Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Confess Which Things They Wish They Started Doing Sooner In Life

Person holding a handful of coins
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

No matter how happy we are with our lives, most of us can think of at least one thing that we wish we could have done differently.

Even if that just means starting to do the same things a little bit sooner.


Feeling reflective, Redditor AbortiveBases1 asked:

"What's something you wish you started doing sooner?"

Letting People Go

"Learning that just because someone is your friend for a long time doesn't mean you have to deal with their toxicity or narcissistic behavior."

"You can leave those friendships. It sucks at first but it's worse staying friends with people like that."

- SadStone2265

Getting Divorced

"My mom and dad got divorced in 2022 when my siblings and I were all between the ages of 27 and 31."

"We couldn't be happier. It could (and should) have happened way earlier, like 10 to 15 years earlier. Our childhood definitely suffered for it."

"I have no complaints about my mom, she's the best lady ever, but things would've been a lot more pleasant at home if they divorced then."

- doomed_danny

Creative Outlet

"Making things."

"I 3D print, do woodwork, and do home renovations. It’s made me more self-confident (I now usually believe I can do anything), more creative, and changed the way my brain works."

"I can’t imagine what kind of person I’d be today if I had been doing this all throughout my 20s."

- AirZurk

Sugar Intake

"Weaning myself off sugar."

- CouldMurderACarvery

The Perfect Partner

"My wife. She's the granddaughter of a friend of my aunt, so I could have met her a lot sooner, but we only met when I was 29."

"The way we clicked together and got lost in conversation with each other... I only wish it had started sooner."

- netheroth

"You can't guarantee that you would have clicked earlier."

"It was the same with my wife, I had met a bunch of her close friends over the years through friends and vice versa. There are pictures of us at the same events when we were 17, 18, and 20, but we just never met. Ships passing in the night."

"We met finally at 29 and realized we had all the things in common and clicked immediately and are happily married with a beautiful two-year-old."

"Looking back, had we met at 17, I don't think we would have gotten together. We both had a lot of growing to do before we were right for each other."

- sirhcdobo

Ditch the Hustle

"Focusing on friends instead of the grind."

"I worked two jobs through the 2010s. As a freelance digital artist at night, I made a lot of 'friends' through conventions, online chat groups, and social media."

"However, the pandemic hit, and the conventions closed. Freelance business dried up. Our clients disappeared. With my evenings more open, I focused more intently on ascending in my day job, and now only have one or two contacts left from my digital art years."

"They're all I have left. And we don't even talk that much."

"I'm working on rebuilding a friends circle, trying to reconnect with everyone who still remembers me, lives close enough, and didn't die years ago unbeknownst."

"It's an awkward process, trying to again find similar interests now that everyone has a wife, kids, and home to take care of, while I seem to have dropped out of a time portal from 2003."

- QuarantineTitans

Understanding Mental Health

"My wife."

"But seriously, endorphins."

"And understanding the importance of endorphins on mental health."

"Even a small amount of physical activity has a major improvement on my mental health, energy, and moods."

- ksozay

Work History

"I wish I'd started working sooner."

"My mom sent me money for food and essentials while I was in college because she said a job would just distract me from getting good grades. Unfortunately, she simply forgot to send the money, a lot."

- stellathewizard

Home Yoga Sessions

"At-home yoga. It's free AND my back doesn't hurt anymore!"

- mekkimegz

Prioritizing Sleep

"Enforcing my own bedtime. My mood is 1,000% better on days when I get enough sleep."

- lights_camera_pizza

The Value of Therapy

"Therapy. Seriously, if you are considering seeing a therapist, then just do it."

- Avjycjc8ttghu478

Exercise Routine

"Two-a-day workouts. Once you figure out intensity pacing and treating one as a 'light' workout, it’s not hard."

"Getting up at 5:30 most days isn’t awesome, but I get 14, 45-min hits of exercise almost every week, and I’ve never had as much energy, positivity, and overall health. Plus, weight management-wise, I can eat d**n near anything I want to. I had a 'mostly' clean diet before, so I wasn’t going bonkers. But it makes eating pretty enjoyable."

- superstarrrr99

Better Self-Talk

"Replacing self-depreciative jokes with sarcastic compliments on myself."

"For example, instead of saying, 'My hair looks like something died in it,' say, 'I was born a queen. Look how great I look on a bad hair day too!'"

"Fake it till you make it kinda works. Eventually, I'm not feeling as insecure about myself as I used to."

- saagarammm

Sentimental Photos

​"Taking pictures with my husband and kids. I hate the way I look in pictures so usually, I’m the one behind the camera. It wasn’t until last year that I read a post here on Reddit that made me change my way of thinking."

"It said something along the lines of, kids don't see wrinkles, extra fat, or bad hair. You know, all the things we nitpick about ourselves. They just see Mom."

- Dazzling-Nature-6380

The Next Phase

"Retirement. Did it at 68 but was enjoying running my own publishing business, so I stayed on."

"Now in retirement, I’m having a blast doing so many things I never previously had time for that I wish I’d taken the plunge at 60, or earlier. (Let that be a lesson to all you young ‘uns out there.)"

- SkepticalSenior9133

While it's so easy to regret things in our lives, sometimes it's important to think about the things we're doing right.

Sometimes we'll be so proud of what we're doing, we'll only regret not getting a jump on it sooner.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Liz Cheney; Donald Trump
Nic Antaya for The Washington Post via Getty Images; NBC

Liz Cheney Responds After Trump Says She Should 'Go To Jail' For Investigating Jan. 6 Attack

Former Wyoming Republican Representative Liz Cheney criticized President-elect Donald Trump after he told Meet the Press host Kristen Welker that Cheney and others on the House select committee that investigated the January 6 Capitol insurrection "should be jailed."

Cheney angered her own party and was ousted from her leadership position in the House of Representatives after she pushed back against Trump's falsehoods about the integrity of the 2020 election. She later served as Vice Chair of the House Select Committee on January 6, which resulted in her losing her primary to MAGA extremist Harriet Hageman, whom Trump endorsed.

Keep ReadingShow less
2025 calendar with tweet overlayed reading: "We are so doomed"
Pakin Songmor/GettyImages; @Haywhyforyou/X

People Just Noticed An Ominous Detail About The 2025 Calendar—And Oh Dear

Christmas is already around the corner. Can you believe it?

This time each year, many of us are SMH-ing over the fact that another year has sped by as the holidays following Halloween hit us in rapid succession.

Keep ReadingShow less
Anok Yai; Alex Consani
Dave Benett/Getty Images; Dave Benett/Getty Images

Supermodel Sparks Debate With Reaction To Losing 'Model Of The Year' Award To Trans Model

Model Anok Yai sparked quite the debate on social media after she said she was "exhausted" and proceeded to call out the British Fashion Council after they awarded the 2024 Model of the Year award to trans model Alex Consani.

Consani, the first out trans model to ever win Model of the Year, expressed her excitement on Instagram, sharing celebratory photos and videos accompanied by the captions:

Keep ReadingShow less
Jonathan Bennett; Jonathan Bennett as Aaron Samuels in 'Mean Girls'
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images; Paramount Pictures

Jonathan Bennett Reveals He Wasn't First Choice For 'Mean Girls' Role With Wild Story

Most of us have applied for at least one dream job, only for it to be offered to someone else. But sometimes the story doesn't end with the job offer; in fact, we might get another chance at that job or even something better.

And according to Veronica Mars actor Jonathan Bennett, this concept can be applied to acting gigs, as well.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Share Things Their Partner Told Them That Changed The Way They Saw Them

Actions may speak louder than words, but that is not to say that words do not carry power.

In a single moment, how we feel about someone can totally change because of something surprising they have said.

Keep ReadingShow less