We've all made decisions we regret.
Thankfully, sometimes these decisions result in little to no consequences or can be easily fixed with some time and healing.
In other cases, one error in judgment might have permanent ramifications: causing an effective end to a friendship, irrevocably damaging your financial situation, or even resulting in permanent physical damage.
In some more serious cases, these mistakes might even result in someone's life coming to an end.
All heartbreaking scenarios which could have been easily avoided with a little more care and consideration.
Redditor OrderPuzzled8165 was curious to learn about times where one single mistake resulted in permanent negative impacts on people's lives, leading them to ask:
"Who destroyed their entire life by making one mistake?"
Check Your Surroundings First
"I once worked as a personal assistant for a person who broke his neck due to diving into snow that was a little too hard."-tubzz2
A Wasted Career
"Boban Jankovic, basketball player."
"Copied from Wikipedia : 'Janković thought he scored a basket on a drive to the hoop while being guarded by Panathinaikos player Fragiskos Alvertis'."
"'However, the referee Stelios Koukoulekidis, called an offensive foul on him'."
"'It was Janković's fifth foul of the game, which meant that he had fouled out'."
"'In reaction to what he believed was a bad call at a crucial moment of a very important playoff game, Janković slammed his head hard against the padded concrete goal post'."
"He permanently damaged his spinal cord and was unable to walk for the rest of his life'."- bryanmills33
NEVER USE YOUR PHONE WHILE DRIVING!
"Near me there was a serious traffic collision."
"Several cars and 2 trucks."
"3 people died when one truck ploughed into stationary traffic at around 50mph."
"The crash and resulting fire was so horrific 2 people were only identified by their dead dog on the carriageway."
"It was microchipped."
"It was on the BBC news and have been documentaries about it."
"The truck driver was on his phone."
"He was charged and is now in prison."- Tabby_Tibs
How Could It Have Possibly Been Worth It?
"That dude who ate a slug as a dare."- valcallis
Violence Is Never The Answer
"Respected cardiothoracic surgeon tells a guy to stop smoking right outside the hospital doors."
"Guy turns around and punches him a single time in the head."
"King-hit, or coward punched, whatever you want to call it."
"He falls to the floor and hits his head a second time."
"On life support for four weeks."
"Nothing left to save."- Reddit
You Never Know Who You Can Trust
"My father."
"Years ago he started a trucking company with his best friend at the time."
"The HQ of the company was in a neighbor state, a six hours drive or about 40 minute flight."
"And for some reason, my dad just wouldn’t visit his company."
"Even with my mother pressing him to actually take care of his business, he would alway say he trusted his friend and since he only did the accounting for the company he only needed the reports his friend would send him."
"Long story short, his 'best friend' scammed him out a million bucks, driving both their company and my family to complete bankruptcy and f*cked off to live in some tropical paradise."- theapothecarium
Some People Get What They Deserve
"Dennis Rader, the BTK serial killer."
"He avoided arrest for 30 years, then, in an apparent need for attention, began writing to the police, basically mocking them for never having caught him."
"He asked the cops if they would be able to trace a floppy disk if he sent one to them."
"They said no."
"He sent it."
"They traced it."
"They arrested him and he's in prison for life."- President_Calhoun
There Are People Who Can Help You
"Doing fentanyl once destroyed my life for 3ish years."
"I was a complete shell and zombie. almost died too, overdosed 4 times."
"Lucky i got my sh*t together and will be 5 months sober in two days."- mission_mayhem
Some Risks Are Worth Taking
"I'm 49 years old, that context is relevant."
"When I was in college, a friend of mine started a company with a professor."
"This company was basically the first social network, I won't list its name here."
"This was in the early 90s."
"He offered me a job as employee number 4 or 5."
"I didn't know what the hell the internet was, let alone understand the concept of a social network."
"I knew he wasn't going to pay me much. I turned him down."
"Three years later, that company was sold for $190mm."
"They still only had a few employees."
"Every employee had equity and every employee made millions by age 25, including several other friends."
"I was a junior employee at an insurance company when I heard."
"Gah."
"Several of those people have gone on to very successful careers in technology and private equity."
"They were all basically set for life because of a quick decision they made at age 21."
"I've had an excellent career so far, I haven't 'destroyed my life'."
"But I think about this frequently."- hiro111
There's A Reason Stealing Is A Sin
"I knew of a girl who thought it was a good idea to steal a good sized amount of drugs from a guy she was partying with and then attempt to board a flight with it."
"She got caught by customs and ended up doing time."
"Dumb."- mrnoire
Couldn't This Be Viewed As Self-Defense?
"Friend was having a beer in a tavern."
"Some guys came in and started messing with my friend."
"He moved seats twice and then got up to leave when one of the guys threw a punch."
"My friend threw ONE punch back and the guy he hit landed in the ICU and wasn't expected to live."
"Friend was sitting in jail waiting just waiting for the guy he punched to either die or recover."
"Turns out the guy he punched recovered."
"Friend took a reduced charge of aggravated assault...a felony."
"One punch."- Noelle305
Actions have consequences.
Though we all have some trouble controlling our impulses every now and then.
But sometimes a short pause and a deep breath is all it takes to prevent us from making a mistake we'd regret for the rest of our lives.
