Top Stories

People Explain Which Things Take More Courage Than Most People Realize

People Explain Which Things Take More Courage Than Most People Realize

"Easier said than done." The perfect way to encapsulate literally most things in life.

That stretches one leg further--easier began than finished. With the amount of courage it takes some of us to get up in the morning, it's a miracle society functions at all.


u/notouchmypeterson asked:

What takes more courage than people realize?

Here were some of the answers.


Helping Others

Intervening in a situation. 99% of people ignore fights, people getting hurt, or any situation where someone needs to stand up.

AquaticDublol

Self Worth

Took me four years to leave a job that treated me unfairly (the first nine were great, and I'm still friends with the boss I had during those years).

And what finally did it was standing up for my daughter being treated unfairly at her dance school, having been there for five years and being turned down for dance team in favor of girls who weren't as good as she was, one who wasn't even old enough to try out. I finally said "enough" and brought her to a more competitive (and unfortunately expensive) school where she is a valued member of the dance team, and I realized that it was easy for me to help her because I was on the outside of the situation and knew she deserved to be on that team. Had she sucked I would have accepted it and helped her get better or find something she was better suited for, but I did consult with her dance teacher - who had no say in the dance team - just in case I was too biased, and she confirmed that she was just as deserving as the kids who made it.


So I decided to step back and look at my situation from the outside, having as much confidence in myself as I did in my kid (while also consulting with my former boss just in case I was in the wrong) and say, "She can do better" and within two months I began a job that was less stressful, making almost $20k more than my base salary at the job I had been working at for thirteen years. Even my former employees say that I look much more relaxed and happy. And because of that dance school, which is further away, I have very little free time, yet I'm still happier. I didn't ever do things for myself because I was too scared, but teaching my child how to change things she finds unacceptable made me a better advocate for myself.

Happy_Fun_Balll

Life Life Life

Living the life you want to live. Society says we HAVE to do all these things by all these deadlines.

Fun fact: you don't. But fighting those societal norms isn't easy!

trvlbugspnner

All Of Your Ducks In A Row

Learning to live and accept yourself.

Getting out of a toxic friendship or relationship.

Believing in yourself.

Standing up for yourself.

Not giving up.

Not being a sheep/follower.

Shanooon861

Stability Vs. Control

Leaving a toxic/abusive relationship. Until you've been in one it's easy to think "Well if someone's mean to you/lays hands on you/cheats on you then you leave. No brainer." but it's so much harder than it seems. In my case it felt like unraveling my whole life. Admitting to people outside of my marriage what was actually happening felt like dying. As one of those "gifted" kids you've heard about, failure is the last thing you want to admit. Being made a fool of is the second to last. Leaving my marriage meant doing both.

letsgopond15

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Change, even change for the better.

Even if given the means to escape the things that suck in your life, you'll find a way to re-manufacture the same bullshit that used to drive your blood pressure up, because that's what you're used to and The Unknown is scarier than that.

Deep down, most people are that horse that would run back into a burning barn, because the barn is home and there are people shouting outside.

Change.

brighteyesbehindyou

Half Trying

Saying no and speaking against the opinion of a group.

I work in care, so I spend half my week doing team meetings. Most trouble starts because people will just nod in meetings while they are actually not in agreement. Then will then do the agreed job halfway or not at all, causing stuff to fail. At the next meeting nobody will admit to half-trying the job so you end up having the same discussion as the last meeting. Very tiring.

VloekenenVentileren

*Jaws Theme*

Swimming in the open ocean.

I'm an adrenaline junkie, ride motorcycles, jump out of planes, thrill rides, do rock climbing etc. but swimming in the open ocean where there's no bottom, unknown creatures lurking below... not easy.

ReadReadReedRed

A Risk To A New Life

Success. A lot of people won't embrace a risk because they are not only afraid of the negative outcome but also about the good one. And most of the times we are not aware about this fear and succumb to it out of low self-esteem and self sabotaging behavior.

hatebacon

Coming Out Of The Mental Health Closet

Saying that you have depression i guess. Or having depression and trying to 'move on' . I feel like people wont actually take it seriously in my opinion, cuz there are some cases that people would just say 'move on'. Sometimes its hard to explain, its worst if you have some type of anxiety too, like social anxiety.

suchlinglingwannabe

Things People Secretly Love But Would Never Admit To In Public

Reddit user sweet_chick283 asked: 'What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?;

Collection of VHS tapes
Bruno Guerrero/Unsplash

What makes us all unique is our passions and the things we love, whether it's singing in the shower, reading books, or listening to specific music artists.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are judged for our various tastes and interests thanks to social media, and it makes us consciously selective about sharing the things we love on the internet.

Curious to hear about people's personal desires under anonymity, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?"

These aren't really chores for the following Redditors.

Good Clean Fun

"Mopping, im a janitor and generally hate my work... but damn mopping is so good."

– MrDDog06

"When you have a great rhythm going it is something special. I get the same feeling while I vacuum, but won’t let my wife know I enjoy it."

– Bogus_34

Act Of Unwrinkling

"Ironing clothes. A dozen of them. Can’t explain how it relaxes me. I told one person and they looked at me like I’m crazy."

– eerie_white_glow

"My mum misses the days when dad would be out on a Friday night, my brother out with friends and me upstairs quietly playing PS1. She would pour herself a Bacardi & Coke and do the ironing while watching her TV shows."

"I'm sure she doesn't really miss it now that we've moved out and they've retired but it was her wind-down after a busy working week so I can see how people can find it relaxing."

– xdq

Our solo actions can spark joy.

Big Brother Is Watching

"pretending to be on the Truman show and whenever im in my house i act all inconspicuous so they dont know that i know that they’re watching me."

– Bec_121

"C’mon man, you’re not supposed to let him know. You signed a contract when signing up for live views. I’m reporting you."

– doeswaspsmakehoney

The Multi-Tasker

"Playing video games naked at home while eating cheese."

– thickening_agent

Releasing The Kraken

"I love the feeling when you've eaten good fibre and let out a solid long train log in the toilet. That feeling is heavenly."

– therapoootic

"Even better when it’s a clean wipe and not a poo crayon."

– TheWarmestHugz

Ultimate Comfort

"My (male 41) weekend routine is coming home from work, make hot chocolate, start a fire, dress in a ugly pink nightgown made for old ladies and watch forensic files."

– crazyloomis

Some people are obsessed with collecting things.

So Kawai

"Sanrio stationery stores. All those different multicolor pens, a thousand kinds of erasers, spiral bound notebooks galore... my kids sadly have absolutely no appreciation for this wonderland..."

– HavingNotAttained

It's A Staple

"Office supplies have a weird, special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. They don't even have to be 'cute' necessarily."

"Japan's legendary stationery stores is unironically a reason I want to go."

– _CozyLavender_

Not Caring Anymore

"The older I get the shorter that list gets. Not because I love less things, but because I don't care about hiding it."

– Bi-Beast

"YES!! I'm 53 now. I'm working my first job in public since 2006. Today is Halloween and we're allowed to dress up so I am sitting here waiting to go to work dressed as a VERY bad Wednesday Addams. My bf said I'd 'look stupid' because no one else will probably dress up and I'm like, 'WHO CARES!' My makeup looks horrible and not like I practiced, but I DO NOT CARE! I'm having fun with it anyhow and I don't care if my coworkers dress up or not. I'm bein' ME! :)"

– deanie1970

Honorable mentions start here.

The Savior

"Picking up worms from the street and sidewalks when it rains and moving them into the dirt so they don’t burn in the sun, every time it rains I do this."

– sky_kitten89

Hero Of The Moment

"Yoooo I scoot SO many snails and worms. I work as a tech/mechanic at an automotive shop, I had a peoject car towed to my house the other day and it was covered in snails. I saw them when the tow guy/coworker was unloading and I was like, 'oh! It comes with free snails!' and began moving them. He laughed then realized and said, '... Oh, you're serious. Uh... Okay.'"

"I don't care who knows it. These little things barely can look out for themselves, why shouldn't we if we can take a moment to help? I don't care what happens next, it probably doesn't matter overall but I can help this moment."

– chris14020

Why should some of the hidden desires mentioned above have to be secret?

Redditors opening up about some of these would make them a hit at parties–no shaming.

As a matter of fact, I'll totally be down for a Forensic Files viewing party where we all make hot chocolate, light the fireplace, and cozy up together in our respective pink ugly nightgowns for old ladies.

historical reenactors
Sigmund on Unsplash

We've probably all heard some variation of the saying "Truth is stranger than fiction."

Real life isn't just strange, it can also be downright ridiculous.

History is riddled with moments of absurdity.

So ridiculous that people have a hard time believing real life is, well, really real.

Keep reading...Show less