# The Humility Thread: What are you NOT good at? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267 "2010-04-25T02:26:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/41 "2010-04-25T16:39:58Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Please note Rule 1 in the OP. Not bragging. It has seriously harmed my career more often than I can count. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/42 "2010-04-25T16:41:58Z")
Singing. Oof. I have a terrible visual memory. I don’t remember what people or places look like. I can’t even get the basics right, like whether it was a tall or a short building, or what sex the server was. I don’t pay attention. I want to be one of those people who is observant and aware, and instead I’m completely oblivious most of the time. Honestly, this probably contributes to my happiness, but it’s still not the way I want to be. My memory for things that have happened to me is terrible. I can remember details of a book, but can’t remember people I used to know or whether I’ve ever been somewhere or what I might have said last week. If actors are relatively close in size, age, etc. I will routinely mix them up. If a movie has two white guys in their thirties who are approximately the same height and weight, it’s a guarantee that I’ll mistake one for the other at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/43 "2010-04-25T17:01:32Z")
Standing up for myself. Getting motivated. Following through. Putting on makeup. Styling my hair. Working out. Dressing stylishly. Rats… ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/44 "2010-04-25T17:44:57Z")
Personal relationships Follow-through Eating Prioritizing Goal setting Sleeping Responsibility Acting-Singing-Dancing - anything that requires me to turn off my brain & just do I can draw, though ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/45 "2010-04-25T17:59:59Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > I **am** bad at dating, but not for this reason. I’m actually a very interesting and very social person and could very well get dates if I wasn’t such a wuss. I’m really afraid of rejection and don’t dare show interest because, well, rejection is usually what happens when you show interest. But not always, and I know I’d get a positive result if I only tried. > > I’m also lazy. I’m pretty good at my job, but the reason why I’m not further done with my Ph.D. thesis is that I find it hard to psych myself to do things that are unpleasant or things that I don’t want to do right now. It’s hard for me to self-discipline, I need outside discipline. I very well might have finished by now if I’d been able to motivate myself better. > > Actually, it seems that most of the stuff I describe here is linked to the fact that I have trouble doing stuff that is scary/unpleasant, either because I can’t motivate myself or because I’m afraid of other people’s reactions. And I’m often scared of stuff, even stuff that most people aren’t afraid of. Here’s an anecdote: I was in Poland the last few weeks, and I wanted to mail postcards to some people. It took me two days before deciding to enter the post office (and I had to have people come with me) because even though it’s kind of obvious what I want to do when I bring postcards to the post office, I was afraid of not being able to express myself since I only speak a few words of Polish, and of pissing people off. In a sense, this is the main problem of my whole life, and it is definitely something I’m not good at. Hi-five, other me! We should totally go take on the world together. You know, someday. When we get around to it. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/46 "2010-04-25T18:04:12Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I am almost certainly some version of a sociopath just like my father and a few other members of my family are. That is more complicated than it sounds (I am not a criminal in the least and I do have my own set of values) but I don’t experience the same range of emotions that other people seem to especially when it comes to bonding with other people. A lot of the moral dilemmas people throw out sail right over my head. I like everyone until they may make me mad and then I either want them dead or their life destroyed and would I would love to help speed that process along given the chance. Only people biologically related to me get a partial pass on that. I can have a good relationship with someone for years and then turn on them completely and permanently given a minor change in circumstances. The best I can do is be aware of this fact but I don’t think I can change it. I can’t ever get married again for example because there is no way it will work out well for the person in question and I won’t even care. Sounds like Borderline Personality Disorder. (IAMAPsychologist, just a psych minor.) ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/47 "2010-04-25T18:41:01Z")
I was never any good at sports. I was a continual disappointment to gym teachers because, despite hitting my full adult height (a little over 5’7", so tallish for a girl) at around age 12 I was hopeless at basketball. I’m not much of a dancer either. More disappointing to me personally is that I don’t have any knack for performing or composing music. I’m good at _listening_ to music and can discuss different styles and techniques pretty intelligently, but my practical ability is very limited. I played violin for a couple of years in school and did okay (but definitely not great) at reading music and the basic manipulation of the instrument, but I don’t think I ever could have “jammed” or written a new song. A related weakness is that I have difficulty with rhythm. One of the things I can’t always do even when listening to music is identify the time signature. I was likewise never any good with identifying which syllables were stressed in a poem. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/48 "2010-04-25T18:56:21Z")
I am a terrible singer. To the point that small children don’t even want me to sing them lullabies. (But when I’m in the car alone or in the shower, I’m a Supah-Star!) I’m also terrible at making phone calls. I hate picking up the phone and dialing - practically have an anxiety attack when forced to do so. This despite the fact that I’m told that I have a wonderful voice and manner on the telephone. And the worst: I’m an absolutely awful housekeeper. I know what needs to be done, and how to do it effectively, but a combination of procrastination and not caring means that my house usually looks ransacked. (And honestly, once I get started on a particular job - folding clothes, washing dishes, vacuuming, whatever - I really don’t mind the job itself. And I know it’s pretty satisfying to have a clean house. I guess I get discouraged by the fact that the job will only STAY done for a few minutes.) I’m also TERRIBLE at remembering names. My kids all have nicknames, in addition to the usual “sweetie, honey, baby-doll,” because I’m as likely to call them by the dog’s name as their own… ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/49 "2010-04-25T19:02:41Z")
I’m terrible at all sorts of things. I’m shit at prioritizing things, and when life gets hard, I tend to avoid whatever is stressing me out, which inevitably makes the problem worse. The fact that I know it will make the problem worse doesn’t stop me. This is my single worst fault. I can’t draw, I have trouble with anything requiring spacial visualization, like directions and putting together furniture from IKEA. (I totally put together a chair pretty much backwards once.) I’m chronically late. My house is a mess. I have a hard time restraining myself from telling people exactly what I think of them. I’m bad at names and at faces. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/50 "2010-04-25T19:05:37Z")
I am terrible at keeping track of anything paper. Cancelled checks, receipts, car titles, etc. Horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/51 "2010-04-25T19:30:04Z")
I can’t sing, I have no sense of direction, and I rarely put things back where they came from. ---
**Author:** ![cuberdon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/45deac/32.png) [@cuberdon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuberdon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/52 "2010-04-25T19:33:47Z")
Word problems. I hated word problems. Whenever I got one, I had to make a diagram and bang, I got it. But if that hadn’t been allowed my math grades would have been much worse. Reading peoples’ reactions. To anything. Nonverbal communication feels like some language where the grammar rules are totally random and change frequently, without warning, and without any discernable pattern. Housekeeping. Mom’s house is decorated such as to make Martha Stewart jealous, and always perfectly tidy. I can barely get motivated to fold the clean towels. Rolling and crimping pie crusts. I can mix them, and I can weave a lattice top. But my crimped edges are ugly, ugly, ugly. Not that Prince Charming cares. He is very good at eating pie. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/53 "2010-04-25T19:59:20Z")
I can draw and paint well and do just about anything artistic like that–even calligraphy–so you’d THINK that I would have decent handwriting, wouldn’t you? Alas, it’s so bad that I sometimes even miss letters and have to go back in and squeeze them in. Even when I’m being careful I watch with horror as these mangled shapes flow from the end of my pen… a g with no loop at the top… and m with too many/too few bumps… letters that are grotesquely over- or under-sized… it’s really sad. This is one of the reasons I always took notes on a laptop in school. Otherwise I couldn’t read them later, or I missed what the professor said while trying to make something legible appear on the paper. I suck tremendously at remembering names. TREMENDOUSLY. I also have a pretty bad memory in general these days, but it’s a medication side effect so I’m hoping it will go away now that I’m changing meds. I’m not athletic. I can dance and that’s about it. Most sport-type activity I’m just so inept at that I turn into this pathetic whiny mess and want to stop. I think I have dyscalculia. I’m not especially bad at math, when it is explained to me, but most things to do with numbers are really difficult for me–like for example, reading a phone number off a piece of paper in the right order. Typing in credit card numbers is like its own special level of hell. I’m easily frustrated and tend to give up on things I’m not getting the hang of. Patience is something I struggle with. I completely fail at folding fitted sheets. Damned things. Actually, I rather suck at laundry. Not that I do it badly, just that I put off doing it. I end up with piles of dirty clothes and nothing to wear more frequently than I like to admit. I’m a pretty good cook most of the time but I can’t bake a yellow cake from scratch to save my life. I’ve tried all kinds of recipes and they always come out “meh” so it must be me. I’ve stopped trying at this point. I struggle with limits, socially. I’m constantly having to reevaluate situations to figure out if I’m being overboard, talking too much, being too animated, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/54 "2010-04-25T20:43:25Z")
I can’t dance, and I will never be able to do it. There is something lacking in this body, no “dance gene”. It looks and feels strange and I walk off again. I wish I could dance fairly well. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/55 "2010-04-25T20:46:19Z")
I stink at remembering dates. Keeping my eye on the ball. I get lost driving. Time management. Staying on task. Some sports. Skiing, Tennis. Punctuation. I am not always motivated. Organization. Being on time. Decorating. Planning events. Picking men. I can’t sing. Being spontaneous. Quitting something even when I need to. Talking on the phone. Cleaning out my car Keeping track of money. Understanding the world today? Crowds. Having close friends. Networking, I’m a loner by choice. Sales False compassion. Being wasteful. Playing musical instruments. A lot more but these came to mind. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bearman217](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e4f/32.png) [@bearman217](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bearman217)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/56 "2010-04-25T20:59:44Z")
I’m not good at public speaking, which is kinda ironic since the career path that I have chosen involves a great deal of public speaking, police work. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/57 "2010-04-25T21:23:54Z")
•I can’t recognize people. Three minutes after I’m no longer looking at your face, I can’t remember what you look like. I’d make an absolutely terrible eyewitness in a court case. On a good day I could probably pick out my Mom in a lineup, but I’d be nervous about it. • I can’t aim and throw something. Darts, balls, ring toss, whatever. • Can’t catch worth a damn either. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/58 "2010-04-25T21:36:34Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Seems I’m not very good at holding down a job. Unfortunately this is my weakness too. I have learned to work with this by working as a temp - that also ties into my other weakness, having serial interests. I get really interested in something, learn it, get good at it, then I lose interest in it. I actually haven’t figured out yet if this is a weakness or just a facet of my personality, but you don’t seem to get very far in life when you change directions every two to three years (at 43, I have never had a job for longer than 20 months). ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/59 "2010-04-25T21:38:52Z")
Can’t draw worth a damn. Can’t carry a tune (well maybe for a couple measures, but invariably drop it). Can’t stay away from too much food. I was invariably the last one chosen for the baseball or football team; terrible athlete. Never learned to ride a bike. But my biggest failing is with foreign languages. Even after studying French for two years in HS, taking a cram course for the PhD language exam, moving to Montreal and living here for nearly 42 years, taking a couple conversation courses here, I cannot speak French decently and, most importantly, cannot follow the simplest news or weather broadcast (the English CBC station has gone down the tubes). ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267/60 "2010-04-25T22:38:49Z")
> [@PandaBear77](#): > > I have an embarrassingly bad sense of direction. It’s probably the #1 thing about myself that I’m most ashamed of. > > If I’m in familiar territory (like my tiny hometown), I’m fine. If I’ve been somewhere a few times, I’m (usually) fine - provided I can go the same route I’m used to going to get there. If I have to make any kind of change (like having to take a detour), forget it. > > If I’m in an area that I’m not familiar with, I will get lost. It’s a given. I will get lost even if I have a map and yes, I’ve even gotten lost with a damn GPS system in my car. It rattles me every time and I get shaky and sometimes even cry. There have been times I’ve simply given up and gone home (once I could find my way back home) rather than go to where I was heading. Cary, NC (almost always on those “America’s Best Cities Evar” lists) puts me in tears EVERY SINGLE TIME I go … a very pretty town that I’ve grown to despise simply because I’m incapable of navigating it. > > Other than this, I’m a reasonably intelligent person. I’m no genius, but I’m certainly not stupid so I’m completely baffled (and embarrassed - did I mention embarrassed?) by my terrible sense of direction ☹ I have a great sense of direction and Cary also confounds me. It’s a really tough town to navigate because Maynard Rd is a loop with a NE, NW, SE, and SW section. If you don’t put the right directional in your GPS, it’s likely to plop you anywhere, because most of the roads in Cary will cross Maynard twice. Combine that with Cary’s almost total lack of signage (because they think it’s unsightly), and it’s not hard to get lost. So you aren’t alone when it comes to Cary. I’m terrible at singing and dancing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humility-thread-what-are-you-not-good-at/537267.md?page=4)