People Share The Hardest Metaphorical Pill They've Ever Had To Swallow

Life is full of hard lessons. Whether it's how to manage friendships and expectations of other people, or realizing that even if you do your best, things don't always work out. That's okay - what's really important is embracing the challenges and focusing on your strengths.

Liteboyy asked: What's the hardest metaphorical pill you've had to swallow?

Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.


10. Friendships don't always revolve around just you.

Sometimes your friends don't consider themselves as close to you as you do to them. The hard pill: This doesn't make them a bad friend, it just means that everyone has their own social network and you can't always be at the center of everyone's.

Royal_Nobody

This didn't affect me as much as I thought it would but I've seen it really hurt some other friends of mine.

I got married last year. I've been saying for years that even though the guy who was my Best Man was pretty much a lock for the position (since we've been friends for almost 20 years now), if he ever gets married I already know who his Best Man will be and it's not me.

The guy who was my runner up for the position is getting married next month and I'm not even in the wedding party.

It can be hard to face the fact that your best friend may not see you as their best friend, but understanding empathy and realizing that everybody has their own lives is an important skill to have in order to ground yourself and keep yourself from being a narcissistic dickhead.

BHBachman

I'm only 20 and nowhere near getting married, but sometimes I just like to imagine my wedding party for shits and giggles. There's 2 people that currently have a spot locked on: a close friend who I've known literally my entire life because our parents are best friends, and a guy who I've known for less than two years but in that time span he's pretty much become an older brother to me. Life is crazy.

swimmerboy29

9. It's possible to like bad people.

Just cause you like someone doesn't make them not a sh*tty person.

Spontanemoose

Also, just because someone is a sh*tty person doesn't mean no one will like them.

thebottlerocketeer

And just because someone doesn't like you that doesn't mean they're a sh*tty person

Kalvin4444

8. Necessity is the mother of invention.

No matter how wrong someone is or how painfully obvious a solution to one of their problems is to you, sometimes they have to figure it out on their own and there's nothing you can do to change that.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmno

Having a kid taught me this. I can tell her the stove is hot, but it has to be experienced anyway. Same with, certain things are sharp. No matter how I explain it, or even try to show her, she'll end up testing it.

ShadowedPariah

No matter how I explain it, or even try to show her, she'll end up testing it.

"Show her" how? Like getting her hand close to the heat to show that it would hurt to touch it? I'm wondering what's the best way to go about teaching her that.

BarelyLegalAlien

7. We aren't all a match.

You're not meant for some people like some people aren't meant for you.

therealdavejones

"One day, when you are 14, 28 or 65, you will stumble upon someone who will start a fire in you that cannot die.

However, the saddest, most awful truth you will ever come to find –– is they are not always with whom we spend our lives."

Beau Taplin

quietlavender

6. Gotta roll with it.

Super simple but...some things aren't just meant to be. A relationship, job, whatever. It's not lack of trying or wanting. It's just how she goes, bubs. The f*cking way she goes.

AgnosticUnicorn

And sometimes you end up prostituting yourself for cheeseburgers. Way she goes.

DatShantBeFalco

5. Perfection is not a reasonable expectation.

Sometimes trying my best is not enough.

HannahAching

It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not failure; that is life.

Jean-Luc Picard

SamaritanPrime

Inversely, I often fool myself into thinking I'm trying my hardest when I'm not.

TheLemurian

4. Self-reflection is undervalued.

Sometimes I'M the problem. I'M the one who needs to chill out and back away from the situation.

Edit: holy crap I leave reddit for one day and my inbox has exploded. Obligatory thanks for the gold and silver!

worldwideweeaboo

So many people live and die without ever truly understanding this

direwolf12278

But how do you stop blaming yourself for everything and being constantly worried that you said or did something wrong, even if logically you know it isn't a big deal?

I used to be an arrogant asshole, until I realized how much of a dick I was being and became extremely overcritical of myself. It's very much affecting my quality of life.

EDIT: Just wanted to say I really appreciate all of these responses, it helps a lot just to know that I'm not the only one who deals with this, and I hope it will also help others.

MordecaiThirdEye

Same way, man. As hard as it sounds, I just be myself. I think more in social situaitons how I might respond that someone might take as being a dick. Sometimes its fine to make light hearted jabs and jokes but I just keep to myself more.

Really, people will judge you so you might as well be yourself. But, it's good you're making an effort to improve something you dislike about yourself. I wish you the best of luck.

HisokaXHuntah

3. You can't control other people.

The only constant in my life is me. I can do all I want to keep another person in my life, but we ultimately do not decide whether they stick around or not.

Chango99

2. Selfishness isn't always a negative thing.

That sometimes you have to forgive people for being selfish. And that sometimes you yourself have to be selfish.

ZCM1084

That was really big for me. Learning that being selfish IS OKAY. You don't always have to focus on everyone else, sometimes you need to focus on yourself.

Grafando

1.  Cherish the experience and always continue to learn and grow.

I HATE what I went to college for. Stuffed that four-year degree in a blender and found a new job. Couldn't be happier now, even with less money

MrYoson

I did the same thing, and went from working in a depressing laboratory to running my own doggy daycare. I could not be happier.

PeachyMazikeen

Companies That Shamelessly Make Terrible Products

Reddit user ricinonthecake asked: 'what companies shamelessly make sh*t products, year after year?'

Be it for clothes, household appliances, or food, sometimes you know you can be one hundred percent confident with certain brands or companies when shopping that you will be getting a quality product.

Unfortunately, this goes both ways.

Some companies have a reputation for exclusively selling and manufacturing low-quality products.

One would think that these companies might reflect on poor sales and bad customer feedback, and attempt to improve their brand with each passing year.

Unfortunately, even if they still get items on the shelf, reviews on Amazon and elsewhere still seem to remain at two stars or less.

Keep reading...Show less

The paranormal is among us at all times.

The ghosts, the spirits, they "live" in their death.

Sometimes a coincidence or a phenomenon is something more.

Leftover essences have been seen and recorded.

Now not everybody is cool with every encounter.

I still have shivers depending on the mood.

But when will we all be on the same page and start living 'Beetlejuice?'

Day-OH!

That could help with the spookiness of it all.

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white police car in wall
Photo by Conor Samuel on Unsplash

Everyone does stupid things, and it's not limited to when you're young either.

When I was 10, my best friend and I snuck out of her house in the middle of the night and hitchhiked to Tukery Hill for ice cream. I can't even count all the ways that could've gone wrong.

Eight years later, my friend and I drove his new car on the sheets of ice on our college campus, trying to see how fast we could go.

The tires skidded on the ice several times, and back then, we thought it was fun.

The stupidity spurred on by impulsivity doesn't ever truly go away.

Redditors can attest to that, as they are sharing what may be the stupidest things they've ever done.

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Customer service jobs are not for the faint of heart.

Dealing with people at their angriest and rudest does not breed a positive work environment.

Customer service can be a downright toxic job.

And if it's not the customers setting your spirit on fire, it's the companies themselves.

Some companies seem to revel in creating discontent.

That's why these types of jobs have such high turnover.

Redditor Psychological-Name15 wanted the customer service reps out there to give us some truths, so they asked:

"Customer service workers of Reddit, what secret can you reveal from your former company?"

I want to know about the inner workings of Comcast!!

I loathe them!

Oh Dear

Jennifer Lopez Smh GIF by American IdolGiphy

I used to work in tech support for Citi Bank. The people working there are not intelligent. My favorite interaction went like this..."

"Banker - How do I type the upside down I?"

"Me - Ma'am, that's an exclamation point."

slappy_mcslapenstein

The Crappy People

"In every CS job I’ve ever had: we will bend over backward to help a nice person. We will expedite any complaint, give maximum compensation, and harass other areas of the business for you."

"We will do the absolute bare minimum to help a shi**y person and if you’re really bad, we will do everything in our power to make sure you get nothing but what you’re legally entitled to and it will be a process to get that."

11catsinahumansuit

"I don’t work in CS but 100% the same for us in IT a nice person will get new stuff while a shi**y person will get questionable secondhand crap that will take 12 months to fix! I will make sure that you wait as long as humanely possible to have anything fixed!"

Sharp-Demand-6614

Go to Holiday Inn

"If you ask for a supervisor calling Marriott you will just get another person who is not a supervisor, but say they are."

cryptnificent

"Yep. I've seen this done numerous times across multiple industries. Usually, it only involves an actual sup if it's a genuine problem or if they want to make a point."

"The last job I had was in towing junk cars. Two of the inside buyers, one male, and one female, would bounce that sup card around constantly. Idk how no one ever put it together. We'd get repeat callers and repeat sellers so I don't know."

ItsBobFromLumbridge

Heartless

"Worked at a contracted call center for Centrelink. The manager told us to deny as many emergency payments as possible and they would back us no matter what. They were actively working towards a culture that despised the callers and churned staff to get heartless right-wingers who hated the poor."

Rizza1122

"I feel ya. My best mate is a quadriplegic. Centrelink denied his disability pension because he wasn’t disabled enough."

Less-Storage

Go to Home Depot

You Are Dumb Patrick Star GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy

"I worked at Lowes. I didn't know anything about anything in the electrical department yet that's where they put me without any training."

Eattherich187

Not training people is not just a Lowes thing.

There are too many unqualified people doing too many things.

Switcharoo

Drag Race What GIF by TAZOGiphy

"Can confirm it's an unwritten policy for deli departments in Coles Supermarkets to change the written expiry dates on their tickets so they can sell out-of-code products at full price."

REDDIT

A Little Sunshine

"I worked at a call center for the billing department of a major internet and cable service provider. We were authorized to give up to $90 credit per customer on their bill but only as a last resort. Always remember to be nice to all customer service workers. You never know just how much they can help with a friendly attitude."

Axel_Dunce

"Former call center employee here. Highly accurate. Use your manners, and well fix your issue. Anything else, just makes us want to take longer, and you won't get a credit. Just because we are authorized, doesn't mean you'll get the credit for being an a**hat. haha. I've been verbally abused a few times for asking them not to swear at me. Lol."

Ok-Ad-7247

LELU

"I worked for a major telco company for many years in something called a ‘LELU’ which stands for Law Enforcement Liaison Unit. This 'unit' is pretty self-explanatory, but it essentially is a team who worked directly with the police/FEDS to monitor people's information for things such as obtaining communications history of call logs, SMS loss, etc."

"However, most importantly, the software we used, we as agents could directly see all your SMS texts, including MMS and their explicit imagery of whatever you were sending. This would include sexting, naked images, family photos, and everything. There were instances where people abused this position by stalking or 'monitoring' their SO’s comings and going’s."

MidniteMischief

Cookies!!

"I worked at a cafe chain called 'The Cookie Man,' 95% of their cookies arrived in cardboard boxes layered with bubble wrap. The last 5% arrived as pre-made dough that we would bake on-site to make the place smell like fresh cookies."

"I also worked at a cupcake shop. It's literally just packet mix that you add eggs and oil to before baking/piping pre-made icing onto. Don't waste your money on these places, 90% of these chain shops are the same and most are severely underpaying their workers (this is for Australia btw). Just purchase some packet mix from the supermarket and call it a day."

Frequent-Selection91

Look in the Back

"I was a Store Manager for a very large grocery chain and I can tell you that 95% of the time when customers complain to the manager, we may be professional and show empathy, and even resolve the problem."

"But then we usually just make fun of or talk crap about the person who complained to the other employees. And when a customer is really rude when we go 'look in the back' for something, we legit just stand around and talk to other employees, and make zero effort to look for the item."

A_Womans_Thoughts

From the Box

Kaitlin Olson Brunch GIF by The MickGiphy

"I once worked at 'the area's premiere day spa'; the mimosas were made with Sunny D and not real orange juice, and the wines came out of a box."

SailorVenus23

Sunny D and champagne?!?!

What in the name of Lucifer?

Who does that?!

Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments below.