just like you person. Don’t accept excuses, be it interiorly or exteriorly, and succumb to the yap, yap, yapping. Making excuses only leads to bigger holes in the fence. Be assertive. Like the Big White Dog let your “enough is enough” voice be heard. Don’t be afraid to express how you feel. By doing so, you may help to repair another’s fence. And lastly, take a good look at those you call friends. Are they a positive support network? Or are they the source of the yap, yap, yapping?
From time to time we all experience broken areas in our fences. And from those broken areas can sneak in the yap, yap, yapping of negative peer pressure. You really don’t have to listen to it or let it influence you…take a stand…can I get a WOOF, WOOF?!
