c/brutal-honesty

I just blew $300 on a 'life-changing' online course that was basically a slideshow

It promised to teach me how to start a side business, but the content was just recycled blog posts from 2015. Has anyone actually found a legit course that's worth the cash?

My coworker told me my presentation was boring and it actually helped

We were in the break room after a team meeting in Chicago last month, and she just said 'look, your slides put me to sleep, you need more pictures or something.' I went back and cut half the text, added a few memes, and the next one went way better. Has anyone else had a blunt comment that actually improved their work?

Overheard a guy at the coffee shop say 'honesty without kindness is just cruelty'

I was waiting for my drink yesterday and this guy was talking to his friend about a tough conversation. He said, 'I used to think being brutally honest meant just saying whatever I felt, no filter.' His friend replied, 'Yeah, but honesty without kindness is just cruelty.' That stuck with me. I've definitely used 'brutal honesty' as an excuse to be harsh before. Now I think the point here is to be real, but you still gotta think about the other person. Has anyone else had a moment that made them rethink how they give feedback?

I argued for years that you could fix any forum bug in a day. A single spam filter issue in our new vBulletin install proved me wrong.

We launched a community for local artists in Portland and got hit with a wave of image spam in user bios. I swore I could lock it down in an afternoon. It took me two full weeks of tweaking regex patterns and user group permissions before it finally stopped. Has anyone else had a simple forum setting turn into a month-long headache?

My friend Jake said my 'brutal honesty' was just being mean and it made me stop and think.

We were talking about his new apartment in Denver last week, and I told him straight up the layout looked cramped. He just said, 'You know, there's a difference between being honest and just saying the first harsh thing that pops into your head.' That hit different because he's usually the one who laughs it off. Has anyone else had a moment where someone called them out on how they give feedback?

Hit 100 days without a single lie, even the small ones.

I started this thing after a bad checkup in Denver where the doctor asked about my diet and I just nodded. The number surprised me because I thought I'd cave after a week, but it turns out most 'white lies' are just to avoid a tiny bit of awkwardness. Has anyone else tried something like this and found it changed how you talk to people?

Unpopular opinion: I tried being totally honest in a work review and it backfired.

I gave my manager direct feedback about our project timeline being unrealistic, using the exact numbers from our last two failed launches. Instead of fixing it, they just got defensive and cut my hours. Has anyone else had a 'brutal honesty' moment that actually made things worse?

Honestly, fixing a leak under my kitchen sink in Atlanta took 3 days, not 3 hours.

I thought it was a simple washer swap, but the whole shutoff valve was corroded and the pipe threads were stripped. Had to go to three different hardware stores to find the right part after the first two were wrong. Has anyone else had a basic home repair blow up into a whole weekend project?

Update: I thought the new dog park in Riverside was a waste of money until I went there

I drove past that big new dog park for months thinking it was just a fancy patch of grass. I finally took my own dog there last Tuesday and saw something that changed my mind. There were about 15 people there, and every single one was actually talking to each other, not just staring at their phones. I heard a guy tell his friend, 'This is the only place my anxious dog will play.' It made me realize the park isn't about the space, it's about building a real community spot for owners who feel isolated. Has anyone else found a place that surprised them by being way more useful than it looked?

Spent $250 on a 'life coach' and it was the worst money I ever wasted

I paid for a six session package because I felt stuck in my job. The coach just asked vague questions and sent me links to free articles I'd already read. After the third call, I realized I was just paying someone to repeat my own problems back to me. The whole thing felt like a $250 therapy session from someone with no real training. Has anyone else tried something like this and actually gotten real, practical advice that helped?

I dropped $300 on a 'professional' online course that was just a bunch of recycled YouTube videos

Saw an ad for this course about starting a side business, and the guy made it sound like you'd get these secret methods. It was $300, which felt like a lot but I figured it was an investment. I bought it and logged in, only to find the 'modules' were just him talking over slides for an hour each. The worst part was when I looked up some of his points on YouTube and found the exact same info, word for word, in free videos from three years ago. He didn't even make new content, just repackaged old stuff. I felt so stupid for not checking more before I paid. The 'community forum' he promised is just a dead Facebook group with no replies. Has anyone actually found a paid course that was worth the money, or are they all like this now?

Am I the only one who used to lie about being fine when I wasn't?

For years, I'd just say 'I'm good' if a friend asked how I was, even if I was having a terrible day. After my dog passed away in March, I finally told my friend Sarah the truth and she just listened for an hour. Has anyone else found that being honest actually makes things easier?

I finally gave in and tried that whole 'gratitude journal' thing my therapist kept pushing.

For about two weeks, I wrote three things I was thankful for every morning, fully expecting it to feel silly. The weird part is, after a month, I caught myself feeling less annoyed by small stuff, like my coworker's loud typing. Did anyone else have a similar experience with something they were sure was just a fad?

I always thought being blunt was the same as being honest until a work meeting last Friday.

We were reviewing a shipping error that cost us about $400 in rework, and I just laid into the new guy's process in front of everyone. My boss pulled me aside after and said, 'You can tell the truth without using it as a weapon.' That stuck with me. I'm trying to give feedback that's direct but not destructive now. Has anyone else had to learn that difference the hard way?

Showerthought: I started telling people 'I don't have the bandwidth for that' instead of just saying yes

I was always the person who got stuck with extra work at my job because I couldn't say no. Last Tuesday, my manager tried to dump a printer migration project on me during my lunch. I said the phrase flat out, and he just nodded and walked away. Has anyone else found a specific phrase that actually works to set a hard boundary?

Shoutout to my friend who stopped posting her kids online for a year, the change in her mood is huge

I spent $80 on a 'miracle' plant food that promised to bring my dead fern back...

The bottle said it would work in 3 days, but after a week my fern was still a crispy brown mess. I even followed the weird instructions about talking to it... which my neighbor saw me do. Has anyone else fallen for a garden product that was just snake oil?

Went to the big park downtown and saw something that made me think

I was sitting on a bench near the fountain yesterday afternoon, just watching people walk by. I saw a guy in a suit stop and pick up a piece of trash, then throw it away. Nobody else even seemed to notice it was there. It made me realize how often we all just walk past small problems because they're not ours. Has anyone else seen a tiny act like that and felt weirdly called out?

PSA: My neighbor's inflatable dinosaur keeps staring into my kitchen window

It's been up for weeks and I'm starting to feel judged by a plastic T-Rex. Do I just live with this or is it okay to ask them to move it?

My attempt at making homemade pasta turned into a kitchen monster

Honestly, I tried making fresh fettuccine for the first time and my dough just would not cooperate. I followed the recipe exactly, but it kept tearing and sticking to itself until it looked like a giant, sad amoeba on my counter. Tbh, my boyfriend walked in and asked if I was trying to sculpt modern art, not cook dinner. I had to just ball it up, throw it in some soup, and call it 'rustic dumplings' while my dog stared at me like I was insane.

Calling out my own excuses was the best move I ever made

I used to blame everything but myself for not exercising. One day, I wrote down all my excuses and saw how silly they were. Now I jog every morning, no questions asked. It's brutal, but facing the truth fixed my lazy habits. Try it if you're tired of your own stories.

Update: My flip on blunt honesty with friends

Always said be real no matter what. Watched a friendship crack because of it. I hold back unless asked directly.

Fixed my Wi-Fi woes with a simple router shift.

Kitchen appliances were blocking the signal all along.

Why I think brutal honesty is an act of kindness

Brutal honesty isn't mean; it's a form of care.

Mandatory office parties feel like a chore, not a perk.

We have to go to company parties every quarter. I find they don't help team bonding and just add to my stress. Do others see value in these events, or am I alone in this view?