Sometimes in life, we make mistakes. Those mistakes can lead us down a path we never thought we'd lead. We can even feel regret.
Regardless of what it was, whether a small mistake was made or a life-changing decision, we learn our lessons. Those lessons we can then share with those around us and hopefully they learn as well.
We went to Reddit to know what things people have done once before and learned never to do it again.
Redditor Beyond_Human_202 asked:
"What's something you never want to do again?"
Let's see if we can take a page or two from these Redditor's books.
Putting energy into an unbalanced relationship.
"Waste time on a person who doesn't put the energy in the relationship as I do. This is draining."
"Yeah it is better to stay out of relationships where things are not mutual."
"Oof same. Not long ago I left my ex who couldn't even be bothered to come with me to my aunt's funeral. It made me crazy cynical and not hopeful for my future prospects. I've since found someone who wants to spend time with me, who listens, who cares about my wants and needs. I've felt more love from him in 6 months than I did in a 7-year relationship. If you haven't found who you're looking for yet, I wish you luck. They're out there."
"I had a friend whom I met at work. We both left that job so it became more difficult to see each other. I put a lot of effort into making plans but started to get annoyed that frequently she would show up late or say she couldn't stay long because she had other plans. Once I waited outside her door for twenty minutes before she drove up."
"I realized I was always the one to text or call I was always the one to make plans so I just decided to see how long it would take her to notice if I didn't text first. It was a over year later and it start with 'heyyy girlie!!' Then there was some schpeal about lipstick that doesn't come off."
"Preach. Learning to identify those people earlier is a skill I have had to sharpen. I was trying too hard to see the good in people that wasn't always there."
Disappointment.
"Disappoint someone I care about..."
"I also want to stop being disappointed in people. I don't know why I am always so shocked when I find out yet another human sucks. Why am I this way?"
"For me it's lying to somebody who I love. It's so hard to disappoint someone but its not worth a lie."
Been there, done that.
"High school."
- cawclot
"I would do it again if I could go back with all the memories I have now."
"Reliving it as I did the first time, though, f*ck no."
"Idk man, that almost sounds worse. Giving up all your adult freedoms and privileges. Dealing with high school level conversations and relationships. If you really wanted a redo you could probably use your current knowledge to rock your way through high school, but there would be a ton of downsides."
"Honestly I think high school would be easy as a do over, from class work and not being involved in as much petty BS because of experience and perspective... but then I think, you'd have these memories and this perspective but how much would that be compromised by being in a hormone flooded teen body again? How much of teen obnoxiousness is chemical vs perspective related?"
"The hardest part wouldn't be the other teens: it'd be the adults. Will never forget the conversation with the assistant principal halfway through freshman year where he misspelled my name, and then when I corrected him politely he looked me in the eye, grinned, and answered, 'I know,' without correcting a letter. Then he held that gaze to stare me down."
"Was in his office to take care of routine paperwork because I was transferring into that school. He was a massive jerk who knew he could get away with baiting a fourteen-year-old, and I was an honor roll student with no disciplinary problems. What a nightmare that man must have been to the kids who made any minor mistake such as being late to class."
Now that sounds painful.
"Bite my tongue so hard that it lacerates and then later develops a nickel-sized canker sore that prevents me from eating and speaking for two weeks. Doctor had to prescribe lidocaine mouthwash because the pain was so unbearable."
"I can empathize as I get canker sores a lot from biting my tongue/cheek or otherwise. Debacterol is a life changer."
"My heart goes out to you. Those things REALLY F*CKING HURT but they don't look like a big deal so people don't get how misery making they are."
No amount of money should be worth this.
"Compromise my morals and standards for a sub-par paycheque."
There's actually record numbers of people quitting their jobs right now, probably for this very reason.
The irony.
"Second guess myself...maybe...hang on..."
- NEF984
"Are you sure?"
"...um...possibly...I don't know if I am indecisive or not..."
- NEF984
The Strangest Superstitions People Actually Observe | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
The world can be a superstitious place. If you've ever knocked on wood or thrown salt over your shoulder then you've run into one or two throughout your life...Puppies look cute, but...
"Raise a puppy. As cute as they are, they're little monsters."
- yusase
"As I read that my 17 week old lab just pushed his way through the fly screen to get inside."
"I have raised 3 different Golden retriever puppies over the years, and while I loved them all , I will never raise a puppy again. It is very very difficult. I will likely just adopt an adult dog next time."
- ChmeeWu
Addiction is a difficult illness.
"Meth and heroin. I'm 7 years clean and I've never thought about going back."
"I started dating someone and moved in with him, he was an alcoholic and started to abuse me, before I could get out he offered me meth and when I tried it I felt like I couldn't leave. I tried it because I was being abused, believed no one wanted or needed me, no one but him could love me, and meth is what he did."
"Later in that relationship he let me try heroin and it was a turning point, I was worse on it than I was on meth."
"He didn't want me to live there so we lived in a hotel for a few months, one night I got so drunk I fell asleep outside of the hotel room, I called my family, they picked me up, I called the police and then they came and picked me up and took me to the ER. I immediately got rehab and within two weeks I decided to leave him forever. A few weeks after rehab I went to my first NA meeting and my life changed. I never went back."
Losing friends.
"Lose really nice friends due to my own insecurities."
"The thing with friends is that you can reconnect several years later, assuming both want to reconnect."
- OldMork
"Except I messed up really bad. I've tried to reconnect but the trust is just too broken..."
"I know what that's like. I messed up really bad too, man; the best you can do is try to show how sorry you are. Time doesn't heal everything. Hang in there."
- fweggi
"Something I've learned in life is that friends come and go. It's very uncommon to have a friend for your entire life. Learn from each relationship and know that more friends are around the corner even though they're harder to make as you age. Eventually you'll have at least one or two who really accept you fully, even when you f*ck up."
Oh this is heart breaking.
"Burying a child. My son died in 2016."
"I lost mine in 2020. I don't think we'll ever be the same. So sorry, Holly."
"I actually think that if I could get a single wish granted it would be to have all of my children outlive me. There is a correct order of people dying, and in that correct order your children should go after you do."
- Aracnida
Fall in love again.
"Fall in love again."
"My wife would kill me if I did."
"You can always fall in love with your wife again."
- makumuka
"Haven't fallen out to fall back in. But, I will remember your words if time comes."
"Oh, I didn't mean that way. It's more of a frequent reminder on why she's the best! That's falling in love for me."
- makumuka
When disaster strikes.
"Finding the perfect woman at the wrong time is a recipe for disaster."
"Absolutely. Worst feeling when it's someone you feel you should have met long ago, but she met someone else and it will never happen, not in this lifetime. The feeling was great at first, but I kinda wish it'll never happen again since the disappointment is so crushing."
"Finding out you're the perfect woman at the wrong time is equally as disastrous. The universe can be cruel."
An unlikely broken bone.
"Break my arm on a pillow."
"It was in a pillow fight and it just broke, I don't even have weak bones it just happened. And cause no one including myself thought it was possible I turned it into a clean break 2 day later on some play equipment."
"Stress fracture maybe? Like it was already injured and the impact was enough to break it completely? I remember doing a set of push-ups and felt fine, but then I stretched my shoulders and heard my clavicle snap."
One of the worst jobs.
"Work retail."
"I always thought it would be good to work both retail and food service, to give me a better appreciation for when I'm a customer. But after working retail for a year and a half, and then getting out of customer service entirely, I'm not eager to go back for that experience in food service."
"Never ever want to work retail again, I ended up at the ER after being overworked. I'll add night shifts too, my current job has night shifts, maybe it works for some people, but not for me."
"I did 26 years of hard time in retail, the horror. Plus it was a toxic environment, a lot of my co-workers and management were straight up c*nts. I would sit in my car for a while before walking in, just to mentally prepare myself. I quit and I'm so happy I did. It was bad for my health."
"I hope to complete my degree and pursue my desired career. The thought weighs heavy on my mind that I may one day go back to retail or have to work it as a side job once I'm out. I'm 5 years in since dropping out of high school, getting my GED, and taking a gap year before college."
"While it helped me a lot with my awkwardness and trauma that'd kept me socially repressed, the hard knocks of dealing with dramatic coworkers and my own life dramas has made for a difficult time. It was my first job that ended with a bad layoff, and at my second, things are often boring and droll as a smaller business. With the exception of the holidays.
"One of my bosses would mock me at my old job covertly or to others, and he was what urged me to have a health breakdown and 'leave.' Understandable there will always be douchebags in the world, but middle managers in retail are often hellions who lurrrrve bullying employees."
Waiting for a disappointment.
"Wait about a hour to get into a fancy club. They're not worth it."
- Jack1715
"Yesss! In my mid-20s I went with some friends to a 'fancy' club because they really wanted to. The cover was way [too] high, coat check was way too high and mandatory, there was a separate cover charge to get on the dance floor and the drinks were overpriced and watered down. Such a dumb, expensive night. The DJ wasn't even good."
Knock on wood!
"Chemotherapy. Final session Monday, touch wood..."
"Just finished my chemo. It was only a 6 month round but I hope I never have to go through it again. I can't imagine how the people that have to do it for years feel."
This list goes in so many different directions, but it's important to look into all aspects of life when evaluating the path we want to lead going forward.
Your future is yours to determine, so why keep doing something that makes out lives more difficult?
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