The culmination of our experiences is what makes us who we are, it's how we grow and at the end of the day, it's those experiences, the memories we make, that are priceless. What do you think everyone should do to grow? For me, it was taking time to travel alone.
At first, I was nervous but something beautiful happened. I was and to fully explore the areas I went to with unparalleled freedom, to truly take in how everything saw felt, the good and the bad. It built confidence and gave me a better sense of self. It doesn't have to be expensive, even a camping trip in your own state if you can. But that time to travel and reflect by yourself--you won't regret it.
Redditor Lovingnature412 wanted to know what the most important experiences were to others. They asked:
“What is something you think every human should experience and why?"
Mental self-care...
“Therapy! Even if you don't think you need it, if you have access to it you 100% should take advantage and go. It's just a good way to get to know yourself and what you want. I wish it was free for everyone.” thisismetryinggg
“worth their weight in gold...”
“Having a non-romantic friend that you can absolutely rely on and be yourself with. One that has your back, can call you out and always only wants the best for you. True friends like that are actually hard to come by and are worth their weight in gold.” moll5494
Retail workers would agree.
“Performing a customer service job for other humans for over 6 months, this will teach some people how to be a customer vs a piece of sh*t (some people)." rsplatpc
black friday thanksgiving GIF by NBCGiphyLove one another <3
“Everyone should feel love. Genuine, undying, unconditional love from the same person you love the same way. Its the most amazing thing in the world. I truly feel like a lot of the world's problems stem from people not being loved.” Pussydestroyer885
Birth control...
“A week taking care of a baby and toddler. Just so people can see how it really is. I work with a lot of people who were shocked at how much work it is. Which is fine. But parental regret is a real thing. I think people would be more cautious about birth control if they knew or had experience.” cleaning-meaning
“It was f**king h*ll...”
“A minimum wage job. I was a spoiled a** kid growing up. My parents are well-off. I was raised to be respectful/ humble (never sh*t on other kids for being poor or anything) but I never really understood the concept of 'too expensive' or 'this cost my parents x hours of time.'"
“Granted I never asked for designer clothing or anything nicer than a laptop, and my dad made enough money that the answer was usually 'an hour or less' but my parents version of making me 'earn it' was doing chores and earning that amount of money in the real world would definitely be harder."
“Summer after my sophomore yr of high school, my parents give me one week notice that they're cutting me off completely for the summer. Wish they gave me more heads up, but whatever. I managed to find a job as a dishwasher in a retirement home."
"Paid just under $7/hr after taxes. It was hell. The dishwashing machine was too loud to talk to anyone. Too many dishes to do to daydream or think about stuff, basically 0 mental stimulation."
"Time moved at a snail's pace. Hands hurt at the end of every shift from hot dishes and lots of chemicals. And I'd look around at the line cooks and realize 'holy sh*t this isn't enough for my pot, gas, and cell phone bill, and they're trying to provide for a f**king family on like less than twice as much money.' Definitely a huge wake up call in terms of how blessed I am and how grateful I should be that my parents saved for my college."
"Also, every job after seemed amazing. $10/hr after taxes to bus tables? F**king cakewalk, I get to talk to people, do more than one thing, and make more money! Delivering sandwiches for Jimmy John's for $12/hr? Dream job. My white collar job I have now? Heaven compared to that even though it's stressful." MrLionOtterBearClown
Pain...
“Mine's another sad answer - significant physical pain. Some people don't seem to understand how pain can reshape your entire world, your view of yourself, and how you think/react. I lived with chronic pain for years (femoral head ground away most of what was left of my hip socket) and I know I was a very different person then.” mctrustry
DnD...
“A good game of DnD. Where everyone is participating, everyone is so into their roles. The DM is strict but not to harsh. It's so magical.” Vladi_Sanovavich
Dungeons And Dragons Flirting GIFGiphyChange can be good.
“Realizing that you were wrong about some deeply held belief.” coookies
It is stunning.
“See the Northern Lights in action with your own eyes. You will be standing there staring, mouth agape.” Platonus44
If anything from this list the experiences that help foster empathy, understanding, and connectedness may just be the most important.
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“'Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience'.” What's your best real life example of this?"
They Literally Won't be "Shut Down"
"When I tell people to just reboot your computer and it will fix all their problems and yet they won't because they said if you wait long enough it will shut down, when in reality it only goes to sleep."
"Then when I tell them they have to completely shut it down they look at me like I'm an idiot and say they did."
"I tell them it seems like it but it only went to sleep."
"They argue back."- niallaa
Some People Just Don't Get It...
"I used to argue a lot with my sister when we were kids."
"She would do this thing where she would say something, and then I would reference back to it literally a minute or two later to prove a point and she would say 'I never said that' or 'that’s not what I said'."
"Absolutely impossible to argue with someone who will just deny having said things that could hurt their argument."
"Also, trying to change the course of an argument if they feel like they are 'losing'."
"A coworker once called me an idiot for doing something 'incorrectly' when I was actually doing it the right way."
"When I politely explained to them that the way they suggested doing the task didn’t actually work, they started asking 'why are you getting so angry?? I was just trying to help' etc."
"So now we’re arguing about whether I’m angry or not instead of the right way to complete the task."- themightypianocat
Facts Are Facts...
"Arguing is pointless if you do not agree on a set of facts."- niallaa
Facts GIF by Judge JerryGiphyYou Can't Have It Both Ways...
"For a short while, I worked as a line cook at a Cracker Barrel, and there was a little saloon style door that led to the staff section (kitchen, bathroom, etc)."
"There was a staff only sign on the door, above the doors, and on the wall behind the doors at eye level."
"Usually if someone from the customer side comes in, they said, 'Coming in' before opening the door, so they didn't hit anyone, but of course customers didn't know that."
"So when this dude opened the door and hit a waitress carrying a ton of drinks, we were reasonably upset with him."
"He said, ;You should really put a sign up'."
"We showed him all the signs, and he goes, 'That seems a bit excessive'."- GreyFoxHound1
So Wrong.
"Had an employee sign an NDA about an upcoming art installation that had investors."
"He told everyone."
"He argued with me the NDA only meant he couldn’t disclose anything with the people in the company."- BosskHogg
He Knew What He Was Talking About
This was best said:
“'Never wrestle with pigs'."
"'You both get dirty and the pig likes it'.― George Bernard Shaw"- Zerowantuthri·
pigs GIFGiphySome Outdated Inventions Are Definitely Not Missed...
"I’m showing my age here but I used to work for an estate agency, and we had sales offices set up at the site of large new housing developments."
"Our primary method of communication was fax."
"One of the sales associates telephoned our office to say that the fax machine had run out of paper."
"No problem, I said, one of the guys is coming your way later for a house tour, I’ll give him a box of paper to give to you."
"We then had an almost 20 minute long argument when they kept insisting 'NO, YOU JUST SEND ME A BLANK FAX BECAUSE I NEED THE PAPER, IT WILL JUST COME OUT OF MY FAX MACHINE'.”
"It was like trying to nail jelly to a tree."
"Difficult, irritating, and it achieved nothing."- BettieKat
Very Few Hills Are Worth Dying On...
"I had a friend in university who was a world-class high school debater."
"Over meals, she liked to pick a ridiculous proposition and then talk circles around people until they had to concede to her point, no matter how absurd."
"When she tried it with me, I just stonewalled her."
"Met every point with a solid 'I don't think that's true'." or 'That doesn't make sense'."
"Eventually she gave up and never tried it with me again."
"It was the only time I've ever used the tactics of the stupid to win an argument."
"But, to be fair, if you're not arguing with me in good faith, I feel no obligation to respond in good faith."- kitskill
IS The Customer Always Right?...
"Working retail."
"Especially when I worked in the tech shop or a computer store."
" Trying to convince someone their $500 laptop is never going to be a gaming system no matter how many of the very few replaceable parts we throw at it can be exhausting."- MOS95B
happy episode 7 GIFGiphyEducation Only Matters If You Learned Something....
"Was arguing with this dude about something math-related."
"He didn’t know how to read a study that involved statistics. claimed he was in multiple AP math classes."
"Tried saying that I 'probably don’t even know basic integration'."
"Gave me a common integration problem."
"He wrote it but forgot the minus sign, making it unsolvable."
"I pointed it out and he edited the comment to make it correct."
"Told him that some people can see when you edit comments."
"He claimed that he just capitalized a letter. on and on and on."- SaturdayNightCity
Good Legal Counsel Might Be Worth The Splurge...
"I asked a representative from the Friend of the Court to explain something she said and she told me that I understood what she was saying."
"I replied that I wouldn't have asked her to explain if I had understood."
"She said if I was going to be difficult, she would hold me in contempt."
"My X chimed in that she didn't quite understand what she had said and was greeted with a smile and an explanation."
"From that point on I always disagreed with the Friend of the Court on EVERYTHING, so that I could be seen by the 'Actual Court' and a Judge."- PURPLEPEE
Season 4 Episode 21 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphySore Winners Are No More Attractive Than Sore Losers...
"Once worked with a guy who, by his own admission, got his rocks off by picking fights."
"He'd start an argument over the smallest thing."
"If you said it was white, he'd say it was black, just to try to start something."
"The one that always stood out for me was the weather app competition."
"One day he asked me what temperature it was, so I read it off my weather app."
"He got all offended, because his weather app said it was a couple degrees warmer."
"So he decides we're going to have a weather app competition."
"He was going to chart what our apps said the temperature was, and at the end of the week, whichever one was closest to that day's high would be the winner."
"And the loser would have to start using the winner's app."
"To which I said, "What is your f*cking problem?'"
"So, yeah."
"For the first few days, he'd make a big performance about marching into my office, recording the temperature off my app, jotting down some notes, and walking off."
"This started on a Monday."
"He gave up after Wednesday."
"Either because I was winning, or he was disappointed because, despite his best efforts, I just did not give a f*ck about weather apps."
"Or maybe the boss told him to stop because I filed a complaint that this was bordering on harassment."- originalchaosinabox
Im Always Right GIF by ZionGiphyIt should perhaps be said calling someone an idiot, or even thinking it, is not a particularly nice thing to do.
Even so, if you're tempted to do so when you're in the presence of a particular individual, probably best not to provoke them.
After all, if you're so determined to "win," does it really make you any better than them?