Not telling my dad I loved him before he passed. I always thought there’d be more time, you know? Now I make sure to tell my loved ones how I feel every chance I get.
Not calling child protective services more on my step-mother.
My school called once and she faked her personality and intimidated me into cooperation.
I really wish I had advocated for myself more instead of living in fear.
Not trusting my gut when it was screaming at me. Every time I ignored it to keep the peace or avoid hurting someone else, I ended up losing pieces of myself.
Dating a chick I met in film school like 14 years ago who still stalks me to this day. She is so fucking nuts she has even contacted my current girlfriend’s sister! What’s more insane is that I don’t even know how she knew who I was dating since we kept everything very private on social media at the time.
Not suing the state of Washington, in 2001, for discrimination due to a Washington State patrol officer telling point blank that I was not disabled and had to do something physical that I didn’t want to.
Deferred a soccer contract from an English football team in the premier league at the time, came back to finish high school and go to college. Was injured in college, never went pro afterwards… well wasn’t interested in playing in the MLS and would have had to start from scratch trialing in Europe. Entered an analyst program at an investment bank and made a nice career in credit trading but I still think about what would have happened if I took a chance on soccer.
Spending a decade pretending to like who I was instead of actually becoming who I wanted to be. Wasted so much time trying to fit in with the ‘cool’ crowd when I could’ve been pursuing my passion for marine biology.
I’ve made many missteps, but I’ve come to terms with most of them and can appreciate that they served a greater purpose. I wouldn’t be on my current trajectory without them.
With that said, I regret most of my romantic relationships. I stayed with people who didn’t fundamentally respect me on some level for far too long. I wish I had given one guy in particular more of a chance instead of taking back my ex for the fifth time.
Feeling trapped in the wrong relationship is worse than feeling free alone.
Not moving far away from my hometown. There are so many awesome places in this world and I locked down roots just 30 minutes from where I grew up. So stupid
Quitting my job and moving far away from my family and friends, for my partners dream job. For her to just leave me alone looking after three kids with no support.
Letting myself get overweight. After I graduated high school, I ate way too much and wasn’t active enough, causing me to gain 70 pounds and a big belly. It’s much much harder to lose weight than it is to gain it, I’m working on it for sure, but I’m digging myself out of a hole that I never should’ve dug in the first place.
Cheating on my first bf because I didnt want to break up and hurt his feelings. I know what I did cant be excused and there are many days where I feel guilt.
I was in elementary school, maybe 2nd grade? We had two different math classes, one more advanced than the other. I was in the advanced one. The easier class had a treasure box and the kids got prizes for doing well, prizes like bouncy rubber balls, parachute and army men. I went home and told my mom math was hard and I should move to the easier class. And this may sound absurd but I feel like in that moment I sold myself short, and my life branched into two different possibilities. It’s not that I’m not smart or I have failed in life, I’ve done well for myself. But I’ve always wondered where I’d be if I had stayed in the harder class.
Not taking my education seriously enough earlier on in life. I skated by my entire middle and highschool career which made me feel like I needed to make a drastic decision at 18 instead of a calm, calculated one.
I wasted money on a degree I never wound up making a career in, then floated through my late 20s and early 30s with no idea or direction professionally.
Now I’m in an industry I don’t care about just to make money to support my family.
I try not to regret my life or my decisions because I had only the information at the time to choose my direction, but if I would have taken school more seriously I think my opportunities earlier on would have been a lot better.
I really like helping people, my family has dealt with mental health issues my whole life and I wish I would have studied psychology and psychiatric care to be a psychiatrist, but now I’m too old to spend 12 years in med school and residency and cannot take on that type of debt with a family to support.
The last conversation I had with my Mum was an argument. Not massive but she just said “Do what you want, you will anyway”.
It was work related about quitting my job before I had another one lined up but I had been interviewing.
This was in the morning, I tried to call her that afternoon to tell her I got the job but she had died a few hours before but I hadn’t been told yet.
I had a great relationship with my Mum, I knew she loved me and she knew I loved her and would do anything for her. But there are moments where it just hits me and I can’t breathe even 10 years later.
Not marrying my husband in secret. We were supposed to elope but his parents found out and then invited everyone- and then I couldn’t let my family be left out, so then they came too. It was a nightmare.
Not trying to have a career instead of being a sahm.
Getting involved with wrong people due to lack of self esteem.
Having children before I was mature.
Getting married before I was mature.
Eas a healthy guy all my life prior to it. Now in chronic pain for nearly 4 years because of it and my health keeps declining every year. I have 14 pages of medical records following my vaccination.
It has been absolutely miserable dealing with this and by far the worst decision I’ve ever made in my life.
When I was in my 20s I was in basic training at the army and there was an issue with my medical paperwork and I was going to be discharged. They ended up shipping me to my barrels and I went though the entire basic. At the end of the they were gonna just let me stay but at that point I just to leave because of the dredd I felt the whole time k ow one was going to go home. Despite them telling me they would let it go I still left. To this day I still think about it and I wish I had stayed. I think my life would of been diffrent not saying better or worse just diffrent
Having children with someone who have different values and different background intellectually. The person did hide the first part, even denied it, with makes it worse because I hate fake people.
Not starting a regular workout routine earlier in life and maintaining a proper diet, as you get older mobility is a real issue, leg strength and cardio is tough to build up later in life. Build a good workout routine and stay flexible my younger friends.
Not transitioning sooner. I try to be kind with myself about it and not judge myself too harshly, but the fact is I thought I could just deny/repress forever, but I couldn’t. It was negatively affecting every aspect of my life. Literally, my only regret is being so chickenshit about it – assuming the worst and just coming up with any and every excuse with myself. Looking back, I can only say I was wrong. And I lost a couple of decades to inaction. It’s still a gut punch to know I could potentially have addressed everything so much sooner than I did. OTOH, I try to remind myself that you make decisions with the information that you have at the time. Where would I be in my life had I found the temerity and resolve to speak my truth a lot sooner? I’ll never know. But yeah, this is my regret. Especially because transition – as far as potential negative impact – was a nothing burger. I am fortunate to have mostly lovely people in my life and anyone who did distance themselves can’t truly be called a friend anyway. I guess I regret it mostly because it is clearly the best decision I’ve ever made for myself. So of course I wish I had made that decision a lot sooner. C’est la vie, I suppose.
So many…..I feel I’ve wasted a lot of my time and potential like not finding a career earlier and saving more towards retirement, not learning a musical instrument and another language, wishing I had learned to go NC with toxic people, including family, sooner. I wish I had gotten to experience the place I truly love when I was younger. I also wish I could foster really close relationships. I have learned that not making a decision is still a decision because it wastes time. I try to remember Maya Angelou’s words, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.”
Idk I don’t think i have any regret, sure I’ve made mistakes, terrible ones at times, but they’ve led me to where I’m at now and it’s a pretty good place.
Not getting in shape sooner. I finally like the way I look and feel a sense of confidence. I wasted so many years absolutely hating what I saw in the mirror, it did a number on my mental health
Not being honest with myself or a woman I loved until it was too late. Found out later she loved me too but I was to afraid to ruin a friendship. Ended up losing both in the end.
Not trying to become a professional footballer. Not saying I would have made it, but I never really tried, and that hurts
Not leaving my ex earlier. We spent 7 years together, of which at least 5, I was unhappy. Once I did leave her, I realised everything I had missed out on
Real talk, I think I regret being a people-pleaser for way too long. Always trying to keep the peace, make everyone happy, not cause drama… and somewhere along the way I just forgot about me. One day I woke up completely drained, like emotionally bankrupt. Gave so much to everyone else I had nothing left for myself
I had saved a few thousand, then I started dating a guy who liked to go out, buy frivolous things, make impulse purchases, etc. and he got me enjoying those things too.
Spent all the money I had during those 8 months on shit I don’t even remember.
I kept those bad habits through my 20s, and even now in my mid to late 30s I catch myself looking at stuff I don’t need.
It’s such an easy habit to get into but quite a hard one to break.
Not realizing there are bad people in the world. I have a great family. No real drama. We all like each other. When I was in my 20s, I did not realize what many people are really like. Caused me to marry someone who was not a good person. Same thing happened to my brother. Took me until I was in my late 30s to realize it.
Waiting too long to get help. I was doing really badly mentally while away at university and didn’t tell my family, my mom found out because I broke down sobbing while on the phone with her multiple times and told her how scared how was that I was going to kill myself. Getting better has been a long journey and I wish I’d started before reaching rock bottom.
Comments
Wasting time on things that didn’t truly matter.
Not having had more dating experience in my 20s
Procrastination
Not travelling more
Not telling my dad I loved him before he passed. I always thought there’d be more time, you know? Now I make sure to tell my loved ones how I feel every chance I get.
Hiding parts of myself in a relationship, only to grow resentful towards that person for something that’s my fault.
Thinking what other people thought of me was important
Not buying Bitcoin when I laughed at it in 2012. I could’ve been dumb rich and emotionally broken instead of just emotionally broken.
Not calling child protective services more on my step-mother.
My school called once and she faked her personality and intimidated me into cooperation.
I really wish I had advocated for myself more instead of living in fear.
meeting a specific individual
Nothing. I am who I am because of the choices I made. I’m satisfied with my life as it is.
Trusting people
It has to be my boneitis.
thinking everyone is like me and trusting blindly
Probably being too self conscious. Essentially caring too much about others opinions and their validation.
Wasting money on drugs and alcohol.
Cheating on someone.
Not working through my internal issues.
Being so messed up.
Never loving my own self and just…go around looking for love and ruin myself with relationships even if they’re healthy or not.
the list is never ending atp.
Not living a healthy lifestyle in my younger years.
Not trusting my gut when it was screaming at me. Every time I ignored it to keep the peace or avoid hurting someone else, I ended up losing pieces of myself.
Deleting my six year Reddit account while I was a silent reader because I didn’t like my name and never thought I could switch profile …
Being born.
Not pursing things when it was the right time to do it
not moving out of home sooner
Dating a chick I met in film school like 14 years ago who still stalks me to this day. She is so fucking nuts she has even contacted my current girlfriend’s sister! What’s more insane is that I don’t even know how she knew who I was dating since we kept everything very private on social media at the time.
Having a bad group of friends and trying to fit in cause i thought i needed friends 😭
Money
I didn’t do what I wanted
Life.
Marriage
Fighting with my kids mother before she passed. She died thinking I hated her.
Not communicating when I had to
Trusting someone I shouldn’t have.
Not suing the state of Washington, in 2001, for discrimination due to a Washington State patrol officer telling point blank that I was not disabled and had to do something physical that I didn’t want to.
Getting a smartphone and social media.
never been able to tell at the right moment how much i loved her & she meant for me…
Horrific regrets haunting my whole life
I didn’t learn to gape sooner.
Staying with my abusive ex husband as long as I did. Really wish I would have had the courage to leave after the first time.
Deferred a soccer contract from an English football team in the premier league at the time, came back to finish high school and go to college. Was injured in college, never went pro afterwards… well wasn’t interested in playing in the MLS and would have had to start from scratch trialing in Europe. Entered an analyst program at an investment bank and made a nice career in credit trading but I still think about what would have happened if I took a chance on soccer.
Probably all the times I stayed quiet when I really wanted to speak up.
Trusting ppl and dating when I was in schl
Going to the wrong school, choosing the wrong majors, chasing the wrong girls.
I destroyed the best D/s relationship I ever had (my marriage) because I was in denial about my submissiveness.
Spending a decade pretending to like who I was instead of actually becoming who I wanted to be. Wasted so much time trying to fit in with the ‘cool’ crowd when I could’ve been pursuing my passion for marine biology.
Trusting my brother.
Not buying a house instead of being at school like the child that I was!
Not travelling and studying more before I got sick
Wasting time and energy on people that would never do the same for me.
there’s a website where you can post your regrets and joys anonymously, and see what others have posted. it’s pretty cool. noragrets.com
I’ve made many missteps, but I’ve come to terms with most of them and can appreciate that they served a greater purpose. I wouldn’t be on my current trajectory without them.
With that said, I regret most of my romantic relationships. I stayed with people who didn’t fundamentally respect me on some level for far too long. I wish I had given one guy in particular more of a chance instead of taking back my ex for the fifth time.
Feeling trapped in the wrong relationship is worse than feeling free alone.
Not moving back to Scotland when I was 17
Not moving far away from my hometown. There are so many awesome places in this world and I locked down roots just 30 minutes from where I grew up. So stupid
Spending the first five years of my 20s in a relationship and living together.
I should have done so much more with those precious youthful years.
Keeping my expectations low. From now on I’m raising the bar.
Getting a reddit account, and using it.
Overworking, missed moments with family and friends
Quitting my job and moving far away from my family and friends, for my partners dream job. For her to just leave me alone looking after three kids with no support.
Staying with my son’s father for as long as I did. I’m out now, but I should’ve left sooner than I did.
Letting myself get overweight. After I graduated high school, I ate way too much and wasn’t active enough, causing me to gain 70 pounds and a big belly. It’s much much harder to lose weight than it is to gain it, I’m working on it for sure, but I’m digging myself out of a hole that I never should’ve dug in the first place.
Liking someone who isn’t emotionally available
Meeting this girl.
Thinking I could make a difference in someone’s life.
Started selling my nudes. Now I can’t stop
Thinking that just because I have glasses doesn’t mean I’m not beautiful
Marriage
The woman I married. Should have had a bit more foresight and self respect.
Hasn’t happened yet.
Cheating on my first bf because I didnt want to break up and hurt his feelings. I know what I did cant be excused and there are many days where I feel guilt.
Pumasok sa current job ko 🥲
Thinking other people’s opinions matter.
>What’s your biggest regret in life?
I’m not sure if It’s THE biggest, but it’s certainly up there.
Not having had the mental resilience to withstand government oppression to get the jab.
It’s a mix of health concerns/uncertainty and huuuuge disappointment in onself.
I wish I’d taken better care of my teeth, hearing, and joints.
Not working hard and financially establishing myself before I turned 24. Many things happened at that age and beyond…
Marriage
I was in elementary school, maybe 2nd grade? We had two different math classes, one more advanced than the other. I was in the advanced one. The easier class had a treasure box and the kids got prizes for doing well, prizes like bouncy rubber balls, parachute and army men. I went home and told my mom math was hard and I should move to the easier class. And this may sound absurd but I feel like in that moment I sold myself short, and my life branched into two different possibilities. It’s not that I’m not smart or I have failed in life, I’ve done well for myself. But I’ve always wondered where I’d be if I had stayed in the harder class.
Not going to college
Not taking my education seriously enough earlier on in life. I skated by my entire middle and highschool career which made me feel like I needed to make a drastic decision at 18 instead of a calm, calculated one.
I wasted money on a degree I never wound up making a career in, then floated through my late 20s and early 30s with no idea or direction professionally.
Now I’m in an industry I don’t care about just to make money to support my family.
I try not to regret my life or my decisions because I had only the information at the time to choose my direction, but if I would have taken school more seriously I think my opportunities earlier on would have been a lot better.
I really like helping people, my family has dealt with mental health issues my whole life and I wish I would have studied psychology and psychiatric care to be a psychiatrist, but now I’m too old to spend 12 years in med school and residency and cannot take on that type of debt with a family to support.
The last conversation I had with my Mum was an argument. Not massive but she just said “Do what you want, you will anyway”.
It was work related about quitting my job before I had another one lined up but I had been interviewing.
This was in the morning, I tried to call her that afternoon to tell her I got the job but she had died a few hours before but I hadn’t been told yet.
I had a great relationship with my Mum, I knew she loved me and she knew I loved her and would do anything for her. But there are moments where it just hits me and I can’t breathe even 10 years later.
Selling Apple at $11
Not marrying my husband in secret. We were supposed to elope but his parents found out and then invited everyone- and then I couldn’t let my family be left out, so then they came too. It was a nightmare.
I wanted it to just be us.
Not taking my education and future seriously. I squandered my 20’s and wasted so much time.
being born and giving in the cœrcion when I was cœrced by my ex, and not saying no or protecting my boundaries enough.
Probably not taking more chances when I had the opportunity.
Smoking……..if I could go back I never would have started
Not trying to have a career instead of being a sahm.
Getting involved with wrong people due to lack of self esteem.
Having children before I was mature.
Getting married before I was mature.
Getting the COVID vaccine.
Eas a healthy guy all my life prior to it. Now in chronic pain for nearly 4 years because of it and my health keeps declining every year. I have 14 pages of medical records following my vaccination.
It has been absolutely miserable dealing with this and by far the worst decision I’ve ever made in my life.
Abortion
Don’t taking action
Not finding soneone to enjoy life with whilst younger
Having purchased a car that I actually could not afford and am still paying for.
When I was in my 20s I was in basic training at the army and there was an issue with my medical paperwork and I was going to be discharged. They ended up shipping me to my barrels and I went though the entire basic. At the end of the they were gonna just let me stay but at that point I just to leave because of the dredd I felt the whole time k ow one was going to go home. Despite them telling me they would let it go I still left. To this day I still think about it and I wish I had stayed. I think my life would of been diffrent not saying better or worse just diffrent
About the lost time for self-development
Having children with someone who have different values and different background intellectually. The person did hide the first part, even denied it, with makes it worse because I hate fake people.
Not traveling more when I was young.
Not starting a regular workout routine earlier in life and maintaining a proper diet, as you get older mobility is a real issue, leg strength and cardio is tough to build up later in life. Build a good workout routine and stay flexible my younger friends.
Being born
Not transitioning sooner. I try to be kind with myself about it and not judge myself too harshly, but the fact is I thought I could just deny/repress forever, but I couldn’t. It was negatively affecting every aspect of my life. Literally, my only regret is being so chickenshit about it – assuming the worst and just coming up with any and every excuse with myself. Looking back, I can only say I was wrong. And I lost a couple of decades to inaction. It’s still a gut punch to know I could potentially have addressed everything so much sooner than I did. OTOH, I try to remind myself that you make decisions with the information that you have at the time. Where would I be in my life had I found the temerity and resolve to speak my truth a lot sooner? I’ll never know. But yeah, this is my regret. Especially because transition – as far as potential negative impact – was a nothing burger. I am fortunate to have mostly lovely people in my life and anyone who did distance themselves can’t truly be called a friend anyway. I guess I regret it mostly because it is clearly the best decision I’ve ever made for myself. So of course I wish I had made that decision a lot sooner. C’est la vie, I suppose.
Working too much.
Spending too much time dwelling on regrets.
Holding myself back even when I knew I’d regret it
Dating too early. I’m out of the game forever
So many…..I feel I’ve wasted a lot of my time and potential like not finding a career earlier and saving more towards retirement, not learning a musical instrument and another language, wishing I had learned to go NC with toxic people, including family, sooner. I wish I had gotten to experience the place I truly love when I was younger. I also wish I could foster really close relationships. I have learned that not making a decision is still a decision because it wastes time. I try to remember Maya Angelou’s words, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.”
Seeing same posts again and again on reddit
Not spending enough time with my father. The realisation of that only can by when he passed
Any decision I made out of fear, I never should have
Not working harder when I was younger so my wife could be a stay at home mom now, which is what she would love to do
Missing Daft Punk in 2007
„Well, they probably do another tour in the near future.“
Idk I don’t think i have any regret, sure I’ve made mistakes, terrible ones at times, but they’ve led me to where I’m at now and it’s a pretty good place.
I’ve matured so quickly. Di ko man lang na enjoy childhood ko.
Not getting in shape sooner. I finally like the way I look and feel a sense of confidence. I wasted so many years absolutely hating what I saw in the mirror, it did a number on my mental health
Fight for other while I know to my self I’m weak
Hurting my best friend , the person i love the most and not being able to understand my own feelings at the right times
Not being honest with myself or a woman I loved until it was too late. Found out later she loved me too but I was to afraid to ruin a friendship. Ended up losing both in the end.
Pleasing others and not going to a traditional university for undergrad
Not taking more chances when i was younger. Now i constantly live in this cycle of regret and dispair.
That and not investing in bitcoins
Watching the Kim Kardashian sex tape.
Being born. 🤷♂️
Not exploring my sexuality while I was young, carefree and a little more reckless.
Not going to prom.
I only have two regrets in life:
Not leaving my abuser in 2010.
Thinking the grass was greener.
Real talk, I think I regret being a people-pleaser for way too long. Always trying to keep the peace, make everyone happy, not cause drama… and somewhere along the way I just forgot about me. One day I woke up completely drained, like emotionally bankrupt. Gave so much to everyone else I had nothing left for myself
I wish I had saved more in my teens and 20s.
I had saved a few thousand, then I started dating a guy who liked to go out, buy frivolous things, make impulse purchases, etc. and he got me enjoying those things too.
Spent all the money I had during those 8 months on shit I don’t even remember.
I kept those bad habits through my 20s, and even now in my mid to late 30s I catch myself looking at stuff I don’t need.
It’s such an easy habit to get into but quite a hard one to break.
Watching madame web
All the good things i did for the wrong people
Dating an avoidant.
6 years of medical school knowing well what waits for me after graduating.
Not realizing there are bad people in the world. I have a great family. No real drama. We all like each other. When I was in my 20s, I did not realize what many people are really like. Caused me to marry someone who was not a good person. Same thing happened to my brother. Took me until I was in my late 30s to realize it.
Waiting too long to get help. I was doing really badly mentally while away at university and didn’t tell my family, my mom found out because I broke down sobbing while on the phone with her multiple times and told her how scared how was that I was going to kill myself. Getting better has been a long journey and I wish I’d started before reaching rock bottom.