Easily Influenced

I recently saw a commercial for an acne cure on MTV. (A little side note that I find frustrating about the current status of the world: I turn on MTV to watch reruns of shows that I watched when they were new shows on ABC on prime time. These days, shows that were only on MTV after 10pm when I was a kid are now being shown on ABC Family prime time. Not pertinent to this post, but irritating as a parent of young children.) The acne commercial claims like they all do to be the newest, greatest cure-all for acne. And they have some great 'before and after' photos of teenagers who presumably used their product. Unfortunately, to anybody who wears makeup or has spent any time around people who wear lots of makeup, it is blatantly obvious in the commercial that the 'before' pictures are makeup-less and the 'after' pictures are the same teenagers COATED with makeup. And knowing that they are predominantly preying on the money of young teenagers, they will make millions from the advertising. Young teenagers easily fall victim to self image and will flock to the product hoping for the 'after' look that (and this is my opinion) will probably only come with copious amounts of makeup.

But we grow out of that, right? I haven't been easily influenced since I was a teenager looking to rid myself of a few pimples. Yeah right!! Unfortunately, peer pressure does not end with high school. You will feel pressure from your coworkers, friends and even relatives throughout your life. And just as teenagers need to be weary of being too easily influenced, adults of all ages need to take a step back and really think about what kind of influence something, or someone, is having on them. As a youth it is easy to just go with the flow and do what your friends are doing, even if you know it's not right or something you particularly want to do. And you know what, it is just as easy to go with the flow as an adult. The difficult part of life, from elementary school through retirement, is being yourself. Standing up for what you believe, whatever it may be, and standing by your personal values may make you an outcast to some, but there is a quiet majority out there whose respect you will earn by doing so. People who go with the flow may seem popular and the boss (or most popular kid if you're still in school) may seem to like them, but you can stand out from the crowd by not going with the flow, especially if what their doing violates your personal values and beliefs. And while they may not say anything immediately or directly to you, your boss (and the popular kid) notice, and down the road that will work out in your favor.

Being easily influenced is not the same as taking advice. Anybody older than you, whether they are five years older than you or seventy-five years, has more life experience than you. You may know more than they do about making pizzas or about the study of religion, but they have been on earth longer than you and have that much more experience with interacting with others. (This is not always evident or a good thing, so use your best judgement) Whether or not you solicit it, people will give you advice. And my recommendation across the board is: take it! The very least you can do is listen to their advice. You may use it and you may not, but by simply listening you are opening yourself up to the opportunity to learn something that could better yourself. And if you don't like their advice, or if the advice doesn't work for or apply to you, you can keep it in the back of your mind and pass it along to others who may get help from it. I work with young people quite often through church and events in the community (I generally categorize 'young people' as 25 and under) and one things I have found is that young people today do not like getting advice from others. The simple act of listening seems to some to be a chore. I have personally seen young people dismiss advice from medical professionals, subject matter experts and their own parents. And it makes me feel bad for the young person because they are dismissing the chance to learn.

Our prisons are more full than ever, unemployment benefits have become an expected source of income and people searching for minimum wage jobs (such as fast food and grocery checkout for instance) are asking for starting wages more than police, nurses and firefighters make. The people filling the prisons, asking for $15 per hour to flip burgers and anxiously awaiting their next unemployment check without trying to find a job are the same people that are refusing to listen to the counsel and advice of others. Dismissing free advice is like skipping school; you're robbing yourself of an opportunity to learn something that could quite possibly make you and your situation better.

I have sat in many meetings, from Dominos Pizza to the Air Force to the Fire Department (and all the small jobs in between) where I was being instructed by someone whom I did not respect in their position, for whatever various reason. But I never focused on my feelings toward those individuals. I focused on the meeting. Some things did not apply to me then, and still have not. Some have impacted my life greatly. Regardless of what I learned in those meetings and who taught them, I paid attention and learned from others. Free advice, free education. Don't pass any opportunity to learn. Ever.

I realize that there are young people out there who are very intelligent and are more than open to the advice of others. To you I say don't be easily influenced by others taking the easy way out. Continue to be you; work hard and learn every day. To the young teenagers reading, those pimples will go away. Don't focus so much on what you look like in 8th grade because ten years from now you'll look completely different anyway. And to all, while taking advice and criticism from others, don't be as easily influenced as you are eager to learn and better yourself. Influence others to be their best by being your best.