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

Karoline Leavitt
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Karoline Leavitt Slammed After Suggesting Reports Of Deadly Strike On Iranian Girls' School Are Just 'Propaganda'

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was criticized after she rejected reports that the U.S. struck a girls' elementary school in Iran, killing 175 people, insisting in remarks to the press pool that it's just Iranian "propaganda" that they've "fallen" for.

Iranian state media and health officials said the strike occurred early Saturday morning in Minab, in the country’s southern Hormozgan Province. Journalists from international news organizations have not been granted access to independently verify the reported death toll or the circumstances surrounding the strike.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @madswellness's TikTok video
@madswellness/TikTok

Woman Sparks Debate With Her Viral Hot Take That We Should 'Normalize Not Liking Dogs'

We're all different people with different interests, and it's perfectly okay that we like different things.

But there are some people who passionately, even vehemently, draw the line at other people liking or disliking dogs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @vanellimelli030's TikTok video
@vanellimelli030/TikTok

Model Accuses Fashion Brand Of Using AI To Recreate Her Looks For Ad Instead Of Hiring Her

There used to be laws in place for someone's likeness being used without their consent, and most certainly if their likeness was being used in an exploitative way for profit.

But now with the rise of AI-generated photographs, advertisements, and other digital products, the lines seem to have become muddied between the illegal stealing of someone's likeness and AI "inspiration."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @anissahm15's TikTok video
@anissahm15/TikTok

TikToker Secretly Records Unhinged Spectrum Employee Screaming At Her For Trying To Cancel Her Service

Employees in commission-based positions are feeling increasingly pressured to acquire new clients, retain previous clients, and solve the issues their clients call in about with high satisfaction ratings.

Even though tensions are high, and the pressure they're feeling may be unrealistic for any one person to take, that doesn't give them the right to mistreat people who do not want to sign up or want to cancel.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @hustleb***h's TikTok video
@hustleb***h/TikTok

Travel Influencer Posts Viral 'Hack' Using Hotel Coffee Maker To Wash Her Underwear—And We're Horrified

We've all worried about packing enough clothes when we go on a trip, especially when it's the really important stuff, like underwear and socks.

But travel influencer @tarawoodcox11 thoroughly grossed out the internet when she shared a hack for maintaining clean, or at least cleaner underwear, while on the go. The video was later shared by the TikTok platform @hustleb*tch where it went viral.

Keep ReadingShow less