Have you ever had the sense that something you've been doing all along was incorrect but were too afraid to ask?
Others can't bear the thought of coming off as stupid and avoid being possibly humiliated.
At the end of the day, however, the joke's on them for not questioning things as they continue doing things the hard way and get silently judged for it.
Curious to hear about experiences from strangers, Redditor Wijting asked:
"What do you think you are doing wrong, but are too scared to ask somebody?"
When the protocol isn't clear, people make up their own rules. Maybe they should have asked for clarification.
Lunch Break Time
"I have no idea if my lunch break is an hour or 30 minutes."
"Where my office is located in my building, my boss and co-workers can't see me leave for lunch. When I started, I just began taking hour lunches like I did at my last job. Recently I heard a co-worker mention taking her 30 minute lunch."
"I've been taking hour long lunches for 6 years and it's way past the point of asking…."
Looking After Young Ones
"Babysitting, I babysat a few times when I was 13 or 14 and I wasn't sure if I was just supposed to check in on the kid or play with them or just like, make sure they don't die. I'm really good at kid sitting but babysitting (or for me watching a kid under 7 years old) is just hard."
– Teabeany
Touch Of Lips
"Kissing. I've had no complaints but it's not really something your parents taught you to do properly"
These are examples involving subjects which people assume are common knowledge but really aren't.
Manscaping
"shaving my testicles."
– Qwerzq-
"Take a hot shower (so it will be easier to shave) and when you are done cleaning yourself, apply shaving foam (or watever it is called), when you shave, make it so your skin is not loose : use your second favorite hand to hold the skin and the other to shave. I usually squat when I do it. Optionnal, you can use a small mirror to see what you are doing, especially behind."
People Who Made A Lot Of Money From Something Totally Random | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Managing Anger
"So a great thing my therapist taught me when I was talking about my anger issues. He said a lot of times we get angry, we feel like we've been wronged or hurt in some way. Like coming home from work and I had asked my partner to do the dishes, but the dishes weren't done. Did he actually wrong me or hurt me? Not really. Did it require the level of emotion I was putting into it? Nope."
"So now when I get angry, because I still get angry, I stop and think about why I'm mad. Was I actually wronged or hurt and does my level of emotion fit the actual scenario. It takes some practice but once you start to view things from 'okay but is this really worth what I'm putting into it, what am I actually mad about, and does the person I'm mad at deserve this reaction'; things start to seem not as bad or as upsetting as I initially thought they were."
Finding Our Purpose
"Life."
"Like what I supposed to be doing? I have about 80 years total. So far, I've learned stuff, got married, and got a good job. Am I just grinding out the rest of my years?"
The complete lack of confidence in something can be crippling for some people.
Being In Charge
"Supervising. I am put in the position but just rely on the efficiency of my subordinates. As soon as there's someone who's lazy or a troublemaker I've got to figure out how to learn."
During Confrontation
"I feel like I'm really articulate when I'm going about my day especially over text, but as soon as I get into a verbal disagreement it's like my f'king brain shuts off and I forget how to think. Like a deer in the headlights."
"I don't remember it always being this way but it's like I've got this huge amount of social anxiety in those situations now and I struggle to accurately express myself."
Not Feeling Adjusted
"My PhD."
"Going into my third year and I still don't feel as if I ever adjusted, or developed healthy habits."
"Just trying to take it a day at a time and not procrastinate beyond no return."
Defining Love
"Relationships."
"I recently started out in the dating scene and i dont know whats the difference between being a couple and being really good friends."
"Also: sex is really strange to me."
Social Interaction
"General conversation I just suck at talking to people I don't really know or don't know at all. Sometimes when I get tips for stuff I respond 'yes' or 'ok' or 'thank you' and even that feels weird or wrong, even the action of saying 'hello' feels off... It even happens with friends sometimes..."
I have the horrible tendency to not ask for directions when I'm in unfamiliar territory.
I rely on Google Maps – which for the most part, is really helpful and usually accurate.
But when I was in Japan and I planned on meeting a friend in a neighboring prefecture, I took the wrong train and my day was, well, derailed.
I didn't want to trouble the locals by asking for directions; my hesitation stems from not wanting to inconvenience people.
But I learned quickly to get over that. I eventually found my way over to where I needed to be, but the trial and error it took to get to my destination was costly and time-consuming.
Lesson learned.
