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Cold truths are hard to swallow for a reason. They strip us of the illusion that everything’s in our control and that we know things best. But in reality, that’s not how things work, and who likes to be told that?!

What’s a truth no one wants to hear?” wondered Redditor u/grubbseuph11 on r/AskReddit and people shared some illuminating and brutally honest responses, like the hard-to-digest fact that “friends will come and go,” and that “no matter how likeable you may be, there are always going to be certain people who don't like you, sometimes for no particular reason.”

So let’s get ready to be hit by a cold shower that should make you rethink this whole perspective on our lives, and be sure to check out our previous post with more hard truths right here.

#1

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them You aren’t a hero or even a good person just because you’re in the military

SouthwestTraveller , Diego González Report

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Natalia Shoemark
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

American brain washing... "thank you for your service"... I mean, yes, thank you! But war needs to be feared not celebrated!

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#3

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them You are much closer to being poor and homeless than you are to being super rich

fckboris , Shail Sharma Report

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Serial pacifist
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also, I am closer to being a long-term BP commentator than a long-term professional writer 🤷‍♀️

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In order to find out why exactly it's so hard to swallow a hard truth, and how we should react to it, Bored Panda spoke with Susan Petang, a certified divorce coach and the creator of “The Quiet Zone Coaching,” who teaches women how to stop feeling overwhelmed and start waking up happy in the morning again.

“When we develop close relationships, we expect those people to be gentle with us, not hurt us,” said Susan explaining why hard truths are not pleasant to hear. “When they offer up a hard truth, it violates the expectation that the person isn't going to cause us pain. We want them to love and encourage us—but we don't always realize that a hard truth is being given to us with love and encouragement, with our best interests in mind.”

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#4

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them Bad people don’t always “get what they deserve”.

EmbarrassedCar7457 , Abbat Report

#5

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them Not all babies are cute.

616abc517 , Ryan Franco Report

#6

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them “I don't know” is a perfectly valid answer to many questions.

TheBrassDancer , Andrew Neel Report

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Tim Pillinger
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a professional qualification where you have to have said "sorry, I can't answer that question" to qualify. My boss primed the customer to ask something silly.

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“Often, what someone else calls a ‘hard truth’ we call ‘criticism,’” she said. “If a criticism is true, we can agree and apologize, then work to make it right—or we can ignore and deflect it if it isn't true.”

Moreover, Susan said that when someone we care about delivers a hard truth, we should take that opinion more seriously, because this is a person whose opinion we trust. “I advise my clients to think about the intention behind the message. If the intention is to help us, prevent us from making a mistake, or intervene before we get hurt, it's worthwhile to consider.”

#7

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness, that is life.

MayaButtreeks1985 , Adrian Swancar Report

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mistakes are unavoidable. Failure is unavoidable. We cannot run from it and need to stop being so afraid, because it's ok to not get everything right all the time, and like this says, sometimes it's out if your control

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#8

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them Some people are bad parents.

Being funny or smart doesn’t mean you’re ready to take care if a human being (maybe even multiple) for a good chunk of your life.

Please don’t get kids to fix a relationship either, I’ve seen this too much and it doesn’t work.

UwU_was_ist_das , Alberto Casetta Report

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Rick
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don’t have kids and don’t want them and it’s simply because I don’t want to spend all of my adult life looking after and raising a child, I just want to live my own and not worry about that.

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#9

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them Most people genuinely do not care about you or your opinions, which is just fine

Klaus_Heisler87 , LinkedIn Sales Solutions Report

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Rick
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unfortunately, social media has made a lot of people forget this rule.

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Susan advises asking yourself if the "hard truth" is really true. “Be brutally honest with yourself—remember why your loved one brought it up to you in the first place!”

“It's beneficial to hear a hard truth when we're hurting someone else, hurting ourselves, or not being true to our values,” she explained and added: “So situations that look like that would be drug/alcohol abuse, spousal abuse, child abuse, bad financial or career decisions, or dating someone married if you're religious.”

#10

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them No matter how likeable you may be, there are always going to be certain people who don't like you, sometimes for no particular reason.

DeathSpiral321 , Jorge Saavedra Report

#11

Most people shouldn’t have kids.

Swedish-Butt-Whistle Report

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Andy Acceber
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When you look at the impact of 7 billion humans at a time on the surface of the planet, yeah. This is probably true.

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#12

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them Having a University degree doesn't guarantee you a job

PripyatHorse , Abby Thompson Report

#13

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them Life will never be exactly like it was before the pandemic started.

SchteeveFour , Mauro Lima Report

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Gelato Cat
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

After the 1918 influenza epidemic came the roaring 20's which was revolutionary for both the arts and society, a similar thing happened with the renaissance, so who knows, maybe it will never be the same again for the better ( for those who have lost jobs/loved ones to Covid i am not minimising ur suffering)

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#14

You can't run from yourself. Moving towns, cities or even countries won't automatically change who you are

MD564 Report

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JuJu
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This should be way higher. It's important to be at peace with yourself otherwise you will never be happy.

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#15

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them Friends will come and go. You will have many friends who one day you will never see again.

Realitycheck-4u , Matheus Ferrero Report

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K. Lange
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

and you will often learn it the hard way: when you would need them the most - they will disappear.

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#16

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them You are the main character in your life but you're just an extra in everone else's

Accomplished-Bee4700 , Robert McGowan Report

#17

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice.

RepresentativeWay734 , Brooke Cagle Report

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Lauren Caswell
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Niceness, kindness, small random acts, these are one of the things I love about life. Even if they are few and far between. And doing them always feels good so it's a win win ^-^

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#18

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them Climate change is an exponential curve and we are entering the shoulder. Natural disasters are expected to increase 8x in the next couple decades. It gets worse after that.

gandhikahn , Chris Gallagher Report

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kristina law
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I live in Phoenix, where 200 people move to every single day. Also, where it will be uninhabitable within 20 years because of the rise in temperatures. Don't move here.

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#19

It just takes a second to destroy what has taken years or even centuries to make.

dexterhines Report

#20

The world is 100% being run by corruption.

FrostFurnace Report

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Andy Acceber
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I read this as "corporation," doubted it, then realized that was probably true too.

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#21

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them War can come to your doorstep, everything can change. No country is immune. History clearly demonstrates this.

SchteeveFour , UX Gun Report

#22

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them Not everything happens "for a reason" or because of something you have (or have not) done.

Sometimes, things in life and the Universe go sideways and it's just your time to be caught in the crossfire.

Emcee_Such_N_Such , Ryoji Iwata Report

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Burs
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And please do not go to people in a bad situation and tell them that x “happened for a reason”. It doesn’t matter what you believe. Telling them that their mum just died, they lost they lost their job or they are severely ill “for a reason” is extremely invalidating and rude.

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#23

All your bones are wet right now

Toren8002 Report

#24

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them If you don’t take care of your teeth when you’re young, you’ll regret it when you’re old. Brush twice a day, goddamnit.

toothfixingfiend , Diana Polekhina Report

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Elmie Pumpkinbush
Community Member
2 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

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#25

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them If you’re chasing a romance or friendship… the other person doesn’t want to be with you.

Magicman2444 , Toa Heftiba Report

#26

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them You’re not special… but that’s okay because everyone is not special together.

BeechballMusic , Мария Волк Report

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Kari Panda
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wish we‘d teach that more. So many peope think they’re special and thus believe they’re entitled to something. You and your wishes/opinions/needs definitely matter, but so do those of everyone else.

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#27

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them The odds that you die tomorrow is wayyy higher than winning on that lottery ticket.

Swiftzword , Erik Mclean Report

#28

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them There's no "health in every size". If you're over/under certain weight limit, you have a higher risk in getting sick. There's no "but-".

cleanbroom , i yunmai Report

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NsG
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wish more people understood the concept of "risk". You can totally be 20lb over weight and still be healthy RIGHT NOW. All it means is that you are gambling that you will be healthy tomorrow or next week or next year. It is also not a guarantee. If there is a risk factor that one in ten overweight men will have a heart attack, and you gather nine of your overweight friends you cannot say with complete accuracy which one of you it will be. It is a gamble - some people are happy to gamble, and accept the fact they may lose. But there's a difference between knowing it's a possibility and being scared into thinking it's a certainty.

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#30

You can't make someone love you if they don't

krazekrittermom Report

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Scagsy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a terrible movie trope. Keep pestering and chasing and eventually the other person will fall madly in love with you. Sorry, but it doesn't work like that. You will go to prison for stalking and may find yourself on the receiving end of somebody else's love. You don't want that. You really don't want that.

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#31

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them You won’t be young and beautiful forever.

mtn4444 Report

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K. Lange
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

that you are getting older doesn't automatically mean that you won't be beautyful anymore. The beauty just changes.

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#32

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them That you need to stop procrastinating and get that thing you've been needing to do done already.

PikaBirb44 , Annie Spratt Report

#33

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them Your boyfriend/husband is always going to find other women attractive.

Milkie444 , Caleb George Report

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Gelato Cat
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ur partner will always find other people attractive ( weather they're bf/gf doesn't matter )

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#34

We’ll eventually be alone, so it’s either being comfortable with ourselves or being tormented by loneliness later in life

yuhuhuhuhuhu Report

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Caro Caro
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A hard lesson to have to go through. Loneliness is tough but loneliness in old age is not only tough but detrimental for your health too.

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#35

Staying with someone who cheated on you is never a good idea

bluemorphine Report

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Andy Acceber
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Who hurt you, OP, that made you believe this was 100% true for 100% of people 100% of the time? People are complicated. Relationships are complicated. Absolutes about either rarely apply.

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Vicky Z
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Honestly you might be able to forgive but it's very difficult to forget! For me, once the trust is gone then that's it! We are done

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TheBlackPanda (JustABlackBear)
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cheating means there's either something wrong with the relationship or something wrong with the person that cheated. Either way, it's not a good thing but sometimes, partners forgive each other and move on from it and go on to have good relationships from that point on. But a lot of the time, it's best to just leave a cheating partner because they'll probably do it again and again

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Foxxy (The Original)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I could never stay if someone cheated. You can no longer trust the person

meeepy53 avatar
David Fox
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wrong! My wife did cheat on me ONCE at the beginning but you know what.... We communicated, we talked and came to a conclusion. Relationships aren't easy but if you talk it's easier. I forgave my wife and yes, it took time to build trust but here we are, 15 years later happily married with a beautiful daughter. Remember mistakes happen.

juslisenk avatar
Yo Momma
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same. My now husband cheated on me 3 months after we were married and I forgave him. It is a very HARD and long road. He has changed for the better and we are better. Its been 6 years.

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Scagsy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cheating shows a complete lack of respect for your partner. I couldn't agree more with this. There's no way to have a healthy relationship with someone who is going to toss you out with the garbage whenever they get an urge.

satu-portimojarvi avatar
Big Blue Cat
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm not sure if I agree. But better advice imo (not that anyone cares about my opinion) is don't get together with a cheater e.g. if you we're the other woman/man in the beginning of your relationship, don't be surprised when s/he cheats on you.

rens_1 avatar
Rens
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My partner was married twice before, and he deeply regretted his behaviour where he cheated on his 2nd wife (1st marriage ended within 2 years). He was going through some deep emotional issues regarding his grief after losing first his sister, then his mom and finally his dad; he never had a chance to grieve and process his losses. He doesn't make excuses, and things were more complex than I have said here; I don't believe he would cheat on me. I don't believe"once a cheat, always a cheat". People can change IF they want to put in the effort.

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Ivana
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Situational. For some people it will be something they can never get over and for some people it was just a rough time in the relationship or whatever. I don't know, I don't associate sex with love in general. They are different things. I could forgive my husband for having sex with others but I guess I couldn't forgive him for being romantically in love with another person.

anvime avatar
Burs
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree. I could live with kissing because it might happen very quickly. But if you are cheating emotionally for some time (so you could stop) or you have sex I won’t even forgive you.

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Stephanie Did It
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If someone cheated WITH you, they are definitely going to cheat ON you. It is inevitable.

manusal avatar
El muerto
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

mmm...not so simple. to be honest, sometimes s**t happens and you have to move on. that doesn't you are in bad relationship, and sometimes is worth it to look past some things...but, is up to one self to decide if you can live with that and take the risk...all relationships are gambles. and sometimes..of course you also need to look at reality, and see if that's a pattern, or sign of other troubles in the relationship

bp_10 avatar
WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

True, but make sure that your partner was actually cheating and it's not just gossip. Too many people broke up because their "friends" let them to believe that their partner cheated on them.

yah00z avatar
Ray_gunn
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some people forgive and move on from it together

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Jaybird3939
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I never could have trusted him again. I also never really committed to a relationship after that. My life is full of broken trust. It's made it easier to be alone. Yes, I know it's screwed up, but that's how it is.

inkslingerkate avatar
Wednesday
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Once the trust is gone, the love just evaporates and the resentment sets in. I know this for a fact...

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Celtic Pirate Queen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to think that way too, but I've come to realize the circumstances may come into play. Mind you - I'd be more than tempted to kick him to the curb. I'm a serial monogamist, and I guess I expect the same.

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Riley Quinn
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's not the sex. It's the betrayal. You didn't respect me enough to be honest. I will never trust you again. Yeah, that's pretty unhealthy. Oh, and the married person you're dating now will never, ever be faithful to you after their divorce. If they bother to get one.

kfidei avatar
GoddessOdd
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is only one thing you know for certain about the relationship: they cheat. They may never do it again, they may do it all the time, but you will always know that they are capable of betraying your trust.

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Aeon Flux
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I find there are very few absolutes when it comes to human behavior. This one comes close, though.

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Stephanie Austin
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Disagree. My partner cheated on me when I had breast cancer, it's no excuse but he was struggling to deal with emotions whilst trying to support me.. 7 years later, we are the happiest we have been and I 100% trust he would not do it again. It made us communicate and face difficult things, it was hard. He had to build up the trust but I also had to allow him to do that - that was hard, but worth it

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Amy Sadler
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

but the fact they are there means they couldnt find anyone to keep....and they lost.

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Brian Bennett
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One must determine the how and why then communication must follow to make a decision like this!

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NJWanderer
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some people do change, and learn from mistakes. Why is infidelitiy any different than vanity, selfishness, theft? Correct the root cause.

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#36

There are some people who just are NOT going to like you. And you will have done nothing to deserve, cause or warrant it. Its not your fault.

tehrealdirtydan Report

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Luther von Wolfen
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There will also be people who dislike you because your actions harmed them. You can apologize, but they are not obligated to forgive you.

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#37

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them Your belly button was your old mouth.

Kairosiris , Ben Hershey Report

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Serial pacifist
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

...and, in your pelvis, the coccyx is a small bone of four fused vertebrae that would make up the tail if humans had one.

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#38

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them Life is as much unfair and unjust as it is possible for it to be

BrainCelll , Erik Mclean Report

#39

People Share 40 Things That Are True, But No One Wants To Hear Them Oxytocin, the “love hormone”, also increases animosity towards those you regard as “others”

Arcus91 , Zoe Report

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jamie1707
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm saying to myself "what bullshait is this?" I was reading that as "Oxycontin".

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#40

It’s not gonna be okay unless you make it okay. I often hear people say: it’s gonna be okay. Well, it’s probably gonna be okay, if you actually put the effort to make it okay. And sometimes, you have to let go, even the big things.

ClassicD*ck Report

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Burs
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No. Many things cannot be fixed and pretending that it’s the persons fault is very cruel. A woman whose son just died is not going to be ok, it’s not her fault.

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