Do you know what this means: %*@:-( ? Or this: ~~#ZZZZZZ ?
If you do not then you are not a teen that is using drugs or alchohol. Parents check out this article and understand the importance of communication with your teens.
There are some great resources in this article that you can refer to that will help decipher the codes being used in messaging.
All of us have friends that we like to hang out with and do things with. Not all of our friends and acquaintances will have the same goals or even values that we have. So what would happen if one of our friends asks us to take part in something that is not a good choice for us? We know what that is called. It is peer pressure.
No matter your age there is peer pressure on everyone and all of us must use our discipline so we do not allow others to get in the way of us making good choices for ourselves. Every choice we make is going to have a result or a consequence. It can be good for us and move us closer to reaching our goals and living our values or it can be bad for us and result in a bad consequence.
What would happen if we gave in to peer pressure to use drugs or alchohol, take part in an unsafe prank, or to not tell our parents the truth about a matter? What would happen if we allow others goals for us to sway us from our own goals?
Even as teens and adults we can be swayed to consider following a line of work or education that does not really fit into our ‘purpose’ in life – or into what really makes us happy. Then years later as we trudge through life and realize we are not happy, we may blame others for making us follow a certain course.
Be 100% responsible for yourself. Recognize that “Discipline is remembering what you want.” So what are the goals you are going after, that you really want to reach? Think for yourself, do not be pushed by others to do something that is not in line with your goals and stay focused.
Just because your friend are doing it – does not mean that we should do it too. When you have discipline, you think for yourself!
