The Top 12 Things We Do That We Know We Shouldn’t
The other day I was itching the inside of my ear with a Q-Tip. You are not supposed to put Q-Tips in your ear canal. Ever. I know this, and yet that itch overroad my knowledge of what was “right” and proper. A doctor friend said, “I’ve used them (carefully) inside my ear all my life and feel like quite the hypocrite when I caution my patients not to use them inside the ear.” Phew! I knew I wasn’t alone!
What Do You Do?
But it got me thinking…what do we all do, that we know we should not? (For me, the aforementioned Q-Tip usage). I have some statistics for you, like smoking and staying up too late, but frankly, the anecdotal answers were far more interesting. What do you do, that you know you should not? I know there is at least one thing…
Dogs Rule
Several people mentioned their dogs, from a variety of perspectives. Cats did not come up even once:
- “I seek advice from my dog.”
- “I talk to my dog when I am sad and stressed. It helps.”
- “I spend more than I should on dog products.”
- “I spend more on my dog’s food than I do on my own sometimes!”
- “We eat together. My dog is very polite and waits for her bites.”
- “My dog and I share a spoon. In private.”
TV & Movies
When it comes to television and movies, some of us play fast and loose with the “rules”:
- “I ‘save’ the seat next to me in the movies for my imaginary friend who has yet to arrive.”
- “I sneak a ton of snacks and drinks into the movies.”
- “Sometimes I watch movies that I know are going to upset me. then I don’t sleep. I wake up exhausted, and swear I will never do that again. And then I do.”
- “My husband has a kilt and you can fit a lot of bags filled with popcorn in all the pockets. MANY BAGS. No one can tell. It’s awesome.”
Maybe They Were Teachers In Another Life?
Apparently, grammar is very important to some:
- “I carry a red Sharpie to correct punctuation on flyers.” I asked this person if they had ever been caught. “Nope. I’m the grammar Ninja.”
- “I have called restaurants to tell them that their marquee is wrong.”
- “Sometimes I call people out on their grammatical errors in a funny way. They don’t like it very much.”
- “I overheard a conversation and one person kept using words that they obviously were not familiar with. First it was ‘penultimate’, which they thought meant ‘ultimate’. Then it was ‘affect’, when they meant ‘effect’. I held my tongue, but then they pulled out ‘irregardless’ and I had to butt in.”
Food & Drink
Many of us have relationships with food and beverages that we know are not quite right. And we do it anyway.
- “Sometimes I don’t wait until 5.”
- “I drink coffee after 4 pm (it’s now midnight and I’m still up).”
- “I will eat a quantity of junk food that I know is wrong. I know I will pay for it later and do it anyway. And as I am eating, I am saying to myself, ‘you know you shouldn’t be doing this’, and I still do it. I guess the only solace is that I know I am not the only one LOL.”
- “I stop for fast food when there are healthier options right there. I mean, like in the same plaza – RIGHT THERE – and I get the junk food anyway.”
- “Eat late at night. It’s a bad habit filled with calories I shouldn’t consume.”
- “I buy those chocolate-dipped McVities digestive biscuits for my British friend, but then sometimes when I discover them in my pantry, I eat them myself.”
- “All the chocolate and sugar.”
- “Drink diet soda regularly.”
According to the CDC, 36.6% of adults in the U.S. consume fast food on a given day.
Voices? What Voices?
Several people mentioned the “voices in their head”. Picture the cartoon devil and angel, each sitting on a shoulder, whispering in our ears. Apparently, the devil wins out quite a bit and we do things we “know” we should not.
- “I listen to the voices in my head too often. Turns out, they are not always giving me the best advice.”
- “Sometimes I don’t hear myself, so I have to start over, only to not pay attention, AGAIN.”
- “I will be weighing a decision, and it is seriously just like the old cartoons where there is a devil whispering in one ear, and an angel in the other, except I picture them as small versions of me. I am both. I feel myself leaning towards the ‘devil me’ opinion. I know I shouldn’t go that way, and then do it anyway.”
Humor Is So Subjective
Humor can be a dicey prospect. What one person finds funny, another can find offensive. And yet, we don’t always hold back:
- “Oh, I have walked right into it before. It’s like I can see it a mile away. That if I say what I am thinking, it is going to set people off, and yet the words come out of my mouth…”
- “I will have what I think is a humorous observation and be well aware that it might not be shared by others, but I can feel the adrenaline building. It’s a great feeling, and then BAM, I say it.”
Procrastination & Screen Time
This is a huge one. According to a 2023 study, 15-20% of adults regularly procrastinate, while 80-95% of college students do so at some level. Additionally, 88% of people procrastinate for at least one hour daily.
- “I sleep through the start of class times. I go to class and don’t pay attention. It’s an issue for me.”
- “I get up every day with the best intentions. With a list of things I want to accomplish. And these are things I should be able to get done. I have the time and the resources, and then I end up ‘shopping’ for new towels, or a new protein powder. I put ‘shopping’ in quotes because I most often don’t even buy; it’s just the process that seems ‘fun’ at the time. Next thing I know, an hour or more has gone by.”
A report from Common Sense Media found that teens in the U.S. spend an average of 7 hours and 22 minutes on screens for entertainment daily, not including time spent on schoolwork.
Skipping Sleep
Sleep is necessary for our health, and we all know that. And yet, about 35% of adults in the U.S. get less than the recommended 7 hours of sleep per night. This sleep deprivation can lead to several health issues, including mental health problems and decreased productivity.
- “I have a bedtime that I know will help me get the sleep I need. Once I took all screens out of my bedroom, I started getting to bed at a better time than before. It was immensely helpful.”
Exercise: How Much Is Too Much, or Too Little?
While most people said they exercised too little, some folks said they exercise too much. Either extreme is not good:
- “I have a love/hate relationship with exercise. I love how I feel when I do it; and yet not getting off my ass to actually do it often wins out.”
- “People chide me because they don’t think that too much exercise is a thing, but it is. I became obsessed. It was not healthy. I was working out hard, like HIIT hard, CrossFit hard 7 days a week. I had injuries. I wouldn’t stop. It felt like I couldn’t, like if I did, I would fall apart. But I was already falling apart. I actually had to talk to a therapist to gain perspective.”
Smoking
Okay this might be the most obvious one. How can there be anyone at this point who does not know that smoking is deadly and that there are no benefits. According to the CDC, cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States, accounting for more than 480,000 deaths every year, or about 1 in 5 deaths.
- “I still smoke cigarettes. I know I shouldn’t. I also know that the time will come when I will quit. I guess I am just not ready, even though people in my family have died from lung cancer.”
Not Quitting In Time
This applies to relationships, and jobs. How many of you have stayed in a relationship or job, when you knew it was over or time to get out? How many days, months, or years went by before you made the move?
- “One New Year’s Eve my partner and I were watching the ball drop on TV, and I was thinking about the year that passed, and how miserable I had been. I knew this relationship was not good for me. Next New Year’s came around and there I was, having the same thought, not having made a move. This went on for too many years; I am too embarrassed to say how many, but I finally ended it – and I ended up meeting the love of my life a year later.”
- “My Mom should have left my Dad, who was abusive. She always said she was staying because it was ‘better’ for us. As a kid I knew that didn’t make sense, and I vowed to not repeat this pattern.”
- “My work environment was toxic, but I stayed because I thought I needed the money. I mean, I did need the money, and so I stayed for longer than I should have. But then someone said to me that I was worth being respected and that I could also probably make more money – and here’s the part that got me – that I would never know unless I quit this job and tried. So, I did. And I did find a better job! Now I look back and think about how stuck I had felt, and realized I was the only one in my way.I love encouraging others to go for it! We’ve got one life, KWIM?”
Are Your Teens Prepared For The Real World? How Many Of These Can Your Teen Check Off?
As teenagers transition into adulthood, it’s crucial for them to develop the skills and knowledge needed to navigate the complexities of the real world. Some adults weigh in on what they have learned: from managing finances to understanding basic life skills, being prepared can make all the difference in their future success and independence. This article explores some essential areas that teens should be familiar with before stepping into adulthood. How many of these can your teen check off? Let’s find out if they’re ready for the challenges ahead!
READ: Are Your Teens Prepared For The Real World? How Many Of These Can Your Teen Check Off?
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