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People share things they imagined they’d never do but now totally love

Proof that we shouldn’t limit ourselves with “never.”

Photo by Benjamin Combs on Unsplash
person showing green plant

Most of us have things we're willing to try and other things we swear we'll never do. Some of those "nevers" are actually smart boundaries—definitely shouldn't knock "never" entirely—but some things we unnecessarily omit from the list of possibilities simply because we think they aren't for us or that we won't actually enjoy them.

However, "never say never" is a saying for a reason. How many of us thought we'd never like a food that we've actually grown to love? How many hidden talents or interests have we discovered by trying something we assumed wasn't our thing?

Someone on Reddit asked, "What’s something you thought you’d never do that you found out is actually really enjoyable?" and people's responses are surprisingly inspiring. If you've ever thought any of these things wouldn't be up your alley, take a look at what others say about their experiences. Maybe it really isn't for you, but maybe—just maybe—you'll discover a new love when you start letting go of some "nevers."

Being a workout person

"Going to the gym regularly - hated it at first, but now it’s my therapy."

"One of my few discoveries too. Staying active and working out really does clear your head and also pumps me up enough to have energy throughout the day."

"Yes!! I go to a hard-core class 4x a week now and I feel better!"

"I hated it at first as I felt lost in regards to exercise selection and hate eating (eating in a calorie surplus is necessary for building muscle) but once I noticed I was no longer the skinniest guy in the room and had a decent (not huge) amount of muscle I kept at it."

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"I never thought I'd say this, but going to the gym has actually become something I really enjoy! I was trying to lose weight last year and I met a really nice trainer who taught me a lot of tips. And now I lost 20 pounds, have a healthier body, and strength training even makes my nasolabial folds lighter."

"Weightlifting, who knew taking out my anger on some heavy barbells would make me feel EXCELLENT, keep my weight low, make me strong looking, and give me a place and activity to hang with my friends that wasn’t a bar?"

Gardening

"Gardening. I was raised a city kid. Rented a house for a bit in a neighborhood where people took real pride in their yards, so out of respect, I tried to spruce the yard up a bit with plants.

Very little in life has such solace and reward. Not everything you plant works out, but it's peaceful digging the hole and putting it in the ground and months later, if it lives and blooms, you know you did that. You made that happen. And every spring that flower will return and brighten your day and you know that you put it there and it lived."

"This for me as well. I love spending hours pottering around my garden and spending a fortune growing food that mostly gets eaten by the critters. Massively beneficial for my mental health."

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"This is my 2nd year having a small veggie garden, and last year I struggled a lot. Most things died besides my green beans and my cayenne peppers. This year has been so much better. My pride and joy is my Scotch Bonnet plant that I grew from seeds that I almost killed and thought for sure wasn't going to make it. It's thriving and I just harvested a bunch of peppers. It's very rewarding to me."

"I hated it too until I finally realized - I don’t hate gardening, I hate being dirty. I got proper gloves and waterproof clogs and I’ve transformed my yard into a paradise."

"I thought gardening was just for retirees and super serious people. Turns out, digging in the dirt while talking to plants is surprisingly therapeutic and makes you feel like a horticultural wizard with magical plant-growing powers!"

Giving up alcohol or other addictions

"Give up drinking. It wasn’t easy, but damn are my weeks, nights and days better without alcohol."

"Amen. I needed rehab but I’m 7 months and 1 day sober. Never thought I’d quit, figured it would kill me someday. February 8th this year I decided I was done and needed help. I asked for it and I got it. Life is so much better. Even the bad days are handled so much more constructively. Best thing (and scariest) I’ve ever done."

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""Never thought I’d quit, figured it would kill me someday." yeah man i'm just shy of 4 months, I feel that IN MY BONES. its funny how bad things that would have been the end of the world earlier are now just inconveniences."

"This 100% I'm going on 4 months now after drinking nearly every day for the last 14 years. It's like I was asleep all that time. Life is completely different for the better."

"Keep going my man! Addiction is a curse. I had the same problem with weed. Since I stopped, my life took a U turn."

Hiking and kayaking

"Hiking/walking trails. It was terrible the first few times I did it and had terrible soreness in my feet days after. Now, I can do 6 miles a day with virtually no pain."

"I used to hate hiking because I always thought it was just "Walking but with added challenge". Then I started going on more hikes in places I had never been before and I understood. It's not about getting to somewhere specific, it's about enjoying the walk itself!"

"Going hiking! I thought it’d be boring, but it’s actually so refreshing and fun. Totally changed my view!"

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"Yes! I thought I was too weak and delicate to go hiking, but one year later, I hiked up a mountain! It's a daily view on my commute, and I can't help but smile whenever I see it."

"Kayaking. Being that far from civilization is the closest I’ve ever felt to free and at peace:)"

"Kayaking is really soothing and fun!"

"My wife and I just started kayaking last summer, and it allows me to clear my mind and paddle. I am far far from being fit, but I've learned that it's both relaxing and a great workout."

Miscellaneous honorable mentions

"I’ve recently picked up cooking and painting. Didn’t think I was talented enough to paint but it turns out I can- I just paint abstract things"

"Public speaking. I used to hate it, but now I find it exhilarating!"

"Meditating. I was convinced I could not shut off my brain (it's still a challenge). But just sitting quietly with my thoughts for 10 or 15 minutes really does remind me that whatever's weighing heavily on my mind really isn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things."

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"Being openly honest about my feelings, insecurities, faults, etc, in somewhat of a humorous, self deprecating way. I found out that when you’re open about those things that others will almost immediately start agreeing and opening up themselves about the same issues. I learned that I’m not nearly as alone as I thought I was, and most of those feelings are pretty common among other people. It’s quite liberating!"

"Basket weaving! I was at a medieval market and some guy sat there doing a presentation of it and letting people have a go. I tried it too and enjoyed it greatly! The repetitiveness of the work really lets you unwind and relax your mind."

"Driving a school bus for a living. I swore it was the one job I'd never do. Now I'm 5 years in and, as far as jobs go, I find it extremely rewarding and pretty fun."

All of these answers show that you just never know. Maybe one of your "nevers" will become a beloved activity if you give it a try.



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Joy

Sun City Poms is a cheer squad for women over 55 and they're not slowing down

"Inspire before we expire."

Today|YouTube

You're never too old to cheer with the Sun City Poms.

Age is just a number if you ask some people. Once you pass all of the milestone birthdays, time just seems to zoom right on by. You still feel like you're 32, but your birth year is saying you need to add a decade or two. But if you don't feel old, are you actually old or is society trying to put you in an age-shaped box?

If you ask the ladies of Sun City Poms, a cheerleading squad in Arizona for women over 55 years old, age really is just a number. That's right, these ladies, some of whom are well past retirement age, have a cheer squad and man, are they active. Not only do the ladies perform, but they also march, and their practices would be a lot for people half their age.

According to People, the seniors practice three times a week for three hours at a time. That's pretty intense, but it doesn't stop these women from sticking it out, even the ones who are in their 80s.

While people outside of Arizona may just now be hearing of the Sun City Poms, the cheer squad has actually been around since 1979. It started as a cheerleading squad for a women's softball team called Sun City Saints, and eventually evolved from cheering at games to performing 50 shows a year at different events.

Mary Zirbel, 81, has been with the squad since she was around 58. According to People, she joined after she saw them marching in a local parade. The group is only for people who live in the Sun City retirement community, and the group currently has 30 members. They even have some trainees who are being put through a thorough recruitment process to make sure they can hang with the lively crew.

"They're always kidding me about being an old lady but they tolerate me," Ginger Price, now 90, told Today in 2018. "I mean, I could make a mistake or something and I can say, 'Well what do you expect, I'm old,' you know."

The group even performs at local high schools, and there are times when the students scream so loud for them that they can't hear the music.

"I did not think they could dance like that or they could carry people, they could do the splits. Like I thought they were going to do like simple hand movements but no, they like blew my whole mind away, and the whole school's minds away," Emily Essa, a high school student, explained to Today.

Sun City Poms seems to be in a league all on their own. Remember the trainees mentioned earlier? Well, they have to do a three-month class and learn two routines to see if they can keep up before they're even allowed to join the group. While their members are currently ages 58 to 90, the ladies plan to keep going until they can't physically do it anymore.

Peggy Parsons, 81, told People that she's hoping to continue with the Poms until she's at least 90, so they can all celebrate together, saying the goal of the group is, "We aspire to inspire before we expire."

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Health

Planet Fitness is offering free passes to teens in order to address mental health concerns

Photo by aiden patrissi on Unsplash

Planet Fitness sign

Most people would agree that the past two years have been hard. They’ve been particularly difficult for teens: many started high school virtually, or graduated via zoom and went straight into zoom college classes. The mental health crisis amongst teens continues to be an issue that adults are desperately trying to address. Pew Research Center reports that 37% of high school students, private and public, report that their mental health was not good most or all of the time during the pandemic. While restrictions are lifted, the lingering effects of poor mental health still remain for struggling teens.

Planet Fitness, the nationwide fitness club, is doing their part to help. May 2, Planet Fitness announced they would be opening their doors to high school students ages 14-19 for free to not only help with teens physical health but their mental health as well. The passes to the gym will be good through August 31 and there’s no catch outside of having a parent’s permission upon sign up. This isn’t the first time the fitness center (that has over 2,200 locations) has opened its doors to teens. The Summer Pass program first started in 2019 under the name Teen Summer Challenge and had over 900,000 teens participate.

The unique program aims to get kids active in an effort to boost their moodi. Teens spend a lot of time indoors and on social media, whether it’s Discord or TikTok. It doesn’t take much to get caught up in the infamous doom scroll. Planet Fitness also cites the Journal of American Medical Association’s findings that less than 15% of teens get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day to back their reasoning behind the program.

The fitness giant didn’t stop there. Planet Fitness commissioned a national study that found 93% of teens want to stay healthy and active over summer break. Signing up for the program also automatically enters teens into The Planet Fitness High School Summer Pass Sweepstakes. One student participant from each state will win a $500 scholarship, and one grand prize winner will receive a $5,000 scholarship. Winners of the scholarships can use the funds on academics or athletic purposes.

assorted gym equipment inside the gymPhoto by Mark Bertulfo on Unsplash

By providing this program for free (it's also available in Canada), it allows teens that may have not otherwise been able to afford a gym membership to participate, as long as they live near a Planet Fitness. Benefits of exercise on mental health have been proven time and time again. People who participate in regular exercise can experience a boost in mood, which can decrease anxiety and depression. Exercise also helps to decrease stress and increase self-esteem and self-confidence according to the National Library of Medicine.

Having a program specifically designed with teenagers in mind is amazing. The fact that the fitness club also gives the high schoolers a chance to win money for their education is just the icing on the cake. If you’re interested in signing your teen up, you can do so here. Here’s to a happy and healthy summer!

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Wellness

Woman's viral TikTok thanks a man at the gym for NOT staring at her while she did squats

Libby Christensen/TikTok

A guy was caught not being a creep in the gym, prompting praise and discussion over gym etiquette.

Videos of creepy guys staring at or harassing women at the gym are plentiful, and their virality underscores how common such experiences are. However, we don't often see the opposite go viral—the guys at the gym who aren't creepy, who are aware of how their behavior is perceived and who do what they can to make women feel comfortable while they're working out.

Now a video of one of those guys has gone viral.

TikTok user @libbychristensen shared a video she took of herself doing squats on a machine at the gym, which happened to catch a man who was working out directly behind her. (If you're wondering why she was filming herself, some people record their workouts to check their form. Christensen said in the comments that she films each set from a different angle—it wasn't about catching someone else on film.)

The video shows the guy directly facing her from behind (nice choice of set-up, gym) but looking down at the floor before lying back onto the bench press.

Watch:

@libbychristensen

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The video includes "The Golden Girls" theme song, "Thank You for Being a Friend." Christensen wrote that she'd been feeling uncomfortable while doing her hack squats, thinking someone was staring her down. She was thankful to see that the man behind her was looking at the floor and said watching the video back made her "at ease."

"[Thank you] for your service kind sir," she wrote in the caption.

The video has been viewed 4.5 million times and has garnered thousands of comments.

"That's called the 'ah yes the floor is made of floor,'" wrote one commenter.

"I think there’s more guys doing everything they can to make sure it’s very clear they’re not staring at women in the gym," wrote another.

"Most dudes are like this," added another. "This is our special moment to appreciate the nice flooring."

"This is gym code 101 for any decent guy. Head stays looking at the ground or your phone till you're done with the set 😂," wrote another.

Some commenters criticized Christensen's clothing, suggesting she shouldn't wear tight clothing if she's uncomfortable with people looking at her. "Wear baggy clothing if you're uncomfy," wrote one person. However, others were quick to point out that clothing choice isn't an invitation to be a creep.

“Why are we focusing on her clothing," wrote one person. "People still get harrassed or assaulted in things other than ‘skin tight’ attire.”

“I feel like some of y’all won’t be satisfied till females are wearing sweats & a turtle neck to the gym,” wrote another commenter.

"WERE ALLOWED TO WEAR WHAT WE WANT. I wear a huge T-shirt and baggy shorts and still get stared at goodbye," wrote one person.

"These comments… wearing cute gym outfits literally improves my workouts," wrote another gym-goer. "Yes it’s okay for people to look! But to stare and be a creep is not okay!"

Most women know there's a difference between someone taking a quick look at a person and staring creepily at them. It's the latter that needs to stop. And women pointed out that they notice and appreciate the guys who are clearly trying to be gentlemen and not even come close to gawking.

"I always appreciate when they do this. I always notice too like thx for not making me uncomfortable lol," wrote one commenter.

"Anytime I'm in this situation I always try to start my set the same time he does so I don't make him uncomfortable" wrote another. Several commenters pointed out that he was likely uncomfortable in the situation as well, and Christensen wrote "I think he and I were trying to do the exact same thing which is how we got this result 🤝😅"

"Some are so nice and ask if it’s okay to workout on the machine behind me," wrote another. "A lot of the regular creeps at the gym I’ve learned to ignore."

Bottom line: It's really not that hard to not be creepy. 

As this guy shows, it's not that hard to avoid being or appearing to be a creepy ogler. Most people aren't going to be bothered if you just look at them briefly, but staring really is uncomfortable. Women are going to wear gym clothes at the gym, and gym clothes are often fitted and minimal for freedom of movement, reduced chafing and ability to see muscle engagement. Gym attire isn't an excuse to stare at someone while they're working out.

Thanks for being a good example, random gym guy.

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