It's so interesting how sometimes the things that we are really looking forward to are the things that fall flat the most.
Because as much as we might be looking forward to doing an activity for the first time doesn't mean that it's going to be everything we hoped it would be.
Redditor Pokeking44 asked:
"What's something you tried once and instantly knew that it wasn't for you?"
Gambling
"Gambling. I gambled for the first time against my cousins when I was around 13. I lost 100 bucks, and that was a lot for me."
"Never gambled again since, lol (laughing out loud)."
- carleezy89
"That's me with scratch tickets. I never bothered with small dollar tickets and eventually succumbed to curiosity and bought a single 20-dollar ticket."
"20 dollars poorer, I decided that lesson had been learned."
- jeffh4
Selling
" Sales. I don't like convincing people they need things, they can decide for themselves. Don't want a phone? That's cool with me."
"My boss once questioned why I didn't try to push an iPhone 14 onto an old man who came in asking for advice on how to use his flip phone; I always loved that one."
"The only time I ever had good performance was when I got a lucky streak, and the customers came in wanting something already."
- DriedUpSquids
Living With Roommates
"Living with roommates. I cannot stand it. I'm fine living with a partner, family, or by myself. But a stranger, no thank you."
- what_is_fondant
"Same!! I had a roommate once who seemed like such a sweet and innocent guy. He was 19 and it was his first time living on his own... It wasn't long before he started leaving poop-smeared underwear on the bathroom floor and using up all my dishes to the point where I had nothing to eat from because he'd keep them all in his room."
"When I asked for them, he'd dump all the dirty dishes in the kitchen and wouldn't clean them... he didn't do laundry; he would wait till he visited his mom once every two months so she could wash them for him. He started smelling soooo bad that I had to put a towel under my bedroom door so the smell wouldn't come in."
"It was horrific. My partner and I had to tell his parents when they came to visit and they were mad at me and my partner because we weren't understanding enough of a 19-year-old and should be patient... We ended up having to evict him."
- PossibilityNo7682
Being A Manager
"Getting into management. No, thank you. Though I can say, I really set myself up by expecting adults to be able to act like adults."
"I just assumed most other workers would be like myself. Like in an ideal world, it wouldn’t be that bad but you’re literally responsible for everyone who doesn’t give a s**t and all their f**k-ups are on you."
"I prefer being responsible for only myself. Life is so much better that way."
- whisky_endeavors
Serving Tables
"Waitressing. I knew instantly I was objectively terrible at it. I quit the same day I started."
- ILikePlantsNow
"I've known my whole life I could never make it as a waiter. I would be such a wreck."
- whisky_endeavors
Certain Foods
"I'm a bit of an 'adventure eater.' I'll try just about anything."
"There is one and only one thing I've tried that I will never try again:"
"Sea squirt sashimi."
"Besides the terrible, innuendo-filled name, the texture is terrible, you have to chew it off the rind, and it tastes like a salted a**hole. I should have known when the waitress came by, saw my plate, and said, 'Oh, is that sea squirt? I'm gonna stand here and watch you eat it.'"
- Massive-Lab7553
Sleeping Under Weight
"I was shocked at how much I hate weighted blankets. People say so many good things about them! I put it over me, boom, instant claustrophobia."
"I don't even have claustrophobia. Except with weighted blankets."
- wombatIsAngry
"I hate them too. Put it on, Ahhh… two minutes go by, and 'OH MY GOD, GET THIS OFF OF ME.' It gives me the exact opposite feeling from relaxation."
- Kathybat
Online Dating
" Tinder (well, online dating in general)."
- Express_Flight_966
"Online dating destroyed my self-esteem. I had to quit for the good of my mental health."
- Mogilny89Leafs
Telemarketing
"One word: Telemarketing."
- 22Taco
"Very early in my career, I was transferred across the country to another branch. I didn't know anyone and needed more money so I took an evening telemarketing job. It was selling local newspaper subscriptions outside of their usual area."
"I managed three hours. Nobody working there had time to talk and absolutely nobody wanted a non-local newspaper."
"I quit and a week later got a check for six euros (about 10 dollars) which I didn't cash and kept for years as a reminder to focus on my main career."
- craneguy
Horseback Riding
"Horses. They’re beautiful, I rode a very gentle one for a week. But after that week I knew it wasn’t for me. They’re scary."
- JLP013MusicLover
"The one I road tried to throw me. And after an hour on them, you are sore. It uses so many muscles you didn't know you had."
- daddakamabb1
"I spent most of my young adult life riding horses and every time someone sheepishly tells me they’re afraid of them, I tell them they have good survival instincts. Horses are massive and muscular, they have no idea how big they are, just zero spatial awareness. It’s like if you supersized a deer and gave it cocaine."
- Upstairs-Boss17
Unnatural Walking
"I put on rollerblades, stood up, sat down, and took them off. I felt like I was going to break my d**n neck."
- saythereosary
"Ice skating for me but same experience!"
- Kewoowaa
Manual Labor
"Manual labor."
"My grandfather did construction. One summer, he hired me on one of the roofing teams. All it took was one summer running shingles up and down a ladder to convince me to stay in school."
"My dainty little IT hands thank you, Pop. Well-played."
- feralkitten
"I grew up on a farm so I knew I didn't wanna work hard from an early age."
"My grandfather really drove home the point one summer, though, when we had to have the septic tank cleaned. I had to dig up the access points. He knew exactly where they were but told me he didn't."
"I ended up digging up the whole dang top of the tank. In 90-degree heat with high humidity in very rocky soil."
- captainstormy
Jogging
"Jogging. I’m in good shape, so it wasn’t solely for health reasons. My dog, who I used to go on long walks with, died mostly of old age. I wasn’t ready to get another dog, so I decided that jogging would be a great hobby. Feeling connected to the neighborhood was a priority for me as I found myself staying at home a lot with no dog to walk."
"So I bought decent shoes, did a little research on methods, and started jogging just a few blocks a day at first to get into the groove of my new hobby."
"Oh my god, I f**king hated every second of it. There was nothing relaxing or enjoyable about it at all, and I got home every night feeling like I was foolishly making taking a walk punishing rather than fun. About two weeks in, I stumbled and fell, scraping my hands up a little. I walked home, put my new shoes in a closet, and never jogged again."
"I adopted a new dog about a week later."
- moochir
Snow Skiing
"Snow skiing. I fell, a lot. I hurt my a**. I couldn't figure out how to stand up without falling again. I fell again. I hurt my a** again. I was freezing."
"It took me another five minutes to stand up just so I could fall yet again and get even colder. Tiny children were whizzing by me like they were competing in some weird kindergarten version of the X Games. I am not cut out for skiing."
- Quokka_Queen
Taking Second Chances
"What grinds my gears is when I tried something once, I instantly knew it was not for me and later came back to it, and now it's the best thing."
- bonapartista
"We all change over time. Rather than grind my gears it's always a pleasant surprise to me. I grew up an extremely picky eater, and as an adult have revisited many foods to find that I now enjoy them."
- ihateyoohoo
You can never tell whether an activity or job is right for you unless you try it.
But as one Redditor discovered, sometimes a second chance is worth it a few years down the road.
@lpeterp/Bluesky
@FPWellman/X
@bobsbeatgmail.com5/Threads