Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Reveal The One Thing They Most Regret Doing In Life

Woman walking through field looking sad.
person standing in the middle of wheat field
Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

Not much good can come from dwelling on the past.

Even so, no matter how hard we try to avoid doing so, we can't help but look back on things we've done in our lives which we regret.

In some cases, it's nothing which had any sort of lasting effect, like wishing we thought more carefully about where we had a birthday or spending more than we could afford on an outfit that didn't end up paying off.

In sadder cases though, we often wonder what our lives might have been like if he had made a different, and smarter decision.

If we didn't say certain things to certain people, not spoken up when someone needed us to or rushed too hastily into a life we weren't ready for.


Redditor Anxious_Childhood3105 was curious to hear the biggest regrets people have been carrying with them all their lives, leading them to ask:
"What is one thing you regret doing in life?"

Giving People Attention Who Didn't Deserve It

"Wasting time worrying about people that never spared me a single thought."- Eborys

Getting In With The Wrong Crowd

"I regret making friends with people who I knew were bad for me just because it was easier than becoming friends with good people."

"Now I don't have many solid friends."- misswallflowerr

Staying In, When They Should Have Gotten Out

"Not ending bad/unhealthy/unfulfilling relationships sooner."- Superseriouslyguys

"Hanging on to a relationship for too long."

"I should have up and disappeared the first time he was disrespectful."- Mirrorflute88

Not Taking Enough Risks

"Not putting myself out there enough."

"I probably missed out on a lot of opportunities because I'm so self-conscious."

"Working on this though!"- Fife_Flyer

"Not following my dreams and ended up sitting behind a desk for 30 years."

"Of course, I'm currently on Reddit sitting behind my desk."

"So, there's that."- CatOnTheHill

"Overthinking my way out of potentially rewarding choices."- mmmmike1590

Rushing Into Things

"Going to college before I had the slightest idea what I wanted to do with my life."- Mysterious_Shake2894

Taking Things For Granted

"Not spending more time with my mom."

"I visited her 2-3 times a week but still, there were other times she'd call and I'd ignore the call or tell her I didn't have time to talk."

"Would give anything to go back and take every one of those calls."- Fruitjustlistens

Putting Their Health At Risk

"Most of 2019–addiction bottom."

"Sober now for 432 days and counting."- CommunicationTop5231

"Smoking."

"20 years spent on expensive, self-fed poison."

"Biggest regret of my life, by far."- Itsprobablysarcasm

Undervaluing Self-Worth

"Mentally exhausting myself at work for companies that turned out to not give a sh*t about me or value my work."- fpuni107

"Being too nice to tell undeserving people to f*ck off when I should've been putting myself first."

"Lessons learned."- MrsHppy

Not Having Enough Fun

"So, this is gonna sound kinda dumb, but I kinda wish I had acted out a bit more."

"Taken more risks, gotten in trouble more, explored and pushed my boundaries."

"I was pretty sheltered growing up and really wanted to be this good person."

"It created a lot of conflicting feelings for me."

"It also contributed to me avoiding doing some stuff cause I thought it'd be bad for me."

"Now that I'm older and worked through some of those issues, I feel like I missed out on a lot of stuff other people got in their teens and 20s."

"I'm now at a point where I'm exploring that, but most people my age have already gone through it."

"I just feel like I'm trying to 'catch up' with everybody."- animewhitewolf

It's only human to look back on things we regret, or wish we had done differently.

But living in the past will only keep us in the past.

The only way to move forward and make progress is to accept the present for what it is: a present.


More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Donald Trump; Tim Cook
Alex Wong/Getty Images; John Nacion/FilmMagic

Trump Just Shared A Truly Unhinged Tribute To Tim Cook After He Announced He's Stepping Down As Apple CEO—And, Hoo Boy

President Donald Trump shared an unhinged tribute to Apple CEO Tim Cook—whom he again referred to as "Tim Apple"—following Cook's announcement that Apple will have a new leader starting in September, openly reminiscing about all the times Cook would call him to "kiss my ass."

Cook took over from Steve Jobs and reshaped Apple by leaning on his operations expertise. He streamlined and expanded global supply chains, introduced Apple-designed chips, and pushed the company beyond hardware into services, launching subscription offerings like Apple News, Apple TV+, and Apple Pay, which have since become major revenue drivers.

Keep ReadingShow less
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Donald Trump
Andres Kudacki/Getty Images; Alex Brandon/Pool/Getty Images

AOC Offers Hilarious Take On Why Trump's Golfing Amid Iran War Might Actually Be A Good Thing

New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke frankly with MeidasTouch Network's Pablo Menriquez when asked about President Donald Trump's second-term golfing habits, pointing out why Americans might actually want him on the "golf course more than you want him in the Oval Office."

She said it was “awful” that Trump was golfing while the U.S. is at war with Iran and facing rising prices, arguing he should be focused on his responsibilities instead.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ahlex Jones; Donald Trump
@RealAlexJones/X; Allison Robbert/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Alex Jones Claims Trump Has A 'Deal' With The 'Deep State' To Throw The Midterms—And MAGA Is Crashing Out Hard

Former friend of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, grifter, and right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones widened the gap between himself and the MAGA movement he helped create back in 2015.

In the caption for his five-minute video posted to X on Friday, Jones wrote:

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Palanker moments before the crash; screenshot of Palanker talking to ABC News
@BarstoolVTech/X; @GMA/X

Skydiver Who Crashed Into Scoreboard During Virginia Tech Football Game Speaks Out After Scary Incident

It started as a routine game-day stunt—but within seconds, a skydiver’s planned landing at a Virginia Tech football game turned into a frightening midair collision with the scoreboard. Pasha Palanker was one of three performers scheduled to parachute onto the field before the Hokies' first spring season game on Saturday.

Video footage showed Palanker’s parachute getting caught between the “C” and the “H” on the Virginia Tech scoreboard, where he remained suspended until first responders rescued him.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Screenshot of Tucker Carlson
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images; The Tucker Carlson Show

Tucker Carlson Issues Somber Apology For 'Misleading People' Into Supporting Trump: 'We're Implicated In This'

Acknowleding that he's "implicated in this for sure," former Fox News host Tucker Carlson lamented his support for President Donald Trump on his show this week and issued an apology for "misleading people" into supporting him.

Carlson has broken with Trump over different issues over the last several months. His remarks come shortly after he criticized Trump for launching a war with Iran and urged U.S. military aides to refuse any orders involving the killing of Iranian civilians. Trump responded by calling Carlson and other high-profile conservative critics “stupid,” attention-seeking, and out of step with his political movement.

Keep ReadingShow less