Do you like surprises? Can you help me understand why?

It depends on the surprise.

I DO love surprises and here’s why in a nutshell.

Imagine your family goes to Disneyland every single year. Are you hyped about going to Disneyland? Do you mark it on your calendar and count down the days? No, what people do instead is take it for granted and eventually the trip comes to represent all the time in the car, or the walking, or the heat. Suddenly they no longer like Disneyland at all.

But if it was just an average Tuesday, and instead of going to work, you woke up and somehow Disneyland was right outside your door.

That may just be one of the finest days of your life. You would probably remember that for a long time.

Now replace “Disneyland” with something you really love but just don’t get enough of for whatever reason. It can be food (steak? cookies?), time with someone you love, an activity, whatever.

If we know something great is coming, and we know it’s going to be great, it’s tough to live up to and can easily disappoint.

If we don’t know it’s coming, we can’t build it up, there’s no expectations, and it’s really easy to exceed just an average day, meal, or activity.

So for me, surprises have the capacity to be amazing while the same thing without the surprise might turn out as just good.

I like them, as long as they’re ones that really do fit me. I like “pleasant surprises” best… not really over-the-top exciting ones or ones that might scare the crap out of me. (I don’t like to be startled – so people jumping out at me yelling “surprise!” isn’t going to be good.) I don’t know if I can adequately explain why I like them, but they make my heart happy.

I even like them if I know something good is coming, but not what it will be. Anticipation can be a delicious feeling! Kind of like how I felt as a kid on Christmas Eve.

I have a lot of anxiety issues, but this just isn’t one of them. I can certainly understand how it could be for others, though.

Good surprises, I like, bad surprises, I don’t like. I feel exactly the same way about planned events.

When your treated to a surprise party by your friends and loved ones it give you a euphoric feeling of being loved, of having friends who would go out of their way for a friend.. I love surprises, problem is I’m ubber nosy and can smell out a surprise before it hones in so you’d best plan it far away and set it up when I’m not looking.

@chewhorse And you don’t get the feeling of them going out of their way for you if it isn’t a surprise?

We go out of our way for each other in all things.. We’re talking about a special occasion here, not your average life ways.. Why would you even care how it comes about? That it happens is something above and beyond friendship or is it don’t you experience such things?

@chewhorse Sorry, would you mind rephrasing that last sentence? I’m not sure I followed.

It really doesn’t matter.. I probably took it the wrong way but I find going beyond the bounds of friendship to insure a friend is really appreciated is truely wonderful.. Friends are friends but when they think outside the box, they become blood. That’s my take on surprises.

Generally I don’t like surprises.

I think most of us like mostly no surprises. We need a certain order and structure in our lives that depends on things being the way we expect them to be. Within that structure I like some surprise. It gives a little variety to life. Even an occasional bad surprise (not too many) can present an interesting challenge.

In a sense, our entire life is filled with small surprises. We never know exactly what someone is going to say. The whole notion of entertainment depends on surprise. Who would want to read a book or see a movie if you knew exactly what was going to happen?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If someone chooses to buy me something like a handbag or perfume or clothing without consulting me, it is never a good surprise. Like most people I have my own particular style and I think some things it is just dangerous to buy without at least sounding me out, even surreptitiously. Even art works are risky. People have bought me things and while I am always polite when I am given them, I am then usually left with something I don’t like but feel obliged to wear/use/put on my wall.

On the other hand, if someone wanted to take me somewhere nice and wanted to surprise me, great. Or a surprise dinner being cooked for me. I have mixed feelings about the idea of a surprise party. Not really sure how I would respond.

I dislike surprises, especially birthday surprises. Last year, my family threw a surprise in which all my relatives from another state came down and celebrated my birthday. I would have liked to have been prepared.

I like surprises when it’s genuinely something I like or want. But 99% of the time when someone gives me a “surprise”, it’s something I’ve no interest in, and I hate the part about having to fake being excited about it.