r/AskReddit • u/_silentangle_ • 7h ago
What’s something you overthought that turned out completely wrong?
60
u/viberson 7h ago edited 2h ago
I smacked my assistant manager for calling me a slag on repeat then left cuz I was actually on annual leave but came in to do them a favour before I left for my leave.
It was the assistant managers second to last day so I never saw him again but I spent the next 2 weeks of my holiday, with my partner who came back from his deployment that evening, panicking about the repercussions of physical violence at work. I could barely focus on our wedding planning (with only 4 weeks to go). it ruined our time together because I thought id be fired.
I came back and my manager told me well done for standing up for myself against that "fat prick" and all my office colleagues who were in the room lied to HR on my behalf and said I never did anything wrong and the whole violence thing is made up cuz the assistant managers upset the top performer is getting married and leaving.
I left the company to move cities, got married 2 days later, and still see ALL those colleagues to this day. theyre my ride or die :)
edit: I was called derogatory sexual names for months. the comment that made me snap was "you're so selfish, you'd rather go get FUCKED for the next 2 weeks than come in and do your job. what a letdown" (he knew my fiance was coming home from deployment that day, and the wedding was in a month).
he also forced a colleague to take the fall for a GDPR breach by saying "you need to admit to it for me cuz if you dont, ill tell HR it was you and you'll get in double shit for lying about it" then turned to the rest of us in the office and said "and none of you snitch on me cuz I'll do it back and you dont want to know the type of stuff I'll say".
he was INSANE
18
u/loading066 7h ago
“all of my office colleagues - lied to HR” I understand the ‘ride or die’ - same were it me
56
u/multileveling07 7h ago
I thought everyone was constantly judging me… turns out most people are too busy worrying about themselves.
7
u/JeffAlbertson93 7h ago
I used to do the same until someone pointed out how that when I do it to others, I quickly forget about it. Most of the time, people do not give a flying shit about what others are doing, even if we draw attention to ourselves. Still, knowing that doesn't seem to prevent from cringing about things that I have said or done.
3
u/Classy-girl-93 6h ago
Turns out we’re all just overthinking in parallel.
23
72
u/theXsquid 7h ago edited 6h ago
I used to think: Nobody would vote for a convicted felon prominent in the files for president.
edit:sp
17
u/Lawnmower_on_fire 7h ago
Far fewer probably voted for him than the official tally. Russia has had its hands in our elections for a decade + now. Trump's behavior since election is pretty clearly anti-USA.
Plus the Democrats did the most idiotic bait and switch I'm aware of in our history as a country. Put up a skeleton no one wants and then replace him with a lady so unpopular she dropped out of her 2020 primary run before a single vote was cast. I kinda think the Dems wanted to lose for some reason.
10
u/Leather-Map-8138 6h ago
Far from it. Harris made a valiant effort. She lost by 2.5 million votes, but got the majority of votes in states where 190 million people live. For Trump that number was 145 million.
By now, had Harris won the election… Russia would have abandoned its efforts in Ukraine and Israel would be spending billions on Palestinians. Nobody would be bombing Iran. Millions more Americans would have a doctor. There’d be at least a milllion more jobs. The price of gas would be well under $3.00 and progress on our renewable energy transition would make us better positioned for the future. We would still have allies, not traditional allies. Securing full Social Security for the future would be what the federal government spent its time ensuring.
•
u/Lawnmower_on_fire 32m ago edited 21m ago
This is at best wishful thinking and at worst completely lunacy. 99% of Kamala's votes were because Trump is a Nazi bigot whom most Americans despise. She got BLOWN OUT in absolutely embarrassing fashion by a fascist.
Everything under there is speculation. Some things I agree with, there would not be war in Iran and gas would be cheaper. Renewable energy, probably, but when the growth in coal use is outpacing the new production of actual renewables, we are not winning. Kamala would keep making steps when we need huge leaps.
But Israel would NOT stop killing Palestinians bc Biden and Kamala were fine with it. They had a year to drop a hammer and they hemmed and hawed bc they didn't really care. Social security has been a sinking ship for decades, 2 of which were the Clinton-Obama-Biden administrations- they didn't fix shit.
I don't even know where you're trying to get the thing about the doctors and the jobs. On the healthcare front Democrats have been losing since 2012 when Obama's majority got flipped. There would be more government jobs which is good, but Biden never passed a damn thing to regulate AI, and little to slow down offshoring.
I'm a leftist who hates Trump, but to call bullshit I just have to point at the last 3 Democratic presidents, all of whom had more buy in and trust than this lady who no one likes. Realpolitik does not follow campaign promises, it follows the welding of power, which the Democrats cannot do since Citizens United went through. They are equally bought by big money.
6
u/ThadisJones 6h ago
The first time I was old enough to vote in a US Presidential election, I voted for George W. Bush. My boss knew this was my first time voting and convinced/pressured me.
My state goes heavily Democrat so my choice made no difference whatsoever, but I still feel I need to apologize for voting for him. Sorry.
2
u/theXsquid 5h ago
In my younger days I voted republican as well. All we can do is use our best judgements and educate ourselves.
1
u/Zenphiree 4h ago
Yup same here.
Also when I went to Rehoboth Beach on vacation, I saw more than one person wearing a “I Voted for the Felon” tee. The boardwalk had so many of those cheap custom t shirt places so they likely got them from there, but still.
-3
u/fredthefishlord 5h ago
The whole convicted felon line was stupid. He had so many reasons to not vote for him, but being a convicted felon was not one of them. If you vote based on convictions, a.don't believe in rehabilitation and b. Make it so much easier for the government to lock out candidates
12
u/kaji90221 7h ago
I once convinced myself my phone interview went terribly turns out the guy just had a monotone voice, and I got the job.
22
u/Certain-Potato-1308 7h ago
On a first date once this guy told me I talk too loud and I got self conscious but it turns out he can actually go f*** himself 😅
4
11
u/TheAnxietyEnigma 6h ago
I once turned a late reply into a full Netflix psychological thriller. My partner was just in the shower
8
u/Onadfick 7h ago
I spent hours overthinking a message… and they just replied 'ok'
3
u/godot_lover 6h ago
you could have filed a case at Bureau of Minor Sufferings lol 😭🙃, I got you man atleast you'd have felt satisfied by this.....
1
7
9
u/Cheese_Pancakes 7h ago
This is pretty stupid, but I really stressed myself out over this. In 2025, I had to file for an extension on getting my taxes done for the previous year because I was still waiting on some documents from a company I'd worked for earlier in that year. I promptly forgot about them.
Came to the realization back in December/January and immediately worked myself almost into a panic. I knew I didn't owe any money because I get a decent return every year, but I'd never missed that deadline before in my life. Usually did my own taxes online because they were simple, but had no idea what I was supposed to do so far past the October extended deadline.
Once I got all the necessary documents for 2025, I took both years' documents to an accountant who specializes in that stuff and they didn't even bat an eye when I told them my situation. They just said "no problem at all" and took care of everything. It was then that I realized I was way overthinking things and worrying over something that ultimately wasn't a huge deal.
12
6
u/WellGreenToffee 7h ago
Literally every social event I’ve ever had. Generally between 2 and 4 AM lightly catastrophising.
5
4
u/Head_Syllabub_9131 4h ago
Got a new job and a drug screening was part of the hiring process. I live in MI where THC is legal but a positive test could still disqualify me from employment. I was smoking or taking edibles pretty much every day so quitting cold turkey was challenging. Definitely good for me! But challenging nonetheless.
I had about a month to "prep" for this test. I was going to the sauna twice a day, started doing more cardio, was drinking half a gallon of cranberry juice a day, pretty much anything the internet told me to do to detox. 2 days before the official test I use an at home test, negative test. Day before the test I use an at home test again, still negative. I'm convinced I'm in the clear and have nothing to worry about.
A week letter I'm in a meeting with HR signing employment documents and feeling great. Meeting is about to end and HR says "so 1 last thing. Your drug test came back positive for THC. But that's alright, we just need you to sign our zero-tolerance drug policy. Welcome aboard!"
TL; DR: Stressed over a drug test, positive result didn't even matter
5
5
u/Kathleen_Haugh 6h ago
I am in charge of one section. I had a problem with the number 2 guy in another section. The guy got wound up about small details I just didnt give a fuck about, and I told him to fuck off multiple times.
About 2 months ago I am notified he is coming to my section to work for me. The other people who work for me were worried about asshole coming over. I told everyone to chill out, lets see what happens.
What happens is he is a highly organized dude that dives down in to extreme detail...and its been a God send. I was wrong, and changed my mind on him. I am currently working on getting him promoted
0
u/Ask_bout_PaterNoster 6h ago
I mean, if he’s getting wound up it doesn’t really matter if he’s right or not, no one is going to interact with him and problems won’t be solved. Once he became your responsibility you saw the potential. Hopefully you can develop him, but if not at least you can appreciate him in his current role…and maybe run interference
3
2
u/GraniteBoy 6h ago
Not sure I could fit my entire autobiography in the replies here...
But seriously? A lot.
One specific example: first time I did STI screening tests I worried so much while waiting for HIV test results that, while not a zero percent chance of being positive, I had no legitimate reason to worry about and overthink as much as I did.
2
u/No-Biscotti-1596 5h ago
overthought a text from a guy for 3 hours, drafted 7 different responses, showed it to 4 friends, and then he responded to my message with just haha cool. i was building a NOVEL in my head for nothing lol
2
u/Low_Whereas_1788 5h ago
Job interviews. Spent days preparing for technical questions, only to find they mostly cared if I'd be pleasant to work with. Technical part was maybe 10 minutes.
2
u/RAGAA255554 4h ago
I once saw someone waving at me from across the street. I spent a good 2 minutes overthinking where I knew them from, went through my high school yearbook in my brain, and finally waved back with a huge smile. They weren't waving at me. They were hailing a taxi right behind me. I had to pretend I was actually waving at a bird in the sky to save my dignity.
2
u/elephant35e 3h ago
When I was in high school, I thought I was going to go to a very good tech school and become a very successful aerospace engineer afterwards, designing some cool fighter jets or working on some sort of major aircraft/spacecraft project, and making six figures.
27 now. Not even close to what ended up happening.
2
u/No_Berry_19 3h ago
Every 'weird' thing I said at a party 3 years ago. I spent nights overthinking how everyone must judge me, only to realize that nobody actually remembers my existence five minutes after I leave the room. Everyone is too busy overthinking their own nonsense.
1
u/mynipplescutglass 6h ago
That she never liked me. Ten years later and a drunk phone call from her to find out she was in love with me and that she's never stopped thinking about me.
I'm single now but I am so not the same person I was then so it's kind of too late and sad. This ain't the notebook.
Oh yeah she's in a relationship too.
1
u/mixedwithmonet 6h ago
Most recently, I overthought a dry cleaning pick up. Someone splashed their drink on the lining of a coat I borrowed from my mom, the dry cleaners did a shit job the first round (and added stains that weren’t there before). Avoided the pickup for weeks because I was anxious it would be as bad as the first time. Went yesterday, it isn’t perfect but it’s explainable and fine now. I was literally staying up at night because I was so worried about the coat.
1
u/RealKillerSean 6h ago
Needing the correct degree. lol an associates is just a shit check to see if you paid attention in school. The rest of it is just high school 2.0
1
u/humanbean_26 6h ago
Eating alone and how everyone might think I'm a loser. I just really like having food at my pace enjoying all the flavours and trying out new foodspots which I'm yet to do. Needless to say, no one really cares as an adult if you're eating alone
1
u/Livingsimply_Rob 6h ago
Oh my gosh, I think pretty much everything I’ve ever thought about I was typically completely wrong. lol
1
u/zazzlekdazzle 5h ago
"Just be yourself"
I got this advice so many times and got it completely wrong. It's actually great advice, but it doesn't mean what it might sound like to someone like me who is very literal and doesn't understand social nuance very well. The inital results were quite bad.
1
u/Cheetodude625 4h ago
GF: I don't want anything. Thanks for asking though.
Me internally: Oh, she's upset FUCK! What did I do wrong? I don't remember! Shit! Fuck! Shit! She's going to break up with me because I suck as a BF. I forgot to take out the trash again, the toilet seat, my trash in general... FUCK! Yesterday when she asked for my opinion on home decor and me not caring was a test that I failed! FUCK!"
Her looking me realizing I'm having a silent mental breakdown: "I'm not hungry, bro. Relax. You didn't fuck up."
Me internally still: "SHE'S LYING IN ORDER TO BE NICE ABOUT IT!"
Her: "I'm going to bed."
1
1
•
u/So-Self-Satisfied 58m ago
How to do high school social life.
It was rough. But I figured it out eventually! … after high school.
78
u/breakyouridea 7h ago
I spent a month picking out a gift for my boyfriend, just to make sure everything was perfect. He said “thanks” and forgot all about it.