"You live and you learn" is arguably the most common expression to justify mistakes. Yet, mistakes, regret, and life lessons are co-dependent. Consider it one of the life lessons learned the hard way, but the most genuine route to wisdom is making mistakes, also known as the trial and error method. Thus, feeling regret for things done wrong or not done at all is often the outcome. Yet, sometimes it's possible to forestall a few things we'd regret later by simply listening and hearing one another.
It's said that when people are offering you good life advice, it's really just them talking to their past self. Any good advice often comes from personal experiences and hard lessons learned from it. A recent thread on AskReddit revealed the many important life lessons individuals often learn the hard way. User Professional_Lab7394 asked, "What should one do in their 20s to avoid regrets in their 30s and 40s?" In this honest thread with over 6k comments, the r/askreddit community shared the biggest regrets in life that could have been prevented.
Below, we've gathered some of the best answers from the thread, sharing some of life's biggest regrets and the lessons that came with them. Do you agree with any of them? Let us know by giving it an upvote. Also, what's your take on the above question? Could some of your biggest regrets have been avoided if you'd done something differently earlier in life? Share your opinion in the comments.
#25
"Listen to the older folks that have been there done that it's very easy to dismiss them or block out their advice in your 20s."
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20points
#26
"Take risks. Chase the boy/girl/etc. Jump for the job. Don't be afraid to bounce to a different state/country if the opportunity feels good."
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19points
#30
"There is good advice here so I won't repeat it. Have two hobbies. One that is of interest to you and you are happy doing alone. The other one tries to have it be with other people. Preferably one of them has you getting outdoors often. They can be the same example: fixing bikes and going on rides with friends. Photography and bird watching. Practicing an instrument and being in a band."
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18points
#32
"Eliminate toxic "friends", relatives and relationships. It is better to be single than be tortured."
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18points
#34
"Understand the world. You’ll hear a lot of stuff about news outlets being indoctrinating. To curb that read history, it'll give you the context to pull information out of what news is saying."
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18points
#35
"Say yes to going to dinners, parties, birthdays, etc. even if you have work the next day or don’t feel like it. Most people lose 90% of their friends in their 20’s."
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17points
#36
"Learn to stop measuring the success of your life based on what you've done by a certain age. 30 or 40 are just numbers."
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17points
#37
"Travel - go for a long time and work while you're there if you can."
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16points
#40
"Have a few close friends but keep making new ones. I’m all for making your own way, but you’d be shocked to know how many people got to where they are because they knew someone who knew someone. It can only help you and maybe you can pay it forward down the line."
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15points
