1) Sudden Stops by Pedestrians

I’m strolling along, minding my own business, when—BAM! Someone halts to check their phone or marvel at a squirrel. If I had to pick one pet peeve, this would be it.

What are people thinking? Living in a city with narrow sidewalks makes this especially infuriating. When someone already walking slowly suddenly stops, it’s almost a collision waiting to happen.

I tend to walk faster than most, making this situation all the more challenging.

Hope: I aspire to be more mindful of others and practice forgiveness. Life isn’t just about reaching the destination quickly; sometimes it’s okay to slow down. And just between us, I’ve learned to navigate around slow walkers using the road as an extension of the sidewalk.

2) Inattentive Questioners

I don’t usually brag about myself, but if someone asks me a question, I’m more than willing to share, even if it means being vulnerable. What ruins the moment is when the person seems uninterested in my answer.

Why ask if you’re not going to listen?

I’ve learned to distance myself from people who do this. If someone leaves a bad first impression, I usually don’t pursue a relationship.

Hope: Steer clear of those who don’t value your input. Life’s too short to spend time with people who lack basic respect.

3) Mandatory Two-Factor Authentication

I’m not a fan of anything that complicates my life 99.9% of the time, even if it might protect me from a potential hack. Sure, security is essential, but it often feels more annoying than beneficial.

I’ve never had my identity stolen, nor has my Facebook sent out alarming messages to friends. Maybe this post will jinx me!

I resist being told what to do; even though I’m typically compliant, there's a rebellious child in me that wants to break all the rules.

Hope: Sometimes, you can bypass two-factor authentication by opting out of providing additional personal data, like a phone number. Thankfully, some sites allow this choice. Ideally, I should embrace two-factor authentication and accept it as a necessary inconvenience.

4) Malfunctioning Items

“Why isn’t this working?!”

I get incredibly frustrated when things that should function properly suddenly fail. I often find myself venting to the universe when my blender breaks or when I can’t input my US number on a Portuguese site.

Things should operate as intended when we need them most.

Hope: I wish advancements in technology would eliminate this frustration, though I’m not overly optimistic. Despite significant progress, the common fix for tech issues remains unplugging everything and restarting—frustrating, but true.

Actual hope: With age comes wisdom, patience, and hopefully, the ability to refrain from wanting to smash my computer when it malfunctions for the umpteenth time.

5) Geographic Restrictions

My brother once sent me a video of himself being interviewed about local initiatives in Maine, but I couldn’t view it due to regional restrictions.

This makes no sense! Why would a local news outlet block access to their content? Sure, no one in Portugal might be interested, but still…

This infuriates me because our world is more interconnected than ever. Technology allows us to engage globally, yet we complicate these connections.

Hope: VPNs can bypass these annoying geo-restrictions, enabling me to view the video. Hooray for technology that counteracts other technology!

6) Footnotes at the End of Books

Footnotes belong at the bottom of the page. If it’s essential enough for the author to provide extra information, don’t make me hunt through the index. We’re not living in the past.

Long indexes only serve to surprise Kindle users when they realize they’ve read the entire book at 75% completion.

Hope: As an author, I’ve resolved to keep footnotes at the bottom and encourage others to do the same. Let’s eliminate this outdated practice together. Who’s with me?

7) Unleashed Dogs

This pet peeve might be the most controversial.

I’m not particularly fond of animals. I once had fish, but they were more of an obligation than a joy.

I can’t gauge whether your dog is friendly or not. You might trust your pet, but I don’t know you or your dog.

This issue speaks to a broader problem of “me first” attitudes prevalent today, but I won’t dive into that here.

Hope: I appreciate rules about leashing dogs in parks. If I had a dog, I’d probably be the biggest hypocrite, claiming my dog wouldn’t hurt a fly while watching in horror as it runs off with a child.

8) Women Receiving Men’s Shirts at Events

This pet peeve was added by my wife, who has faced this issue multiple times. It feels unfair that women must wear men’s shirts while men are never expected to wear women’s sizes.

At one 10k race, my wife received a small men’s shirt, and when we inquired, we were told women’s shirts were only for half marathon runners.

Why not provide women’s shirts for women? It seems straightforward.

Hope: I believe society will eventually move past this practice. It starts with us recognizing the issue and advocating for change. We should have insisted on a women’s shirt simply because my wife is a woman—she deserves to wear something that fits and flatters her.

9) Not Following Through on Commitments

“Honor your commitments with integrity.” — Les Brown

If you say you’ll do something, follow through. Of course, life happens, but it’s frustrating when someone agrees to something and then backs out at the last minute.

Hope: The more quality individuals you surround yourself with, the less often you’ll encounter this behavior.

10) The Word “Moist”

While I don’t mind the word, my sister despises it, and I sometimes use it just to annoy her.

Research shows that people dislike the word due to its associations with bodily fluids and social conditioning.

Regardless of the reason, it’s polite to avoid using it in public.

Hope: Interestingly, people are less bothered by “moist” when referring to something delicious, like cake, than when discussing less appetizing topics.

Now, I’m curious—what are your pet peeves? What did I miss here? More importantly, how are you addressing your annoyances on a personal level, or working to improve the world to eliminate these pet peeves for good?

I genuinely want to hear from you.

All the best, -Jordan

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