10 things we regularly do, but don’t want to

Queuing up to list all the things we hate but feel we have to do. Picture: Getty

More than one in five people (22 per cent) questioned said that queuing at places such as bus stops, post offices and banks is among the things they feel resigned to doing even if they do not want to.

However, deemed even worse than queuing was having to be nice to people you do not like, which was named as the biggest irritation in a poll of Britons by search website Ask Jeeves.

Eating greens and being nice to the in-laws are among other “chores” millions of Britons admit they do under duress, a survey has revealed.

More than half of all adults admit that they regularly, though reluctantly, take part in activities they would rather avoid because they feel they have to.

For workers, this includes laughing at their boss’s jokes even if it has to be through gritted teeth, while one in eight parents bite the bullet and sit through a kids’ film for the sake of their children.

But life is full of doing things we do not want to do, according to 53 per cent of Brits who responded to the study.

Being friendly to someone you dislike tops the list, with  40 per cent of people saying they hate doing it but feel they have to.

Almost one in five (18 per cent) claim that eating so-called healthy foods is another chore forced on them, as they realise they should cut out high-calorie snacks and have more salad for the sake of their health.

Similarly, 14 per cent say they only drink water because it is good for them, not because they enjoy it, said the poll of 1,000 UK adults.

Nearly one in ten of those questioned (9 per cent) said they felt the same way about going to the gym, and another 9 per cent said they thought that about giving up smoking.

Sometimes doing something we would rather not do is about not causing offence to others – such as the 12 per cent who said they have sat through a boring dinner party when they would rather have been somewhere else.

And 9 per cent say that inviting the in-laws round is something they feel they have to do but do not want to.

A spokesman for Ask Jeeves said: “Life is full of doing things we would rather not for a variety of reasons.

“This can be for our own health, such as reluctantly giving up chocolate or smoking or going to the gym, to not offending our friends, our partners or our children.”

He added: “Perhaps they should take comfort from the fact that it takes a remarkable level of fortitude to grin and bear it in the most difficult of circumstances.”