How To Gracefully Get Out Of a Social Event?
Some context: I utterly despise sports. Nothing wrong with them, if you enjoy them I’m glad you have something that makes you happy. What I despise about sports is that, unlike every other leisure activity, they are unavoidable. I don’t care about ballet, but it doesn’t fill me with rage because it never comes up. It doesn’t interfere with my life so other people having access to it and attending it doesn’t bother me. I’ve never been unable to join conversations at social events because the group wouldn’t shut up about ballet. I don’t walk in bars and not be able to enjoy myself because there’s a ballet on every TV. Ballet is not shoved down my throat. Sports inspires rage because I can’t simply ignore them, they intrude no matter what.
This brings me to my problem. I work remote and love my job and my coworkers. We have an onsight coming up and part of the event is my entire team is attending a MLB game as a team building exercise. They have done other such exercises in the past that I was skeptical of, but participated in anyway because I knew it was important to. The difference then as opposed to this event is that I have not sworn an oath to myself to never participate in Top Golf. I’ve never left a bar because they had 12 TVs all tuned into Medieval Times.
If I go to this event, I’m breaking an important promise to myself. Before you say anything, I get it…. Thats a very petty and unique hill to die on, but if you knew me it woukd make total sense. I’m usually Mr Go Along until I decide “no” and then nothing moves me even an inch.
I have a good reputation at work and have been praised often for my cooperative attitude and willingness to cheerfully accomplish unpleasant tasks so I do not fear long term reputational damage from opting out, I’m just curious about how to do so gracefully. It’s precisely because I have a good reputation that I’m deeply concerned about managing my rejection of this in the most graceful way possible.
How do I get out of this while taking the lightest blow to my reputation possible?