Is there something that you just cannot get to grips with, while others find it easy.

[Lytlethings]

For me, I have no sense of direction and cannot read a map or compass.

My family joke that I can get lost in my own house. When I go to a hotel, a toilet in a shopping centre or the like I have to verbalise the route. I say it over and over turn right, turn left etc. if DH is with me I sometimes forget and he watches with amusement as I try to figure out which way to go. SATNAV was the best invention ever for me.

I could never find my way back to a. Terminal or bus station in an unfamiliar place.

Me too.

Things I can't do

• budgets, being financially aware, having enough money for the month. Always end up having £29 to live on for three weeks.
• eat sensibly and be a healthy weight
• have a clean home (it's either spotless or a hovel)
• not be impulsive (booking flights to Shetland as I just saw it on a programme)
• cook and eat regularly/ meal plan
• pay bills
• not hoard things

Things I can do

• drive
• navigate foreign cities and public transport easily
• draw
• job interviews
• recognise faces

Riding a bike and swimming. And tiny , precise things with my fingers. I suspect I have dyspraxia.

I can't sing . The 'singing' part of my voice doesn't come out.

Social aspects. I'm never sure if it's how I behave to others, or how they behave to me.

Nope, very much right handed!

i am so happy that I started this thread. I am overwhelmed by how many people have shared their “failings”. That’s the thing isn’t. We have been made to feel a failure and it seems so many of these things are in our genes. When I was at school I never managed to hit any ball with any bat, throw or catch any ball. Endless nasty PE teacher making me feel small and stupid.

I wonder if any research has been published on the common traits.

Automatic cars. They’re not supposed to have gears - but seem to have a gear stick that you have to use anyway. And they don’t (or the ones I have used) don’t have a handbrake / they have a button, but everyone is vague about when to use it. If I have to use one I need a lesson and write notes to take with me. Otherwise, I’m a competent driver and have no problems at all in a manual.

Thought of another one. I can't drink from a water bottle while in motion (driving, walking etc) unless the bottle has a sports cap. It just sloshes out and I end up with a wet face. Apparently others don't have this issue but I don't understand how!!!

Numbers, other than adding up, numbers are just a jumble to me.
I have even tried maths websites for children, but numberwork literally does not compute.
I'm 60 and have always be the the same.
I have 2 masters degrees and a doctorate which I had no problem with and love to educate myself, I go on many courses, as long as numbers aren't involved.

I'm starting to realise there are so many things I can't do. Deck chairs and all similar folding chairs including push chairs and also travel cots, those fold out types with a central lock. I can fight something like that for ages!

Facial recognition
Tying shoelaces
Cycling
Balance
Singing
Reading the bass clef in music
Gearboxes
Small talk
Timekeeping
Any sport of any description
Tidiness
Remembering anything much...

But I do have an amazing memory for words and remember typos from books I read years ago. What a life skill.

This could be me (apart from navigation)!
I have no hand-eye coordination so can't throw or hit anything.
I have never done a cartwheel or handstand - and am too old to do so now.
Climbing a rope? Forget about it!

I'm really not good with names. Much better with faces.

To make matters worse, have a DH who remembers everyone! So for example one of the DC's friends who has a new girlfriend/boyfriend, DH will remember their name after meeting them for 30 seconds. Tosser 😄

I actually managed to hit myself on the head with a rounders bat once when I was a teenager. If it hadn't hurt so much it would have been funny!

Exercise classes that involve following a routine at quick pace - think classic aerobics, zumba, etc. I'm always a step or two out and feel stupid. I try to remind myself that as long as I'm getting my heart rate up, that's good enough!

Also, left and right doesn't come instantly to me, always need to think about which direction that is for a couple seconds.

DH's (manual) car has an electronic handbrake.

I just cannot use it. Why can you flick it up, AND push it down? Yet 'up' doesn't mean 'handbrake on' and down doesn't mean 'handbrake off'?

But even so, I notice DH rolls back a tiny bit on hill starts in his stupid car.

Came here to say directions. I have no visual memory which makes it hard

I remember being kept outside in a PE class, long after everyone else had gone in and got changed, because I couldn't throw a bloody javelin!! I couldn't throw anything to be fair and still can't but the teacher decided I had to have a distance recorded and she wouldn't accept anything less than a couple of metres. (My 'throws' somehow just looped straight down in front of me) From memory she got bored before I did. It's not a skill I've ever needed since.

Driving. I've sat the test so many times that they invite me to the DVLA Christmas social 😭

PE teachers at my school were the worst ever
No time for anyone who wasn't ' sporty ' .
Its not everyone who can hit / kick balls or throw things

@twilightcafe ☕.

I passed in an automatic car on the second go after failing in manual 5 times...I cannot coordinate a manual car.

I have lost the ability to drive a manual car. Tried an automatic about 20 years ago - never went back!

Me too. I'm a graduate, but can feel numbers just skidding off the surface of my brain and disappearing into the ether. It honestly feels like trying to knit fog. DH won the maths prize every year at his grammar and took Maths O Level 2 years early and A level one year early (got As). DD2 got a Level 6 in Maths at primary and did Maths & Further Maths at A Level (got As).

The looks of incomprehension pity when they see me struggling with maths.......

But it also confirms my belief that mathematical ability is largely genetic, and so it's not my fault.

Music theory. I cannot for the life of me understand why 3/4 and 6/8 are not the same.

6/8 is da-da-da da-da-da and quite fluid whereas 3/4 is Da da da Da da da and rigid.

See, but why would a staccato 6/8 not be a 3/4 or a fluid 3/4 a 6/8