What is something you’re not so good at that you think most people are good at?

[fairfarmhand]

For me, it’s directions. I have a Terrible sense of direction. I’m the person with a paper map who had to turn the map on the car seat next to me every Time I took a turn. Directions that began with “Go south on highway…” made me break out in a cold sweat.

I was so very grateful and relieved when I got a garmin and I’m so thankful for my phone with maps on it. I don’t have to add 20 minutes of get lost and then turn around and find the right street time to every trip to a new place.

 

anyone else want to share?

[Faith-manor]

I don't know about most people. I wish I could knit. I have tried. I really have. I know a LOT of knitters, and they try to teach me but it is futile! I can play a Rachmaninoff Concerto, but can't coordinate knitting needles. How is that even a thing?

Sigh.

Also, it took me 50+ years of life to be able to grow a house plant and not murder it within a month of purchase. Everyone I know could keep a houseplant. Not me. I think I finally conquered that, but it could also be that Mark makes up for my failings when I am not looking! 😂

 

[Vintage81]

Socializing…being able to make friends. 

I’m terrible at directions too, but thank goodness for GPS. I’m not sure what magical system can help me make friends. 😕

[Kassia]

Oh, wow, that would be a really long list.  Just about everything.  I'm pretty organized and that's about all I can say I do well. 

ETA - life.  I just don't do life well.  

Edited April 28 by Kassia

[Clarita]

I have so many (I have a lot that I'm good at I also just also have a lot of things I'm not good at).

1. directions - I'm with you. Without the GPS I'd be constantly glancing over a the map and directions while driving, or just not go anywhere. Good thing GPS came about a few years after I started driving.

2. sewing/knitting - I tried learning those. It maybe enjoyable and stress relief for others. Super stressful to me, so never got past sew in a straight line or knit a partial scarf.

3. Statistics - I've taking statistics 3 times since high school and every time I feel like I've never seen this before. (I put this in because I'm good at Calculus.) 

4. Holding other people's babies. Yes I snuggled and held my own just fine but other people's babies ... not the same.

[MEmama]

Just like.., understanding how to be normal? Like, how to people? 

The list is long, but I think the details fall mostly under that category. 

[Miss Tick]

I can't seem to follow Google maps directions while walking. It is weird, and consistent. Driving - no problem. Walking I easily end up ½ an hour from where I'm meant to be.

 

[Pawz4me]

Hosting people in my home. I'm a strong introvert and having people who I'm not married to or didn't birth in my home totally exhausts me.

I want them to feel welcome and relaxed and have an enjoyable time, but I also want them to leave five minutes after they arrive. It's cognitive dissonance.

[Katy]

I’m terrible at convincing my kids to help with something they don’t want to do. Some people are great at this, I’m not.

Bowling. 

Knitting and crochet. 

[fairfarmhand]

Also…I know it’s not everybody but in my rural community it may as well be. 
 

I cannot drive a tractor. I’ve tried for literally decades and as of 2 weeks ago, I scared my dh so bad during one of my attempts that I am hitherto banned from ever trying in the future. And yes, I’m terribly embarrassed about it. 
 

 

[athena1277]

I can’t French braid hair.  A friend in high school tried to teach me.  It didn’t go well.  Years ago I was determined to learn so I could do my dd’s hair.  I finally realized that I do a regular braid differently from everyone else.  I go over when others go under (or vice-versa, I forget).  It just doesn’t work right for me.

[Wheres Toto]

I'm very good with directions and reading maps, but I can't knit or crochet no matter how many times people have tried to teach me.  I just can't get my fingers to do it right.   

I can't french braid either.   I know how it's done, but just can't get my fingers to do it correctly.

I can't cook.   I mean, if I had to we wouldn't starve to death, but I basically can make pasta, eggs and nuke stuff.   That's it.

I'm a pretty lousy housekeeper.  No matter how many "systems" I've tried, I just can't seem to keep up with things.  

 

[Arcadia]

I can’t drive and I can’t ride a bike. I can barely roller skate or use a scooter.

I fell asleep in class from boredom 🤣 luckily my teachers were very tolerant. My classmates were able to stay awake even when they are bored. 

[GracieJane]

I am horrifically bad at parking. Like not just parallel parking, even run-of-the-mill, grocery store parking. I can’t even park “to the right”, so I have to circle around the lot until I can turn left. 😱 It’s terrible depth perception combined with a mini-van!

[kathyl]

So many things ...

Casual conversation springs to mind.  My brain just freezes when I'm faced with the need to make casual conversation.  Every now and then, if I'm caught off guard, I 'accidentally' do it OK.  

Gardening.  I joked with ds that I should write a book and title it "The Klutzy Gardener" because every time I turned around, I was tripping over something, breaking something, stepping on things, etc.  It was almost comical.  These flower gardens came with the house when we bought it, so it's not like I planned them and all.  But I would like to see beautiful flowers out there.  

[Corraleno]

1 hour ago, fairfarmhand said:

For me, it’s directions. I have a Terrible sense of direction. I’m the person with a paper map who had to turn the map on the car seat next to me every Time I took a turn. Directions that began with “Go south on highway…” made me break out in a cold sweat.

I was so very grateful and relieved when I got a garmin and I’m so thankful for my phone with maps on it. I don’t have to add 20 minutes of get lost and then turn around and find the right street time to every trip to a new place.

This is me EXACTLY. Before portable GPS devices were available I used to get lost all. the. freaking. time. even with a map. Written directions are a nightmare and I can't reverse them in my head for the return trip, so I would have to rewrite them in reverse order. Even now when I have GPS on my phone, if I'm going somewhere I've never been before, I plan it out on Google maps on my laptop first, and I try to memorize the "big picture" aerial view of the route, so if I miss a turn or hit a detour I will at least have a vague idea of where I am in the city. Because otherwise my brain just will not connect a linear route to an overview of the city, if that makes sense.

This is clearly a brain glitch, because I also cannot spatialize sound — if I hear a noise in the house I will have to walk around randomly trying to find it because my brain can't tell what direction it's coming from. It used to drive me nuts when I would call to one of the kids and ask where they were and they'd say "here" instead of "in my room" or "in the kitchen," because there was no way I could tell from "here" where they were.

[Ali in OR]

I can't text. I write full sentences with proper grammar.

In fact, I'm not great at 21st century. I know no 21st century pop songs (even 90's are too new for me, but I rock the 80's). Don't really know memes or teen talk. My kids have to explain some of their texts to me. Don't do TikTok. I can go all day without looking at my phone (it's in my purse, not on me. I'll return your message later).

[SKL]

Remembering names and faces.  Thinking of the word I want to say.  (I may also randomly say the exact opposite word.)  Knowing left from right.  Finishing what I've started.   

[Amethyst]

Winking

[TrulySusan]

Clapping along to music- seriously can’t do it 😂 

I have pretty much stopped trying at this point. 

[Heartstrings]

1 hour ago, MEmama said:

Just like.., understanding how to be normal? Like, how to people? 

The list is long, but I think the details fall mostly under that category. 

I have trouble peopling as well.  

[Heartstrings]

1 hour ago, athena1277 said:

I can’t French braid hair.  A friend in high school tried to teach me.  It didn’t go well.  Years ago I was determined to learn so I could do my dd’s hair.  I finally realized that I do a regular braid differently from everyone else.  I go over when others go under (or vice-versa, I forget).  It just doesn’t work right for me.

Isn’t that a Dutch braid instead of a French braid?   Maybe you’re just trying the wrong nationalities braid.  Maybe your hands are Dutch? 

[wintermom]

I cannot read when there is background noise. Even music throws off my concentration. I pretty much need complete silence. 

I can't make icing for cakes. It's always too runny, so I've switched to using whip cream from a can.

[mommyoffive]

So many things

I am awful at parking.  Cannot pull into a spot if there are cars on either side.  No I am not parking out in the last stall because I am trying to get steps.  It is because I can't park.  My dream is a self parking car.

Directions.  I love the talking directions and could do a paper map.  But I navigate by landmarks not street names   I have lived in my city for almost 20 years  and I know the name of one street.  The one I live on.  And that is the only street name I know in the whole state.  Seriously. I have no clue of the street names of places I go everyday.

I can't knit or do anything crafty.  I just hate my  own work, but think everything other people make is stunning. 

I can't learn a dance routine.  I can remember the first 2 steps and  then I am out.  How do I have all my kids who love to dance?

I can't do hair or makeup.

I can't organize things.  Or do any sort of interior design. 

I can't spell.

I can't listen to audio books.  Boring.  

I cannot listen to directions. 

I cannot build Lego.  I find it so boring.  I mean I can do it, but I don't find it fun or enjoyable. 

 

 

[PronghornD]

I am bad at helping in a kitchen, like when church ladies gather to put out a meal of some sort. I am fine if someone just sets me in a corner and assigns me to peel potatoes or something. But if I have to figure out what needs doing and do it, I am totally bewildered. I am in awe of all the useful people who scuttle about getting things done without any guidance whatsoever.

 

 

[Eos]

Movies. I don't really like watching them and get too bound up in the plots and can find it difficult to return to reality after watching a movie, big screen or small. I never remember any lines or actors' names or other movies they were in. Everybody else gets this stuff and I sometimes think I live in a different world.

[Elizabeth86]

1 hour ago, PronghornD said:

I am bad at helping in a kitchen, like when church ladies gather to put out a meal of some sort. I am fine if someone just sets me in a corner and assigns me to peel potatoes or something. But if I have to figure out what needs doing and do it, I am totally bewildered. I am in awe of all the useful people who scuttle about getting things done without any guidance whatsoever.

 

 

Oh me too. I was just at an event and I just played being busy with the baby because I was just blown away by how everyone just jumps in and gets stuff done.

[Elizabeth86]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

So many things

I am awful at parking.  Cannot pull into a spot if there are cars on either side.  No I am not parking out in the last stall because I am trying to get steps.  It is because I can't park.  My dream is a self parking car.

Directions.  I love the talking directions and could do a paper map.  But I navigate by landmarks not street names   I have lived in my city for almost 20 years  and I know the name of one street.  The one I live on.  And that is the only street name I know in the whole state.  Seriously. I have no clue of the street names of places I go everyday.

I can't knit or do anything crafty.  I just hate my  own work, but think everything other people make is stunning. 

I can't learn a dance routine.  I can remember the first 2 steps and  then I am out.  How do I have all my kids who love to dance?

I can't do hair or makeup.

I can't organize things.  Or do any sort of interior design. 

I can't spell.

I can't listen to audio books.  Boring.  

I cannot listen to directions. 

I cannot build Lego.  I find it so boring.  I mean I can do it, but I don't find it fun or enjoyable. 

 

 

Same to ALL these except I’m ok at spelling, but not grammar or writing. 

[maize]

I'm faceblind, so to me the ability to recognize faces seems like a superpower--one that almost everyone else has!

It runs in my family, so at least I have my mom, siblings, and kids to commiserate with! A bunch of us were even involved in a prosopagnosia study through Harvard--the study revolved around a computer program designed to try to train people with prosopagnosia to recognize faces better. The program was not effective. 

It never occurred to me when I was a kid that it was not normal to go through an entire school year with a class of kids and by the end of the year only be able to reliably recognize 2 or 3 of them. And the fact that most people can recognize individual film actors from one scene to another even if they change clothes--let alone from one film to another--completely blows my mind.

[Laura Corin]

Listening.  I have had to work hard at it and I'm still not great. My instinct is to jump in and give my point of view or offer fixes.

[Clarita]

2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

I am awful at parking.  Cannot pull into a spot if there are cars on either side.  No I am not parking out in the last stall because I am trying to get steps.  It is because I can't park.  My dream is a self parking car.

Oh I forgot how bad I am at parking. Just to let you know there's a problem with self-parking cars, that is they don't unpark themselves. I was super excited that my minivan can park itself, until the one time when it parked itself perfectly into this spot that I couldn't get out of. I sat there like an idiot waiting for the drivers of the cars near me to come by and drive off before I could leave. 

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, Eos said:

Movies. I don't really like watching them and get too bound up in the plots and can find it difficult to return to reality after watching a movie, big screen or small. I never remember any lines or actors' names or other movies they were in. Everybody else gets this stuff and I sometimes think I live in a different world.

Movies put me right to sleep.  I don't like tv either.  I'd much rather read a book.

1 hour ago, Elizabeth86 said:

Oh me too. I was just at an event and I just played being busy with the baby because I was just blown away by how everyone just jumps in and gets stuff done.

Babies are good for that.  🙂  

[DawnM]

I used to amaze people with my ability to multi-task really well.

I can no longer do it.  I really struggle to do more than one thing at a time.   I think it is age maybe?   Or maybe just that I have way too many things going on and I can only handle a certain number.

It stinks because I am dropping balls I never used to drop.

[Indigo Blue]

So many things. I can’t merge into small space in a pack of cars going 75 miles an hour. It’s seems terrifying and utterly dangerous to me. 
 

I’m not good at lots of things, lol. Most things, actually. 
 

I am good at organizing, explaining things, and keeping my yard so pretty but in a very simple way. 
 

As an aside, I think @Faith-manor should perform a Rachmaninoff concerto (dang, a whole concert) exclusively for the hive. Boy, would that be something!! It’s fun to daydream and imagine…..

[Pawz4me]

35 minutes ago, DawnM said:

I used to amaze people with my ability to multi-task really well.

I can no longer do it.  I really struggle to do more than one thing at a time.   I think it is age maybe?   Or maybe just that I have way too many things going on and I can only handle a certain number.

It stinks because I am dropping balls I never used to drop.

I think it is age related for me. I used to be very good, maybe excellent, at multi-tasking. Now it totally stresses me out. The older I get the more I absolutely crave peace and calmness, and multi-tasking is the opposite of peaceful and calm. I've gotten to the point of downright resenting having to juggle multiple things, except the simplest tasks.

[Carrie12345]

10 hours ago, Clarita said:

. Statistics - I've taking statistics 3 times since high school and every time I feel like I've never seen this before. (I put this in because I'm good at Calculus.) 

That’s interesting to me, because I’m hopeless with calc but I aced stats!

[GracieJane]

I don’t even know how to describe this quality, but I’m terrible at differentiating between dreams and plans. This scene happens all the time: someone at an event tells me how they are going to buy an island/write a screenplay/make ten thousand dollars panning for gold, and I am absolutely thrilled by their enthusiasm and get super excited about the plan. Afterwards, as I am sharing this happy news with my DH, he gently tells me that’s not actually happening, so-and-so is exaggerating. It’s like it never occurs to me in the middle of a conversation that this is a dream, not a plan. Crushing!

[Tap]

Dancing- poor rhythm

singing-poor pitch control 

[HomeAgain]

I struggle with inferring intent and undercurrents of emotion.  I think it's a chicken-egg thing: I wasn't good at it and then had a career where it was "deal first, analyze after, don't ask for sensitive info", so doing it all at the same time just doesn't occur to me.  I'll answer questions but not probe into why the question is being asked.  I figure the person will tell me if they want me to know.  Many women seem to grasp the emotional side of the question and apply it into a conversation.

I also struggle with rhythm, mechanical diagrams, and I'm not even going to discuss my singing. 😄

[historically accurate]

I have never learned my left from my right - I have to do the L with thumb and finger every time. 

Making friends.

Sewing on a sewing machine - my home ec teacher told me to find a new hobby.

 

 

[cintinative]

I found my peeps with the parking thing.  My husband doesn't quite get my depth perception problem.  Now that we have a minivan I am constantly parking crooked. I scraped the van pulling out of a tight parking garage.  Sigh.

I stink at any sport that involves hand-eye coordination. Not that I am an excellent runner. LOL. But I would rather jog 7 days a week than play volleyball, baseball, tennis, etc. 

If you have me do a new exercise video I haven't done before, the first couple times it will be a comedy routine for anyone watching.  Decades ago my friend and I tried Tae Bo and I laughed so hard at myself I was doubled over. 

I'm not good at art. I could have a fantastic picture in my head, but what comes out on paper is around 3rd grade level.  

[fairfarmhand]

2 hours ago, DawnM said:

I used to amaze people with my ability to multi-task really well.

I can no longer do it.  I really struggle to do more than one thing at a time.   I think it is age maybe?   Or maybe just that I have way too many things going on and I can only handle a certain number.

It stinks because I am dropping balls I never used to drop.

It probably is age. I’m the same. I was rocking a grandbaby the other day. And I let my phone go to voicemail because I couldn’t fathom talking on the phone and tending a baby. One baby. I had 4 at home. I’d talk on the phone, tend a baby, keep an eye on the big kids, and cook supper all at once when I was younger. 

[math teacher]

I have a lot of trouble with visual spatial stuff. For example, during state testing there is a grid where we have to put the students initials in the square coordinating where they sit. The only way I can do it is to put the grid in the same direction as the students, then fill it out. 

Fix my hair

I can't people either

[Ausmumof3]

Most things 😞

if it’s word nerd stuff or purely theoretical I’m there… anything requiring motor skills - forget it.

[Ausmumof3]

27 minutes ago, cintinative said:

I found my peeps with the parking thing.  My husband doesn't quite get my depth perception problem.  Now that we have a minivan I am constantly parking crooked. I scraped the van pulling out of a tight parking garage.  Sigh.

I stink at any sport that involves hand-eye coordination. Not that I am an excellent runner. LOL. But I would rather jog 7 days a week than play volleyball, baseball, tennis, etc. 

If you have me do a new exercise video I haven't done before, the first couple times it will be a comedy routine for anyone watching.  Decades ago my friend and I tried Tae Bo and I laughed so hard at myself I was doubled over. 

I'm not good at art. I could have a fantastic picture in my head, but what comes out on paper is around 3rd grade level.  

Are you shorter than your DH? I was a bit stressed about how quickly my learner driver was able to park and kept worrying he’d hit something. Eventually we had a chat and I realised he can clearly see the front end of the car - I can’t so I have to kind of figure out how to line things up to make it work. ( I could probably height adjust the seat but that involves some other skills I’m also not great at!)

[Ausmumof3]

12 hours ago, Miss Tick said:

I can't seem to follow Google maps directions while walking. It is weird, and consistent. Driving - no problem. Walking I easily end up ½ an hour from where I'm meant to be.

 

I used to be like this but then the new Apple Maps has a kind of torch like icon so you can see which direction you’re facing. It made a bit difference for me.

[Faith-manor]

2 hours ago, Indigo Blue said:

So many things. I can’t merge into small space in a pack of cars going 75 miles an hour. It’s seems terrifying and utterly dangerous to me. 
 

I’m not good at lots of things, lol. Most things, actually. 
 

I am good at organizing, explaining things, and keeping my yard so pretty but in a very simple way. 
 

As an aside, I think @Faith-manor should perform a Rachmaninoff concerto (dang, a whole concert) exclusively for the hive. Boy, would that be something!! It’s fun to daydream and imagine…..

Awwww, that is sweet of you! But, just so you know, I have kind of grown a little lazy in my retirement. Rach is an endurance kind of composer. Would Debussy, Chopin, and Beethoven work, maybe some Bach? I don't want to have to practice that hard! 😂😂😂

LOL, I don't do much performing anymore. I broke a finger at the joint on my right hand a few years ago and now I have arthritis in it. I had to play Theme from Liebestraum (Liszt) this past summers and I did fine given that it was for a casual, non profit performance, but I sure did notice it, and anyone with a really well trained ear, like Dmetler, would have known it too. It was weak in a few spots. Not noticeable to most people, but man would I hate to be hanging my hat financially on my performIng ability now. That joint is a real issue. Thankfully, I do not have any other injuries or arthritis in my other fingers.

[mmasc]

So many…dancing, singing, swimming, directions. And one that really bugs me—putting together a stupid banker’s box. I mean, really, how hard could this be??? I can do stats, math, analytics, sure. But put together a box—nope. I get there eventually, but every time I take a wrong turn somewhere and it takes me far too long to remember how. I’m sure this has a name, but I’m just not good at looking at how something “should go” and being able to make it happen. I need step-by-step directions, *on paper*. Don’t you dare *tell* me the step-by-step directions. 😂

[Miss Tick]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I used to be like this but then the new Apple Maps has a kind of torch like icon so you can see which direction you’re facing. It made a bit difference for me.

Yes! My children are always amazed that even this does not help me! Here's the thing, i think it is because I can't orient the phone to *me*, I need to orient myself to the phone. Clearly the solution is more practice time walking in, say, European cities, but I haven't been able to pull that off yet. It will also talk me through the walk, so if I put in earbuds nobody would even know about this accommodation, but I get over confident and wind up in ridiculously wrong places.

[Ausmumof3]

Just now, Miss Tick said:

Yes! My children are always amazed that even this does not help me! Here's the thing, i think it is because I can't orient the phone to *me*, I need to orient myself to the phone. Clearly the solution is more practice time walking in, say, European cities, but I haven't been able to pull that off yet. It will also talk me through the walk, so if I put in earbuds nobody would even know about this accommodation, but I get over confident and wind up in ridiculously wrong places.

That makes perfect sense! I also struggle with that. It’s a pity you can’t do like portrait lock but completely lock the phone screen orientation so you could turn it around!