The Harshest Life Lessons People Have Ever Learned

You live, you learn, right? Because as we age, we pick up life lessons along the way.

What's a life lesson?

The phrase describes a situation or experience "from which useful knowledge or principles can be learned."

Reading about and studying things is a great way to gain information, but experience is probably the greatest teacher. So what knowledge has life imparted on people?

Reddit user lolanojhola asked:

"People who are 25 [years-old] and above, what's the harshest life-lesson you've learnt?"

Cherish The Moments

"That life can take a loved one at any time so cherish those you love, make time for family and friends, and tell people you love them often."

~ CheddarCheeseCheetah

"My grandfather died the morning after the doctor agreed to discharge him from the ICU. I don't have a single picture with him."

"Never expressed how much I loved him. It seems, I had so much to tell him and ask him."

"His death taught me to value people and express my affections more. It's difficult but a necessity. You never know when people your love would not be there anymore." ~

~ lolanojhola

Hope For Health

"Your health can evaporate quickly."

~ unurbane

"I turned 40 this year. A woman I have known since Jr. High, full of life, did everything, and I mean EVERYTHING right...great health, worked out, took care of herself...did not feel well one day, went to the doc, got bloodwork done."

"The next morning her doc calls her at like 5am - Get to the hospital now, you are scheduled for an emergency scan as soon as you walk in."

"That morning, she was diagnosed with some form of highly aggressive, very late-stage cancer; it had already metastasized to her brain. She had 6 months at most."

"She died in less than 45 days, and she deteriorated FAST. She attempted to chronicle it on her Facebook, but it stopped rather quickly."

"It is not fair."

~ IT_Chef

CYA

"If your employer is doing something illegal or unethical and you decide to confront them about it, for f*ck's sake, do it in a way that all communication will leave a paper trail."

~ ElToberino

"To piggyback this, keep emails & any other proof of f*cking everything so you can always cover your a**."

~ chelseystrange91

Respect Yourself

"You have to speak up for yourself."

"No one else will."

~ ElToberino

"And a lot of people will be mad when you do because it's not benefiting them."

"Do it anyway."

~ PersonMcNugget

Losing Touch

"Your friends from high school or college will disappear if you don't make the effort to stay in touch."

~ h0rny3dging

"People in general. I’m 38, and in different parts of my life, I had friends and family who are no longer alive. You feel almost lonely when people that have made up certain memories are no longer there for y'all to retell it."

"You also just have life slowly separate people from you."

"Then you go through changes where some people just took different paths, and you don’t even recognize who they are anymore."

"You also cherish those moments that you get that make you feel young and alive again or having people come back into your life, and you didn’t realize how much you missed them."

~ Dependent-Garlic-291

Love Happens, Or It Doesn't

"You can't make someone love you by giving them more of what they already don't appreciate."

~ UnfitDiscord

"You can't make someone love you, period."

~ bonewords33

Own It

"Sometimes the problem is you."

~ PersonMcNugget

"If the same thing keeps 'happening' to you over and over again...It's not everyone else. It's you."

"You are the common denominator, and there is no conspiracy to ruin your life by the whole world."

~ TLRachelle7

Success Or Failure

"You can do everything right and still fail."

~ Spire-hawk

"On the other hand, you can do a bunch of stuff wrong and still kind of succeed."

~ ForgettableUsername

To Be Fair

"The harshest life lesson I've learned is 'life isn't fair'. Children die from cancer, war, famine etc.... life isn't fair and innocent people get hurt all the time."

"You grow up being told things will work out the way they're supposed to because it's comforting but that's not how the world works unfortunately."

~ Downtown_Skill

Lies, Lies, Lies

"Do not lie to your significant other. Have hard conversations and trust them enough to be able to have them with you."

"Give them a chance and don’t be afraid/avoid doing it in fear of rejection or judgment."

"I learned that one the hard way, unfortunately."

~ Ginoblee

Self Help

"No one is going to save you. You have to save yourself."

~ thebaddestgoodperson

"I was a very depressed young person, and I was waiting for someone to save me. To say hi, to ask how I was, to show me love."

"It never happened the way I needed it to."

"With the help of antidepressants, I realized everyone is busy with their own sh*t, and it’s up to you to pull yourself through yours."

~ Bugsy_McCracken

Communication Is Hard

"Communication is a tough thing."

"You can be a great communicator in many ways but have one aspect of it you’re horrible at, and that can be devastating to a relationship."

~ Ginoblee

Reciprocity

"There's only so much effort you can put into other people before you have to start being a bit selfish and protect yourself."

"Just this year:"

"I took care of my dad for years, and he stole money from me."

"I helped my ex through a tough spot in her life at the expense of my own mental health. She always told me how supportive she told her therapist and friends I was, then broke up with me for not being emotionally supportive enough."

"I felt like I was being a jerk, but I felt underpaid, so I leveraged a counteroffer to my employer, and it actually worked, and I got a large raise."

"This has not been a good year for me on my outlook on loyalty."

~ BestTryInTryingTimes

Haters Gonna Hate

"There will be people who just don't like you, who might even detest you."

"And you will never find out why."

"They might have even been people you considered friends just yesterday."

~ limbodog

Poo Happens

"Sh*t can go south in a literal heartbeat."

~ Far_Statement_2808

"Went to work today. For the second time ever at this job, went home for lunch instead of eating at work or getting fast food."

"Get home. Find my mom (a stroke victim) covered in blood. She fell and hit her head."

"Just like that, the rest of my day was spent at the emergency room."

"Thank God she's alright, seven staples later. But you literally have ZERO idea what you're walking into from one moment to the next."

~ UserNameTaken1998

Write Your Own Story

"This is for the people pleasers like myself."

"You can bend over backward for everyone, be a doormat, make it your life goal to avoid confrontation, and you're still going to end up being the supervillain in someone's story by the time you hit 30."

"You're writing your own story."

"Set your boundaries and realize no girl\guy, vice, or amount of money is worth compromising them."

~ SwimmingAd60

As the saying goes:

"I don't mind being the villain in your story, because you're the clown in mine."

Some sound advice here.

What would you add?