Scholarly Source
1. What is peer pressure?
This article explains to us what peer pressure is and how to handle it. There are different types of pressure like bullying, dieting and bodybuilding just to fit in with a certain group a people. Even though dieting and bodybuilding may seem like a good thing to pressure your friends into living a healthier lifestyle, it might be a bit too much for someone and can ultimately lead to anxiety to keep up with your high standards. It gave me a different perspective on pressure, since now what might be good from my point of view might be causing anxiety for someone else . A really interesting way to handle peer pressure is to do things you are interested in which can lead to making friends who like those same things you do.
“What Is Peer Pressure?” Friendships | ReachOut Australia, au.reachout.com/articles/what-is-peer-pressure.
2. The Healthiest Approaches to Self-Improvement
This article offers the best ways to approach self-improvement. There is no one universal pace that we need to go at. We all have our own unique twists and turns and bumps in the road we need to challenge, so everyone’s pace is unique to them. Any positive impact is a step in the right direction. Even the smallest of changes have a positive impact. A good way to keep motivated is to reward success, like when you lose weight, reward yourself with something in regards to mental wellness. One really good method is to implement a commitment, a promise to someone that you will do what you said you were going to do.
Cuncic, Arlin. “10 Features Your Self-Improvement Plan Should Have.” Verywell Mind, Verywell Mind, 2 Jan. 2020, www.verywellmind.com/the-healthiest-approach-to-self-improvement-4172573.
Non-scholarly Source
1. How to Stop Lying to Ourselves: A Call for Self-Awareness
This article talks about how we all lie to ourselves when we try to reach our goals. Phrases like “I’m doing well with the tome I have” and “I’ve been trying hard recently” are just soft excuses we tell ourselves to make us feel better about ourselves. These lies prevent us from self-awareness. Useful methods involve keeping a journal to keep track and do better than the last time. And slowly you can improve and get better if you always try and do a bit better than the last time. The most important thing when trying to improve your self is to be self-aware. Be honest with yourself when you’re doing your diet and you will be able to improve your self even better.
James Clear. “How to Stop Lying to Ourselves: A Call for Self-Awareness.” James Clear, 12 June 2018, jamesclear.com/stethoscope-self-awareness.
2. Keep a Journal For Self-Improvement
This article talks about how to improve your self through journal writing. A good wombo combo for self-improvement is meditation and journal writing. Goal setting seems to be a very important part of the self-improvement process. You need goals to reflect on. There are three types of reflections: to see the importance of your goal, to see the progress you are making and lastly to reflect on after you’ve accomplished your goal. One key part is to continuously refer to your writing. It allows you to see your progress because sometimes it can be hard to see it in real time. When you diet, maybe keeping a journal can be useful in tracking your progress.
Miller, Wendy. “Keep a Journal For Self-Improvement.” Medium, The Startup, 16 May 2019, medium.com/swlh/keep-a-journal-for-self-improvement-8b4474c2708b.
Experiential Source
My friend recently really wanted to lose weight because she was unhappy with her body at the moment. I told her I would help her because I was all for self-improvement. I too went through a stage of self-improvement and I still am going through it. I’m always trying to be better than I was yesterday. At the gym, I try to do more weight than I did my last workout. At school, I try to get better grades than I did on the test before. So of course, I was supporting her all the way. I told her to diet also, but dieting is hard even for me. All it takes is baby steps and consistency and eventually, you end up seeing the results.
Cultural/Artistic Source
Song: Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson
This song is a classic. That’s because it’s a Michael Jackson song. It also has powerful message but who cares about self-improvement anyways. I’m just kidding. Usually, people start new diets to better themselves. They want to make a difference. Michael Jackson said it perfectly,
If you want to better yourself, you need to tell yourself that you will change, that you will be different, that you will be better. We all want to be the best version of ourselves. And to do that we need to be honest with ourselves, we need to confront our faults and try to change them.
Feature Article 