Insecurity is a horrible affliction. It holds us all back from fulfilling our greatest potentials and nobody is immune. We often feel like we're the only ones walking about with these issues but we're not.
if only...
Jimmy Fallon Lol GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonGiphy"I'm short. As a 5'5 male compliments are nearly always followed up with something along the lines of "if only you were taller."
"status"
"My job and income. (I'm a receptionist)."
"You're not alone. I wouldn't consider myself really attractive, pretty average. However, I have trouble feeling confident with people I believe are in the same attractiveness range as me because so many of my peers have achieved "status" and I'm still not there."
It all Matters
"Whether I mean as much to the people who mean so much to me. I took a friend out for dinner for his birthday recently and he said something that made me realize he was having as good a time as I was. It made me tear up for a second, remembering that the people I love also love me."
"They want to be included by me as much as I do by them. Sometimes this thought process has led me to treat people I love as an afterthought because I didn't think it would matter to them. But it did. I do."
Face It
"I'm considered "physically attractive" from the neck down, which is fair, I agree. So, my face is what I'm insecure about."
"Bruh some guy once came up to me and said "me and 'guy group' rated all girls in our year from 0-10 (yes they actually gave someone a zero), wanna know your score?" after unpolitely declining he went ahead anyway and said "your body is an 8 but your face is pulling you down"... Well... Tf am I supposed to say to that?"
- Nylnin
Anxiety
kermit worry GIFGiphy"I worry about how I look without clothes, my personality flaws, and my income (guy btw)."
How can the flawless feel so many flaws? I wonder how many are in therapy. I worry about all of those things every day.
"get someone better"
GIF by HULUGiphy"When I was thin and hot, my boyfriend told me he was scared I'd cheat on him because I could "get someone better." He ended up cheating on me, saying he couldn't take the pressure. I worry about that still. Even though I'm single I have a hard time trusting someone's loyalty."
is it me?
"I was considered quite attractive in my 20s and never had much trouble meeting guys. But I had real trouble keeping boyfriends. I was told more than once that I was boring. I'm quiet and a huge introvert and am perfectly happy spending a day reading or watching movies. But I guess that wasn't fun for the men I liked. So as a result I was, and still am quite insecure about my personality."
Never Enough
"Never feel good enough."
- USMCseth
"This. No matter how attractive you are there is always someone that looks better. The grass is always greener. I get told I'm attractive and I'll agree to an extent that I'm not ugly but I will never be perfect. I will constantly pick at my flaws no matter how small they are."
"My hips are too square, my teeth are yellow and crooked, my boobs aren't perky enough, my butt isn't fat enough, my lips aren't big enough, my eyes aren't perfectly equal... that's just scraping the surface. People I love and want to have loved me will tell me they think I'm beautiful and I won't believe them. Like it's a lie. I'll get mad sometimes when my boyfriend tells me I'm the most beautiful woman in the world."
"He might believe it but it's not true, and it's too much pressure to keep that up. I have wide hips a small waist and big boobs. I'm symmetrical and proportionate but there is no way I can ever compete with the thousands and thousands of Instagram models or pornstars or even beautiful strangers that my partner will be exposed to every day. Why even bother with me?"
Bad Partners
"My partner not really loving me."
"Oh that hit home. I have this but I am female, guys will date me for months saying all the things I want to hear and sleep with me, only to then tell me they've found someone else and they're together. I have been told numerous times I was used as an ego boost by guys I generally liked, I'm actually still friends with one. Now I have been single for 7 years (I've had some dates) with huge trust issues, knowing the older I get as a woman the less attractive I become and it's a never-ending cycle."
Being Blah...
"How cool I actually am. I'm a good looking guy but I've had a boring life in some capacities."
"When the world shut down last year I found out other people had to give up a lot more fun and exciting plans than I did. That really hit home and I'm working to change it."
No matter who you are, or what you're feeling, you're not alone. There is a life lesson we seem to cross paths with everyday. And now we know those we envy are in the same boat, they're just in a prettier one.
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I'm Glowing.
GiphyThe other day actually, I had someone tell me: "you are the most compassionate person I've ever spoken to, it was truly a joy to have this conversation." that one still makes me glow a little. Better-be-Gryffindor
The Challenge.
"You are stronger than you think you are, and I believe in you."
Regarding fighting mental illness. Trauma treatment is challenging. FrogginBullfish_
Punch the trauma in the face LIKE A BOSS. duttajoy
3 words.
3 words. "You are enough" It definitely caught me off guard and made me actually start believing in myself. I'll never forget it. Puny_Ptato
I have a tattoo that says "You are enough. Enough is plenty." Helps me get through the day sometimes. You mean something to someone, and your best is enough. You'll never be perfect, so quit trying to be, and love who you are. You are enough. Enough is plenty. 💗 PM-ME-UR-BUTT-PLZ
Complex Looks.
Someone on reddit once messaged me to tell me that I looked tough and kind at the same time, and that to this day is the best compliment I've ever gotten. semibaldmom
Just checked, i see it. xxScienceLuvva69xx
Cheesegiblets.....
I had been working at a place as a director for about a year. At our annual gala, one of the other directors had imbibed a bit too much. She came swaying over to me and said, "Cheesegiblets, you're so great to work with. You just do your job, no drama, no muss no fuss, you just get it done and you do it well. I love working with you."
And I knew it was her true feelings because she was wasted and it all comes out when you're drunk, right? Made me feel so good. cheesegiblets
All are Welcome!
My ex bf threw a surprise birthday party for me a couple years ago and at the end of the night while we were all drunk and sitting around a fire my best guy friend made everyone go around and say why they appreciated me - apparently him, my ex, and couple of my other friends had a running bet to see who could make me happy-cry. Needless to say, my best guy friend won.
All of the responses had my eyes getting blurry, but I think the one that sticks in my mind came from him - essentially "You know how to make everyone feel welcome and I value your opinion and perspective more than the majority of the people I know."
I'm a highly anxious person, and the idea that not only do I do a good job of making sure others don't feel my anxiety and feel comfortable, but that my words matter so much to someone made me straight up sob. POTUSKNOPE
Daddy.
GiphyWatching me interact with my daughter, my father said "You know something, I think you're a good dad." He worked a lot when I was growing up and wasn't that hands on, involved type of dad. That praise meant a lot. ginzykinz
Oh the Smells....
It wasn't said to me but about me. I was cooking in my girlfriend's apartment making my great grandmother's spaghetti gravy and I needed to take her dog out, when I was walking back to the room one of her neighbors was talking to someone on the phone about the delicious smell coming from the room. I couldn't stop smiling for like 5 mins and it still makes me feel good. sh3nto
I Hear You...
GiphyA doctor once said I had a beautiful eardrum, and then called in a med student to come look at it. Mountains_beyond
So Healthy....
OBGYN while doing a pelvic exam said: " wow, your cervix looks amazing, absolutely nice and healthy".
While I am lucky to have heard nice compliments in my life this was the super weird one that I will never forget. Egesikhora
"it looks like a unicorn horn!"
When my second child was born the doctor complimented the umbilical cord. They called the med student (his first birth, just observing) over to look at it... I think mostly just because he was looking a little pale. But the thing I remember most clearly from the birth of my second child was the nurse, exclaiming like a thirteen year old, "it looks like a unicorn horn!" FormerLadyKing
Bloodied....
I gave blood and the worker was really impressed by how poppin' my veins are.
He said something funny like "this is the biggest vein I've ever seen. I could hit this if I was in a coma" and then he called over his coworker to look at it. lookingup9
Pride!
GiphyI was told by the nurse during the ultrasound exam that my pancreas looks exceptionally well and healthy, "the best looking pancreas I've ever seen." I'm proud of my pancreas :). RozhkiNozhki
Simple Air.....
GiphyI had an EMT tell me my breathing was beautiful, like on their little machine. ibuildonions
papa...
My four year old son:
"You're a good papa, papa"
As someone with a crappy childhood who was (and still is) terrified of making the same mistakes his own father made, that was exactly what I needed to hear. stoic_minotaur
Lift me Up....
After a funeral service, the widow of the deceased stopped by to see me at the organ before proceeding to the cemetery.
She said, "I want to thank you for your uplifting music - it turned my husband's funeral from what could've been a mournful occasion to a true celebration of his life!"
As I once noted, several days later the church received a very substantial check from her as a bequest to the music department. Back2Bach
"you're hard to read"
Giphy"I don't have you figured out, but you seem happy." vault13rev
I get stuff like this often, for some reason people tell me "you're hard to read" or "you're full of surprises" and i take it as a complement too. archie1244
I was in my early 30s.....
I was going through a rough time: I was in my early 30s, recently moved back in with my parents, and the only job I could get was a cart collector at Walmart. I shut everyone out and just put in my headphones, did my job, and basically kept to myself. It's what my dad called a "self imposed exile."
One day during the holiday season I'm cleaning up the carts in the entry way of the store and as I grab one cart, I heard someone call my name like a loud whisper. I stopped and looked around and there was nobody there. I looked back in the cart and there was a mini candy bar with a note stapled to it. I opened the note and it said:
Someone cares about you!
It instantly melted the ice around my heart. I looked around again and there was nobody around. I walked outside around to the side of the store behind the carts where I as away from everyone because I started to cry.
I stuck it in my pocket and when I got home I put it in a book I was reading at the time. 6 years later I still have it in that book and occasionally look at it when I'm struggling with an anxiety attack or self doubt. Whoever you are, if you're reading this or you do things like that, your small gesture made a huge impact on this person. TheFlacidM
Beauty regimes, arts and crafts, and being in touch with your feelings should have never been given the label of being "for women." Anything can be enjoyable for anyone, no matter their gender. Men no longer have to fear being called names for enjoying "feminine" things and activities.
Redditor u/DaMain-Man asked men,
"What's something you enjoy thats considered 'unmasculine'?"
It started a wholesome conversation between men about their favorite products and activities that don't fit into the "manly" category.
Sara Bareilles has some big fans out there
"Sara Bareilles songs."
"IMO one of the most underrated singers."
Wine, cats, and candles
"I have more than once found myself in Walmart just to buy wine, cat food, and candles. I like wine, I love my cat, and I like it when my house smells good."
Sounds like a fun time
"I'm in a burlesque troupe and it's sexy and awesome but there aren't many men in the scene"
It's the best way to drink coffee
Giphy"Big giant sugary fake coffees that are more like milkshakes"
*plays the soundtrack for 'Wicked'*
"I enjoy some musicals. I don't lie about this fact but I also only listen to them when I'm alone."
Pink is just a color
"I really like to wear pink colored clothes, especially the soft pink ones."
"Some other guys find it 'unmasculine' or 'weird'
"It's just a color dude, chill"
A squeaky voice helps animals understand you
"Whenever I interact with a pet (dog/cat) my voice immediately goes from 20 year old adult male to 5 year old little girl excited about her Christmas presents and I start conversing (often very loudly) with them as if they understand me."
He caught K-Pop fever
"I listen to EXO a lot. I hide it very well. I dont like them because they dance and show their abs i just like the music their voices and their rythym."
Nothing like a comfy toilet seat
"A sit down piss."
"Sometimes I just treat myself to a sit down piss, but there is this idea that men should only ever piss while standing up."
"Nah!"
"I'm tired I've had a long day and I have a full bladder."
User Deleted
Dealing with people is stressful
"I let my wife fight my battles on the phone with insurance companies, medical billers, vendors, banks, credit cards, whatever. She does it for work as a biller herself and she relishes going into combat with those people."
We all have skin, it's best to take care of it!
Giphy"Looking after my skin, my favourite part of the day is cleaning my face- exfoliating and then moisturising."
These guys aren't afraid to get emotional
"Crying when I'm sad."
"I cry during movies for some reason. Happy cries, sad cries, I just get emotional sometimes you know?"
Brocheting > crocheting
"It's been a while, but I used to really like to crochet."
"You get to call it brochet"
That's a great scent actually
"My girlfriend regularly buys me a women's shower gel called 'snow fairy', a pink product that smells amazing. She knows it's my guilty pleasure and I don't care that I'm a tall, burly guy in the army."
"Nobody messes with my snow fairy."
He discovered the secret to a soft beard
"I don't know exactly what it is but my SO has bath stuff that makes the water kind of milky and smooth. I used it once. Would definitely use it again if the mood struck. Made my beard crazy soft, like a super conditioner."
Why have beer when you can have fruity deliciousness?
"Fancy, 'girly' cocktail drinks. Tastes amazing."
Cooking is one of the more important skills
"It's not considered feminine anymore but was for a long time... cooking!
I love cooking, basically anything to experiment with new foods."
Who isn't weak for puppies and kitties?
Giphy"Cats. Cats are the greatest things in the world because they're like tiny, stupid people."
"I love puppies!"
He's living the ideal life
"I cut down trees, I eat my lunch
I go to the lavatory
On Wednesdays I go shopping and have buttered scones for tea"
Let people enjoy what they want to enjoy.
Do you have similar experiences to share? Let us know in the comments.
The decade was about to end, and Redditor Forwardnoona asked:
"Now that the 2010's decade is ending, which trends are most regrettable?"
People went deep into their memories of the 2010's for answers.
"Don't talk to strangers" was thrown out the window in 2019
"Although it still didn't last long the stupid number neighbor thing hit my school and no one would stop talking about it."
Can't we all just get along?
"Millennials vs Boomers. Not that it's even about that, as most people the other side call 'millennials' or 'boomers' are too young to be either , with it being more a Gen X vs Gen Z thing.
But either way, blaming a whole group of people of ruining this or that all the time is just childish and irritating as hell. Shut up."
Those YouTube videos were strange
"3AM
DO NOT CALL SHREK AT 3AM OR SHREK WİLL ATE YOU!"
"The 3am challenges where the worst"
I forgot about those...
"Those converse shoes that laced up all the way to the knee."
Memes are here to stay
"Memes - telling the same joke with different images, or using the same image to tell versions of the same joke."
Promoting unhealthy beauty trends needs to stop
"Waist Trainers and/or Detox Tea.
Thanks to these beauties and social media (& let's not forget the Kardashians) many girls and women all over will forever not feel like they're 'enough' since nearly every influencer has undergone surgery of some sort and/or photoshops themselves. Granted the waist trainers aren't the sole thing to blame, but the look of an unnaturally small waist is horribly detrimental to the mind of young women."
Gender reveals have lost their charm
"Gender reveal parties. Not the 'normal' quiet events woth family but the driving need to get more and more extreme with every passing year. I've seen parks ruined, beaches littered and all for something as basic as the gender of your unborn child? Spreading blue glitter everywhere doesn't somehow make the child more special than just saying 'it's going to be a boy'. They're already special; they're your child!"
Cutesy mustaches
"That weird moustache trend that was popular around 2013, you know when teenagers would have moustaches on the phone cases, as jewellery and what not."
GiphyVideo games have become a repeating investment
"Micro transactions in gaming has been unfortunate."
Bullying isn't funny
"Being a jerk to people on camera for likes from strangers."
"This isn't a prank, it's a 'social experiment' wherein we're going to see if people get mad when we walk up to them and punch them as hard as we can!"
Can we get fresh ideas, please?
"Rebooting everything for the sake of nostalgia instead of coming up with new ideas."
The ever changing beauty standards for eyebrows
"Whatever people are doing to their eyebrows. Like the 2000s were bad for eyebrows, but I'm not sure the appropriate corrective measure was to go from having the least brow possible to having the most brow possible and drawing them on so precisely you look like an anime character."
Believing your Facebook friends over actual experts
"Anti-intellectualism - refusing to believe experts in their field over some crazy person on the internet. I think it got worse this decade and I hope we leave it here."
Social media wasn't meant for this...
"Social media influencers. Making tons of money and reaching fame by becoming a 'brand ambassador' for bogus skin products never really made sense to me. Modeling is a profession of its own, but not everyone can or should do it. Instagram has made us believe that many of these influencers have perfect lives, and the inadequacy people feel when scrolling through their feed is extremely unhealthy for society. Becoming an influencer should never have been what social media was for. Connecting with friends has now turned into admiring strangers from afar, leading many of us to feel lonelier than ever."
Doing dangerous stunts for "likes"
"'_______ challenge'
99% were just horrible for your health. Things like the cinnamon challenge. The worst I saw it get was someone tried to start the 'Fire Extinguisher Challenge'. The guy put the nozzle in his mouth and hit the lever. No matter what extinguisher you're using, this is incredibly stupid. What's worse though, is he picked a Dry Chemical extinguisher. The second he hit that lever, he blasted a lifetimes worth of micro particulate into his lungs. His lungs are absolutely, unequivocally, well and truly ruined."
GiphyWhich trend from the past decade do you regret?
If the past is any indication, it will come back around again.
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