I firmly believe that most humans only ever truly learn in hindsight.
We can't help it.
In real-time, in the moment, it can be difficult to appreciate and learn from the experiences of life and those who have lived through them.
It may seem selfish or ignorant, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that's how we grow.
Good or bad.
Real time is experience.
But... it would behoove all of us to listen to advice that is rooted in truth.
So much wrong can be righted by just listening and avoiding.
Redditor WittyMonk7391 wanted to hear about all of the wisdom so many of us regret not taking to heart, so they asked:
"What’s a piece of advice you ignored once, but later realized was 100% correct?"
Younger
"'Enjoy being a kid while you can.' I'm so tired."
- TheFieryBanana
"Keep that playful kid version of yourself, it's good for your brain."
- Somebody23
Friends Hug GIF by MOODMAN Giphy
Fire Drill
"In my senior year of high school, I was blessed to have a car, which meant I could go from my front door to my heated car, straight into school. Total outside time <2 minutes."
"One winter morning, nearly a foot of snow still accumulated on the ground, the temperature was near 0°F, I was leaving the house, and my dad noticed I didn't bring a jacket."
"He urged me to bring one, and I stubbornly said, 'Nah, there's no need. I won't even be outside at all until I get home later.'"
"Dad asks, 'What if there's a fire drill?' and I say, 'Then I guess I'll be cold!'"
"Anyway, there was a fire drill that day, and yes, I was very cold. My dad was quite amused."
- LetsDoTheNews
Body Awareness
"If you don’t take a break voluntarily, your body will force you to take one."
- thesecrwns
"Lost my job to burnout. Your employer doesn't care. Your body keeps the score. So now I'm both jobless and in terrible health because I sacrificed it for the job that let me go. I would say lesson learned, but it's too late for me. Use me as a bad example, that way my f**kups might at least have some residual value somewhere."
- DespondentEyes
Follow the Advice
"If something seems to be too good to be true, that’s because it is."
- mustacheyoutoSTFU
"I 100% agree with this sentiment, but I’ve had 2 instances where I bought something dirt cheap, and everyone told me it was too good to be true, but it was!"
"My camera, the guy selling it in the marketplace for $500, even though it was a 1.5k camera, because he was rich and didn’t care about it. And my first car, which was work $15k, but I got it for $9k because it hadn’t moved in forever, because they mainly sold trucks in that lot."
"Both times, everyone said this quote to me (understandably), and I just did my research and thankfully came out okay."
"But yes, almost always follow that advice!"
- No-New-Therapy
BELIEVE
"If someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. The first time it’s said, it sounds harsh. Later, after a few burned bridges, wasted years, or I thought they’d change situations, it landed like a fact of physics. That I can’t change anyone."
- mintleeaf
"Also, when someone tells you how they are, believe them. You can avoid needing to be shown if you listen carefully. It took me way too long to realise people who say they're non-confrontational won't come to me when they have an issue with me. I've had too many friendships fall apart uncomfortably with self-proclaimed 'non-confrontational' people."
- gnomenclature33
STIFF
"Stretch every day."
- unimportantinfodump
"I had a big ol cyst growing in my hips that was pushing against my sciatic nerve something fierce. Took 10 years for a scan to pick it up, and it was mostly removed. I have been SO STIFF over the years as it got bigger and bigger, and I moved less and less. I have been stretching regularly, and I can tell this is going to take a LONG time to undo."
"It used to be like my pelvis, hips, waist, and hamstrings were all one solid painful piece. I started doing kettlebell swings this week, which would have been a nightmare for me a year ago."
"Kids, you may feel fine today, but you will lose your youth quickly unless you maintain it. Heed this advice."
- Johnycantread
Quality Purchase
"Buy less, buy better."
"Spent years buying cheap stuff that broke or wore out fast. Finally did the math on how much I was actually spending replacing things."
"Now I research before I buy and honestly own fewer things but like them all more."
- MemoryKeeper92
"Honestly, the way the economy looks now, more people will become more cautious about what they buy; until somewhat recently (until the start of 2025), a few silly purchases could sort themselves out after some time, but uncertainty has made it so that very few mistakes or no mistakes at all are an option to most people."
- elopingcats
Time is of the Essence
"Some very good and sound advice is getting posted on this thread."
"So here is mine."
"If there is something that you believe is important for you to get or achieve in life, then you need to be working towards it right now and doing it consistently. The timing almost never gets better to do it, and before you know, you’re too old and you never even tried."
- Independent_March536
Pay Attention
"Listen to your body. If one food/drink makes you tired/nauseated/burp/… that means that you can't handle it well, so avoid it."
- Sunbee_Peanut
"Only just learnt that kiwi fruit doesn't make everyone else's mouth feel weird and uncomfortable - I'm just allergic apparently."
"In my defence, they are delicious and other foods fight back like lemons or chilli, so how could I have known, haha."
- AdMaximum7545
Body Wiggle GIF Giphy
Follow your Gut
"I'll add one more, because I think everybody has ignored it multiple times."
"Listen to the voice in the back of your head when it says something's not right."
"Oftentimes, your subconscious will pick up on something that you did not overtly take notice of. Everybody's had that moment where they had a bad feeling about something, but followed through with it anyway. The moment you get that feeling, you should stop and ask why... and probably not do it."
- FuriouslyListening
Survival
"Your brain's job is to keep you alive, not happy... and it only knows about what didn't kill you in the past, so it will continue to convince you to do that, ya know...since you didn't die. If you want to change, if you want something else, you have to trick your brain into believing the new thing won't kill you; otherwise, your subconscious operating system will continue to make choices based on survival alone."
- bluemooncommenter
50
"'You'll understand when you get older.'"
"Life was so nice when I was young and ignorant and invincible. Almost 50, and life has taught me some experiences. For example, it turns out I'm invincible."
- iamthe0ther0ne
Aging Jamie Lee Curtis GIF Giphy
Say Goodbye
"Always go to the funeral."
"Three separate times in life, I have received this advice, unprompted. If you can't decide whether or not you should go, then go."
"It seems like such a strange piece of advice, and I have often wondered why I specifically have gotten it so many times, but I can assure you, the one time I DIDN'T go is one of the only regrets I have."
"Always go to the funeral."
- Winnie_rem18
The Hard Way
"When I was 17, a friend told me that I needed to deal with my anger issues before they messed up my life."
"At the time, I was not in the right place, mentally, to accept the advice. I ended up telling the friend to F off. He never spoke to me again."
"He was right, though. Unfortunately, I had to learn that the hard way."
- rosesforthemonsters
Basics
"This is just something I learned."
"Learn how to pick your battles and learn to let go. It's a piece of advice I used to ignore, but now I'm learning to apply. Especially since there are more important things that need my attention more, and keeping grudges over every slight is unhealthy and stressful."
- Stock_Pangolin_8902
Serious Spongebob Squarepants GIF by Bombay Softwares Giphy
This list is only the tip of the iceberg.
Lesson #1... Life is short!
Prepare for that.
#2... listen to advice from people who know.
We can't always reinvent the wheel, nor should we.
This thread makes me edgy.
I need a bucket list stat!
Thank you for sharing.
What other lessons are missing?
