People Explain Which Things They're Really Good At But Don't Actually Enjoy Doing

If only all the things we excelled at were also the very things we loved to do most. But sadly, that is not the way it goes.

Instead, some horrible force of the universe made you way better at, say, sewing the holes of pants than playing guitar. The universe can be a spiteful, fickle jerk.


It often seems that the most boring things are indeed the things we are best at. Perhaps because they're mindless and demand minimal creativity, so the learning curve is easy to get past.

Or maybe it's a "grass is greener" thing, where we yearn to be great at the things we know we aren't.

Redditors who know all about the plight of expertise in all the wrong places recently weighed in with their personal examples.

itch_bay asked,

"What’s something you’re really good at but don’t actually enjoy?"

Art, Forced Upon

"Not me but - my friend has taken piano lessons since he was 6 years old and is f***ing amazing at it. But it was much more of a 'parents with high expectations forcing him to take lessons' sort of deal."

"He hates playing the piano, which is really sad...and his parents kind of suck"

-- SnooMarzipans9028

Conditions for Very Good Work Ethic 

"Cleaning. I f***ing hate it, so when I do it, I make sure not even the smallest stain is left so I can postpone the next session as long as possible." -- avadakabi***

"I have a weird quirk where, when I get sick, I have a compulsion to clean. Its like my brain says 'you are already miserable, you may as well do stuff that you hate so you don't have to be made miserable later, when you are feeling better.'"

"My wife has gotten to the point where she almost looks forward to me getting sick because she knows the house will be spotless by the end of the day." -- BranWafr

The Introvert's Dilemma 

"Being nice to people. I can be very pleasant if needed, but it's also very draining." -- nomadinlimbo

"This is me as well! People are so surprised when I tell them that I identify as an introvert."

"People need to understand that being an introvert is not necessarily always about an inability to act naturally in groups, sometimes it's more about how hard that might be. When I've spent time in social situations I feel completely drained afterwards." -- DorneForPresident

The Debate Goes On

"Coding. Never make your favorite hobby your job, kids!" -- Mortambulist

"Too late. Turned my hobby into my college major and then into my job. Now I don't like doing it anymore lol." -- SpecialChain

"Eh, or do. Often it works out. I held off going into tech precisely for that reason and did physics instead. Hated it and switched."

"I enjoy my job, it happens." -- ApprehensiveSand

Can't Decide If Kafka Would Be Proud or Devastated 

"Bureaucratic red tape type paper work. I guess I am just very good at filling out tons of forms and papers. Also sort of part of my job."

"I don't like it, but I am very good at it."

-- BigBearSD

The Go-To Friend 

"I am fantastic at moving furniture, either around the house, or from one home to another. I don't f*** up walls, and I can definitely get that bureau of yours through the doorway."

"But don't call me and ask me to help you move sh**, I'm busy that day."

-- InternetKidsAreMean

Bad at Parties 

"Being analytical. Life would be so much easier if I could turn my brain off and just have a knee jerk emotional reaction to everything like society expects right now."

"Pro tip: when asked about a current hot topic, 'I'm waiting for the whole story to come out' is not the correct answer."

-- FuerGrisaOstDrauka

Doomed to Phone Duty 

"I'm good at customer service, helping people on the phone, etc. but those jobs are soul sucking black holes" -- TheRealOcsiban

"I so feel this. I've had a few customer service jobs, and I was very good at them but I f***ing HATE customers, entitled little sh**s, every last one of them, even the nice ones. Instead of picking up the phone or standing at the desk thinking 'how can I help?' I'd just be thinking 'WHAT do you want NOW?'"

"But I was good at it, and as I think it's due to me genuinely liking to listen to people's problems and help them (just not in a customer service setting) I decided to retrain as a Psychologist." -- Zhylia

Hospitality Trumps Laziness, For a Night 

"Cooking. I only cook for other people (I love throwing parties) but when I'm eating by myself it's takeout, ramen, and frozen meatballs all day. The idea of slaving over a stove for hours when I just want to grab a bowl of canned junk food and go back to watching youtube videos irritates me."

Cook smarter, not harder

"Still too much work."

-- ryeshoes

The Logical End of the Game 

"Monopoly, like freakishly good at it. I'll win every game. But people are going to hate me..." -- sadpanda___

"My oldest son is like that. No one in the family will play with him anymore." -- momtimesthree

"This is the way. The trick to monopoly is to grind the other players into dust. Slowly. Brutishly. Inevitably."

"Then you never have to play the wretched game again and as a bonus you've ruined the game for others. You must do your part to break the cycle of familial abuse that is monopoly." -- nefariousinnature

Bleacher in Residence 

"I have discovered that I am very good at bleaching and coloring hair. Both of my teenage daughters change their hair color 3 or 4 times a year and have for years. The first time I did it because we couldn't afford to get it done professionally and my oldest just wanted a single, bright color."

"So I bleached and colored her hair. It turned out so well that, unfortunately, I have been doing it ever since. And it went from single color jobs to multiple colors, stripes, hombre, etc.."

"They have gotten to the point where they are staggering the colorings, so I end up doing it for one of them about every other month. And I have even had to do it for a couple of their friends who couldn't afford to get it done at a shop."

"I don't HATE it, but it's not easy and it can be a pain in the butt. I would not be sad if I never had to do it again. But, I will. And I will do it, because that's what being a parent means."

-- BranWafr

Functional Sociopath 

"You know how sociopaths are often very charming, because I guess they're always putting on an act for people and after a lifetime of experience it becomes automatic?"

"Well that's what waiting tables has turned me into"

-- SPP_TheChoiceForMe

One Pleasant Interaction is Plenty, Thank You Very Much 

"Social interaction. As a matter of fact, I was in the Safeway picking up some chicken tenders, and energy drinks and this lady walked up to me and was gawking over my curls..."

"and asking what kind of products i used to make them that way because she had a daughter with curls similar to mine or something like that but she didn't know how to manage them."

"And me, not wanting to be rude, just recommended a few products she could try and how to apply them and stuff like that. Spent a good half hour just talking about that and when we finished talking, I was BURNT OUT so I just checked out drove home and passed out on the couch."

-- Vakendo

When Blissful Ignorance is Impossible 

"Keeping up with politics. I'm really good at understanding law and I have a back around in psychology so I can see the REAL reason why people make the choices they do."

"And I often have to explain it to people who can't keep up (I'm asked, not like I'm going around dumping it on Facebook) but I've hate it. U wish I could just be clueless about the world."

-- MisterHalliday

Setting a Friendly Bar 

"Speaking. I have days when I want to be completely mute, but I have to talk or people will just badger me to death about why I'm being so quiet."

"In school I used to pretend I'd lost my voice so I wouldn't have to talk."

-- ChicagoLoverForever

The Go-To Friend

"I'm pretty good at talking to people who are going through a hard time and getting them into a better mindset, but I HATE doing it."

"I am not a therapist and most of the time I don't even care about their problem. I'm just really good at telling people what they want to hear."

-- ZerenTheUnskilled

The Plight of the Type A Mindset

"Organizing things."

"I actually love doing it, but its when people tell me to organize stuff, only so that everyone in the house can leave stuff out and completely ignore the amazing system I have precisely calculated into perfection."

"What's the point?"

-- TheIconicNZ

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