Some jobs people just take for granted. They look at them and think, "this is so easy", but in reality, they don't know s**t. Things can be way harder than they look, and you will never truly know until you attempt it yourself.
Reddit user FatBeforeFact asked:
What's a lot harder than people actually think?
True facts.
Quitting just about any bad habit you've had for a long time.
5 1/2 years smoke free. Hardest thing I've ever done.
Relationships are HARD.
GiphyMaintaining a healthy, loving relationship.
People think it's always pretty easy, but it involves juggling a lot of plates together to make things work.
This is so true! Most people think that love just happens to you and if you fall out of love then you just move on and find someone new. But there are stages to love and after you get through the initial hot and heavy stage, it takes work to maintain it. You have to make time for each other and actively work to create a loving relationship together.
Sad, but true.
Finding worthwhile friends.
The other side of that challenge is striving to be someone that worthwhile people want to be friends with.
Ugh, yes.
Going to the gym. I don't mean working out itself, I mean the actual act of coming home tired after work and forcing yourself to go to the gym. Physically getting there is so psychologically taxing. It actually wears on me throughout the day at work, especially if it's a tough day at the job.
Main reason why I started doing gym in the mornings. Now, if I could just get used to waking up super early to go workout...
It's all about technique.
GiphyFighting.
My first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class I recall thinking "I'm a big strong guy, I know how to fight, I'll be ok at this"
Nope. Nope nope, just no.
A tiny older lady proceeded to mess my world up. I still have no idea how she stood on my face and threw me at the same time, but I was bottom over teakettle the entire roll.
My first striking class "well BJJ was tough, but I did karate as a kid, I can throw a punch and kick; besides my conditioning is better now. I'll be fine"
More nope nope!
Cue scrawny kid lighting me up, bruised for days and I'm convinced that I was kicked in the side while holding pads hard enough to cause brain damage.
Being good at fighting is hard. Aggression, strength and size can carry some people quite a ways, but goddamn there are some hidden monsters out there.
I'm sure that's not what you meant.
Exposing yourself. Emotionally speaking, not like swinging your d**k around, though I imagine many would also have difficulty with that as well.
"If we want the rewards of being loved we have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known," - Tim Kreider
i.e: if you're too shy to take your pants off you'll never get any decent action.
Maintaining conversations with people. Most of the time, small talk would happen; it's absolute drivel.
I used to have the same problem, then I decided to learn communication skills by doing door to door sales. The key is to try to avoid asking simple questions that have simple answers, like yes or no answers or so forth. Instead ask open ended questions that require the other person to activate their brain to answer.
"What are you passionate about?" "What are 3 things you like about your current job?"
Don't just ask them what they do for a living because that will give you a flat one or two word response. Instead ask them what they do and then expand on it. "Oh, you're a teacher? If you could change one thing about your school day what would it be?" That should get the gears moving. Open ended questions are key.
That's the only way to learn.
GiphyReading and writing. Think about it, it takes years of direct instruction before you are minimally literate and you continually learn vast amounts of words into your late 20s.
The fact that most people know how to do it to any level obscures the challenge.
If anyone disagrees with this, learn a foreign language. It really puts into perspective how incredibly difficult, complex, and nuanced communication is.
This happens a lot, unfortunately.
Leaving an abusive relationship. People always say stuff, like "Why doesn't she/he just leave him/her?", but it rarely is as easy as this. Maybe this person still has some feeling for that persons.
Quite often the domestic violence victim is really afraid of the perpetrator and fears that the abuser might beat them up badly or even try to kill them when they leave. They also might, completely wrongly, believe after awhile that they did something wrong and the beatings are justified.
I have found in verbally abusive relationships that the person who is being abused thinks that, that is how relationships work, or oh I can fix him/her. It can get really bad when people on the outside keep telling you to break up with that abusive person, but no one likes to be told how to date, and sometimes double down and try to prove everyone wrong.
I know this because I went through this myself. People can just live in denial, and think that there isn't anything better for them because they have little to no self esteem.
An important lesson.
Recovering from multiple broken broken bones.
I broke 15 bones of my mountain bike a month ago. I was just cleared by the doctor to start being able to walk. It's like you forget how to walk and even though you think you remember you are not strong enough to walk. It's even worse for me because I broke my left wrist and collar bone so I can't even use crutches...
The lesson I learned from this is always be careful because one wrong move and you could change your life.
TRUTH.
GiphyActing. I have studied acting now for six years, and it is still so complicated. It is not remembering lines, it's emotion, reaction, character, voice, breath, emphasis, memory, a knowledge of human behaviour, body language, and even knowledge on how to build tension or enhance claustrophobia.
Working in retail. When I was 15 I got my first part time job during school as a "check out chick" and I thought it was super easy. I was also a bit of an arrogant kid just because I had good grades at school and thought "this is gonna be super easy."
I almost had a breakdown on my first shift. They gave me no help, I was distraught at how fast adults moved their groceries along the belt and a these different payment methods etc. I had no clue on what half the vegetables were called (I only knew things I ate like carrot, broccoli etc) BUT NOT 9 different TYPES OF APPLES AND MANGOES. Customers were condescending and I had no idea what half the buttons did or how to do certain things and no one told me, I also had severe social anxiety at the time and wasn't used to talking to strangers.
It took me over half a year to finally be fully on my feet. Even then, I felt almost no confidence in my ability to do my job properly and also had to learn from each bad experience I had (e.g a customer would get mad if I didn't know how to do something right - because apparently they were perfect at their first job). Packing groceries and speed were also a nightmare for me because different customers liked different packing styles and different weights.
Anyway, it's been almost 2 years now and I have turned from a little anxious hermit into a very outgoing and cheery person who enjoys making customers' days better. It's also worth noting that I've certainly humbled out and have learned to appreciate every single job and person around me and that I am not the centre of the universe as I had been when I was a child. Heck, it even inspired me to use my education to hopefully get into med school because I both enjoy learning about medicine and interacting/ assisting with everyday people.
Anyway, long story short: Every job is harder than it looks - no matter the wage etc. Next time you feel like attacking a retail assistant - think of how you'd like to be in that position with no experience.
OMG!
Stiff Muscles.
At peak condition, or through electric Stimuli, your muscles can tense to a point where they can withstand being hit by a baseball bat and could even break it.
You just blew my mind if this is true!
A good method.....maybe.
GiphyGetting motivation to study. Sometimes you really want to study, but when you finally come to it, you procrastinate, or get distracted. It's really hard to have a study properly. My advice? Irregular sleeping hours.
Obviously this might not work if you have school early in the morning, but during holidays, you may want to choose to sleep in the afternoons or in the mornings, and study at night instead. At night, no one is awake and everything is quiet, perfect.
I do this constantly and it's not really affecting my health. Just remember to change up your sleeping cycle a day before you have school so you don't get affected too badly by this habit.
No easy feat.
Pole Dancing. You wont look sexy after taking a one hour class. It's been over two months and I'm still waiting for the sexy to show up.
Not everything is as easy as meets the eye clearly.
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When giving a speech and making an argument, the most effective way to reach other people or get your point across is to speak with conviction.
However, speaking with conviction doesn't always mean people are speaking the truth... or even coherently.
Redditor MonkeyGentleman420 was curious to hear more stories of ludicrous things people said with unwavering conviction, leading them to ask:
"What is the stupidest thing someone has told you with complete conviction?"
We Know How Often Birds Check Clocks...
'That we set the clocks forwards and backwards so the birds don’t get confused with their migration patterns."- alliecita410
Speaking From Experience?
"'Two people can breathe underwater forever if they have a hose'."
"The first person breathes in while the second breathes out, then the first person breathes out and the second person breathes in etc'."- PahoojyMan
Dream On...
"She said:'
"'If you are dream about falling and you hit the ground in your sleep you'll actually die'."
"'It's been proven'."
"I said 'If you die in your sleep, how can anyone know what you were dreaming?'"
"Ruined a favorite story of hers."
"Sorry."- FrankieMint
falling GIFGiphyBecause ALL Cops Ask For Your SSN Before Cuffing You...
"From a coworker: 'If you don't have a social security number then the government can't do anything to you'."
"I asked if that meant, if I didn't have an SSN then I could just go kill someone on the street and the government couldn't arrest me."
"'Yep', he said, 'if you don't have an SSN then they can't enforce any laws on you'."- AllAboutThePotatoes
Keep Them Away From Needles...
"A former coworker insisted that the body believes the ears are injuries, and we are all constantly trying to heal our own ears closed."
"The only thing keeping them open, you ask?"
"Ear wax."
"We worked in healthcare."- Reflection_Secure
Credit To the Visual Effects Designer
"A girl I worked with was convinced that every single mythological creature was real."
"I’ll never forget one of her claims."
“Think about it, every movie you done seen all those creatures and aliens and sh*t, all that’s real."
"Someone has to have actually seen it to come up with that!”
"Apparently there’s no such thing as the human imagination to her."
"So yes, transformers are real, Godzilla is real, Independence Day is real."
"This was a 20-year-old that said all of this."- Dragonborn83196
Unicorn GIF by MOODMANGiphyIn Theory... Still Wrong!
"That the speed of light wasn’t like an actual number, it was just a figure of speech."- sunbearimon·
Check The Date...
"Sunburn is not caused by the sun, it is actually caused by sunblock."
"If you don't use sunblock then you will never be burned."
"Sunburn was created by the sun cream industry to sell their products."
"Seems easily testable, why not lie on the beach all day in one position with no sun block and see what happens?"
"Make sure you fall asleep for maximum effect."
"You go bright red and then blister to the point that you get taken to hospital for a combination of sunstroke and the beginning of shock then spend the rest of the holiday indoors face down with regular application of creams and replacement paraffin patches on the burns."
"It puts a bit of a dampener on your 2 week break."
"Sunburn is mentioned in Livy's history of the second Punic war and others over 2000 years ago which is solid proof that the 'Big Sunscreen' claim is ridiculous."
"However it would be hand-waved away by a True Believer of big Sunscreen."- Magnus_40
Sonne Sunburn GIF by Mitteldeutscher RundfunkGiphyIgnorance Is Not Always Bliss...
"A distant relative, recently retired, once told me that he was going to hire a gardener and a housekeeper because 'the government will give you a grant to pay for them now'."
"This was a few minutes after a lengthy rant about how the welfare state should be scrapped because only lazy people lose their jobs and need to claim benefits."
"The same relative, some years ago, also announced with absolute conviction that he was going to hire a neighbor as a cleaner because 'she won't have anything to do now her kids are grown up'."- Plantagenesta
The Price Of Never Looking Up!
"Pineapples aren't real."
"They're entirely manmade and do not exist in nature."- tricksterloki
ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR!!!
"My dad was experiencing end stage renal failure (was on dialysis at the time and has since had a transplant)."
"My best friend's boyfriend at the time looked at me dead in the eye and said he could reverse his condition with a vegan diet and that the only important organ in the body was the skin, so as long as you take good care of your skin, your other organs will function properly."
"Mind you, by the time my dad got on dialysis his kidneys were functioning at 11% and his SKIN WAS JUST FINE."- lyingintheleaves
But What Causes Cavities?
"I'm a dental hygienist."
"We had a patient come in with terrible teeth."
"They thought toothpaste caused cancer."- dilapidatedfungus
If Only...
"That women don't burp or fart, because only men have (the ability to pass) gas."
"Spoiler alert: he was horrified when I burped in front of him."- sequoia_summers
Guilt Is Easier When You Know It's Coming.
"First girlfriend was religious, and apparently it was okay that we had sex 'as long as she feels bad about it after'."
"Pre-planning regret was her loophole to do what she wanted."- Lone_Buck
season 2 famalam GIF by BBC ThreeGiphyWhen people do speak with conviction, more often than not they firmly believed what they say.
So much so, that they have trouble believing the person brave enough to correct them.
In spite of the concrete evidence thrown in front of them...
When you're in a relationship, it's important to stay alert.
Yes, you of course want to give in to love.
But when you start seeing red flags, be vigilant.
You're gut always knows more than you give it credit for.
Sometimes those flags are a sign that it's time to jump ship.
if you see them... run.
Redditor Shinfekta wanted to compare notes on why people would immediately end a relationship, so they asked:
"What red flag is an instant break up reason for you?"
The signs are always there, but I tend to put on blinders.
I need to do better.
A Big Deal
Illustration Text GIF by Jacqueline Jing LinGiphy"Someone that casually says they've cheated. There's no way around that for me."
Kitchen-Bid-8235
"Or worse when they treat cheating as somehow noble."
2diceMisplaced
Hear Me!
"Wanting and demanding my attention but not reciprocating whatsoever."
Cranky_Windlass
"My ex. She would get pissed when she would talk to me about something while I was working and I wasn’t giving her my full attention. But every time I wanted to tell her something while she was doing nothing, she would get 'ADHD distracted' and completely ignore me or interrupt me to say something completely irrelevant."
ModestMustang
"I had a friend like this! he literally completely ignored me for 6 months and then blew up at me for not responding to him within an hour. Very strange."
KindBrilliant7879
Wronged
"Never admitting a mistake."
Curious-Force5819
"I know a total hottie that is notoriously known for not being able to admit he’s wrong, sucks because he’s a gem outside of this. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a fair and responsible person in general… but he 100% can’t admit he was wrong in banter or a light argument even when he realizes he realizes he’s wrong hahaha lost confidence in him ASAP."
Zomgirlxoxo
"This is a big one, even when these types of people apologize they still pass the blame. 'I'm sorry for my behavior but you made me really angry.'"
space_being135513
Never Again
"Unmanaged mental illness. Never again."
RuggedHamster
"I was with a girl that had that and I helped her through all of it and it was so hard to deal with it all but somehow I managed but when she felt better she just left me for her best friend’s ex and I was left with all that trauma because I loved her with all my heart and soul but she was just using me to feel better… and when she broke up with her best friend’s ex she came crawling back begging me to be with her again but it was too late.. the damage has already been done and I can’t do that again even though I still love her but I can’t tell her that... sorry for venting."
d7oomy998899
Afterthought
Sad Sponge Bob GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy"If someone makes you feel alone, that you don't matter, or if you are a second choice on most of the occasions, you need to leave."
Mycatsnameislegolas
Always know when to acknowledge your feelings.
And know when to depart.
Behavior
Andre Leon Talley Manners GIF by GIPHY NewsGiphy"How they treat animals, children, elderly, handicapped, and service workers."
"A wise man once said: judge a person not by how they treat their equals, but by how they treat their inferiors."
Major-Ad148
Just Kidding
"Being mean as their 'thing' or 'just a joke.'"
netsbr
"'I'm just sassy!'" No, you're a bi*ch."
BansheeShriek
"I’m going to be honest, with certain friends I am absolutely ruthlessly mean, to the point that people are actually concerned it’s just bullying."
"However with strangers, I’m nothing like that. And the friends that I am meant to, they do the exact same thing back to me. We also know that if we need each other, then the meanness is dropped instantly, and it’s nothing but support and love."
5tr4nGe
Well-Meaning
"Zero accountability for anything. Everything they do is absolutely justifiable because, well, they mean well."
Throw_thethrowaway
"Yeah, I was looking for this answer! And it’s true outside of romantic relationships also! I had to end a friendship over this exact behavior- it was never her fault, always the victim, and her hurtful behavior shouldn’t be addressed because she 'meant well…' but my feelings are still hurt so why don’t I matter?!"
helibear90
"This. Can't stand people who always play the victim or blame everyone else and never take accountability for what they do."
_5minutesalone
Boundaries
"This one may take a while, but I would break up if I notice them creeping over personal boundaries, and not stopping when I tell them about it."
"People cross each others' boundaries all the time. I'm happy to give the benefit of the doubt until it becomes apparent that they have no intention to respect me."
"For example, if I don't like tickles or being startled, don't do that. It's not about the tickling, it's about them respecting me. And if there's no respect, there's no relationship."
Ptatofrenchfry
Talk to Me
Sarah Jessica Parker Hbo GIF by DivorceGiphy"If I'm hearing about a problem in our relationship from someone else rather than the partner. It shows huge trust issues."
"I've seen three divorces in my life, and they all were the result of the girl venting to her mother and her friends about issues she should have discussed with her husband."
michajlo
Communication is key.
If you're not talking to you're partner, why are they you're partner?
Reddit user FunChemical3182 asked:
"What is the weirdest animal fact you know?"
Like Perry
"Platypus glow blueish green under ultraviolet light."
"They also don’t have nipples, they just exude milk from glands under the skin and the baby’s lap it up."
~ WakingOwl1
"They have electrolocation in their bills that lets them detect their food under water."
~ DrPlatypus1
"And they lay eggs."
"The more I find out about them the more I understand why people first thought they were fake."
~ Reidroshdy
"After seeing all these platypus facts I am convinced these things are aliens that have been abandoned on Earth."
~ SeattleOne206
Kapow!
"Mantis Shrimp have 16 different sets of cones. Rods and cones are in your eyes. Cones see color, rods see light and motion."
"Dogs have 2 sets of cones—green and blue. Humans have 3 sets of cones—green, blue and red."
"Mantis Shrimp are seeing colors we can't comprehend and explains why they're very colorful."
"That’s not even the strangest thing about them."
"They can also punch as fast as a .22 bullet which cause a cavitation bubble which boils the water around them at temperatures of several thousand Kelvins."
~ RigzDigz
GiphyTerrible Twos
"Cats have the mental capacity of a 2-year-old which makes a lot of sense."
~ Alive_Ad823
Cats Dragging GIFGiphyLike Tinder
"When a female sloth wants a mate she'll hang onto a tree branch and just scream."
~ Remarkable_Sink2542
GiphyGood Thing They're So Small
"Dragonflies are the most successful predators on Earth."
"When lions choose prey they have like a 10% chance of catching it."
"African painted dogs—who hunt in packs—have the highest kill rate of any mammal, successfully catching 51% of their prey."
"When a dragonfly locks onto a target, it has a 99.9% success rate!"
~ PurpleInevitable2103
GiphyOn A Swivel
"Owls have really long necks, but it's hard to notice that because their feathers are so fluffy."
~ ergonaut
GiphyWhat About Cousin It?
"Sea otters are the most densely furred animal with 600,000 to 1,000,000 hair follicles per square inch."
"Dogs have about 15,000 per square inch, humans on average are between 800 to 1,290 hairs per square inch."
~ atom1129
Giphy
Sucker Punchers
"Octopus punch other fish for no reason—so, for fun."
~ Samanthalynn8915
"There's a direct correlation between species' intelligence and dickish behavior."
~ TheDesktopNinja
Looks Are Deceiving
"Polar bear fur isn't white—it's translucent (for most frequencies of light). And they have black skin underneath."
"So polar bear fur lets all the light through to their black skin to warm them—except for a few visible frequencies to keep them camouflaged as white."
~ seedanrun
GiphyWho's Going To Attack One‽‽
"Honey badgers can turn their a**holes inside out and use the smell to deter attackers."
"Not sure what exactly has the guts to attack a honey badger, but if they have the courage to do so, the badger sure as hell isn’t gonna make it easy."
~ nonexistantauthor
GiphyBig Momma
"The Blanket Octopus exhibits the highest degree of sexual dimorphism known."
"Females: About 6 feet across."
"Males: About one inch."
~ Fabulous-Pause4154
High Times
"Dolphins will intentionally use puffer fish to get high."
~ altkaldra
"They upset blowfish so they inflate, and therefore emit poison. It gets the dolphins high. Then they pass it around, literally."
~ smack4u
"Not just the dolphins. I recently saw a video about 10 animals that like to get high. Very interesting."
~ s137leo__
"Lemurs do that with giant centipedes/millipedes too."
~ chubbyknuckles420
Fabrizio Frigeni on Unsplash
Better Than Bike Helmets
"Woodpeckers' tongues wrap around their brains to cushion them from the vibrations of slamming their face into trees all day."
~ we_made_yewww
"Their tongues also have barbs to grab bugs out of the holes."
"Their brains have additional cushioning because, you know, they spend their days smashing their face as hard as possible into trees."
~ RhynoD
Detachable Organs
"Argonauts [paper nautili] are small octopuses that are too lazy to have intercourse."
"They detach their penises and toss them into the open sea to mate with female argonauts."
"The detachable 'd*ck' is a tiny tentacle, complete with suckers and sperm, that develops in a cavity under the eye of a male argonaut [paper nautilus]."
"When it's time to mate, the tentacle explodes out of the cavity, instantly killing the male argonaut. The tentacle then swims towards a female argonaut to insert itself."
"Sexy, huh?"
~ Schwarzes__Loch
What's your favorite weird animal fact?