Living a life with no regrets is harder than you'd expect. There are so many things that can still creep up to haunt you, and it can be really hard to let them go. The regrets that follow us sometimes never go away. Here are a few examples, courtesy of Reddit.
u/polaroidshooter asked: What is your biggest regret so far in your life?
An important lesson.
Being so damn worried about what other people think of me ALL of the time. Always comparing myself. Always afraid I'll look stupid. Always. I feel like I've missed out on so many opportunities because I'm afraid of judgement.
At one point in my life I realized if something embarrassing happened to someone else I spent maybe 2 seconds thinking about it and then I moved on. I think it's the same for everyone. Since then I don't care about what others think of me anymore.
Oof.
GiphyNot telling one of my oldest friends how I felt about him because I was afraid to lose him. When I finally tried to seize the opportunity, my friend announced he was seeing someone.
He still doesn't know and we haven't seen each other in 6 months, my fear led to the exact thing I wanted to avoid
Equally bad decisions.
Marrying someone I thought I knew, only to find out that she would take literally the first opportunity she had to cheat on me. Or maybe the bigger regret is getting the wedding date tattooed on my chest. They both ended up being rather bad decisions.
Don't do this!
Staying at a job I hated for far too long.
It really does destroy your mental health. Waking up at 8am every Monday and just being miserable about what your day is going to be. Not being able to sleep Sunday night because you don't WANT to wake up on Monday morning.
There are too many abusive companies out there. But trust me, there are also companies that will value you as a person.
This.
GiphyNot making the most out of my childhood and teenage years.
High school was a 100% waste from top to bottom. Both socially and academically.
Tell your parents you love them.
Not spending enough time with my dad.
This comment made me realise how little time I spend with my dad. I think I should go talk to him.
Live it up while you can.
GiphyNot dating more when I was younger. I kept putting it off and making excuses. Now it's nearly impossible to meet single people.
Why do I feel the same but I'm 26? I am literally the only single person in my entire department. It's depressing.
Achieve those goals.
Not setting goals and trying achieve something when I was in my 20's. And instead just following the path of least resistance and ending up where it took me.
I got lucky and landed in a great situation. When I look back with the benefit of hindsight, I realize had I put my mind to it I could have been almost anything.
I heard a great quote about education and age. Someone was talking themselves out of going back to law school and said, "I'd be 35 years old by time I finished". They were told, "you're going to be 35 either way, you might as well be a lawyer too".
I realize the message is mixed about not doing it when I was younger and also it not being too late. But they're both true and good advice.
Be proud of your growth.
Being an a**hole and a "nice guy" to girls in high school. I cringe when I remember how I acted back then.
The fact that you cringe now is a clear indicator of how much you have changed and evolved as a person. At some point we have to forgive ourselves for our past behavior and do what we have and make a positive change. I commend you for not being "that guy" from school that never grew up and continued to be an odious toad.
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