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Bored Panda

Entertainment

Viktorija Ošikaitė

People Share Things They’ve Learned Embarrassingly Late In Life, And Here Are The 51 Best Answers

We go to school to learn about how the world works. Unfortunately, some lessons we can learn only the hard way – by experiencing them firsthand. Then, at the end of our lives, we can only regret the things we did or didn't do.

In 2011, researchers at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management asked people about their biggest regrets, and most adults talked about their love lives. Other areas where people wished they had learned crucial life lessons earlier were family interactions, education, careers, finances, and parenting, respectively.

Bored Panda has gathered some advice from two online threads where people shared the things they now wish they had known earlier in life. Some focused on health, and others on relationships, but most agree – these are the things most of us should know as we go through life.

#1

You are influenced by everything you surround yourself with, be it people, hobbies, or environment. Therefore, choose wisely.

#2

That all people are flawed and I need to figure out what kind of person I want to be for myself, instead of just emulate someone I idolize.

#3

That time is the only non-replenishable resource. You can make more money, you can find new friends and relationships, but if you waste years of your life not living the way you want to live, those years are gone forever.

#4

Not too late but the fact that nobody actually cares that much about you is liberating. Stop being so nervous!

#5

Smoking that first cigarette was a bad choice.

#6

Cut your losses.

Don't cling to a mistake just because you've spent a lot of time and effort making it.

#7

You cannot help another person, if they are not ready to receive help.

#8

Don't take your health for granted.

#9

To stop caring of what people think.

Particularly people I don't know/care about. I value the opinions of my family/friends (somewhat).

#10

Just because someone tells you something in a soft supportive tone, doesn't mean they are actually supporting you.

#11

That I'm smarter than everyone said I was. When I was little I was diagnosed with aspergers syndrome and immediately placed in special ed classes. My parents thought I couldnt do homework so for about 10 years they did 90% of all my homework. Around my junior or senior year of high school I decided I want to try and do my own work to see if I could. I passed with all C's. After graduating I tried to enter the military but because of my diagnosis I was told I couldn't. I decided after that to try community college. I struggled at first but learned for to properly study and use time management and passed school with a degree in CADD with a 2.6 GPA. Looked for a job, but ended up working at a factory where I gained confidence in myself and enrolled at a university. Currently I am 24 and a college softmore with a 3.2GPA and tons of student loan debt. Not a day goes by that I don't think about where I would be if i had just done my own work in school.

#12

Some people aren't worth it.

#13

Just cause you're kind to someone doesn't mean they'll be kind to you.

#14

"Baby on Board" indicates that the driver is distracted/tired.

#15

If you let people take advantage of you they will.

#16

Friends in high school are not as Important as you think they are.

#17

You need to be careful with your diet.

#18

Nobody has a clue. Most people have insecurities and problems and are too busy worrying about their own to give a care about your minor mess ups.

#19

All of my anxiety and problems were caused by the amount of alcohol I was drinking to escape my anxiety and problems.

I'm glad I worked it out but I wish it had been 20 years earlier.

#20

Just talk to her, you have a much better chance than you think.

#21

"Keeping your options open" is a terrible idea. Just pick one thing to become amazing at, and stick with it. When I was young, I wanted to keep my options open. Now i'm old, and I'm pretty good at a hell of a lot of things, but great at nothing. Life's too short to explore all those other options anyway. Just pick something and pour your heart into it.

It's as true with romance as it is with your career.

#22

To not spend so much of my life running in circles justifying other people's poor treatment of me. I thought it was just something I needed to be less sensitive of, that everyone has different motivations & if someone has his reasons I could work out a way that made it ok. Nope. I can decide that their motivations don't mean anything, and nope right out if they can't correct it when I tell them how they've hurt me.

#23

You can't wait for opportunity. You have to find and grasp it. Nobody gets what they deserve, they get what they think they're worth.

#24

All the middle-aged people complaining about their bodies? Yeah, that's real and i should have worked harder to stop it. My back hurts at 29.

#25

That high school and school in general is just practice with dealing with people very different than you are.

#26

That I'm pretty and have a nice personality. Always thought I was a freak.

#27

Time flies - make the most if it.
Take calculated risks.

#28

Most of the people realize too late in their life about how important the old persons around us (especially our parents) are.

#29

If it's gonna sit in your room to collect dust, don't buy it.

#30

Finding someone to love and share your life with means wading through a sea of rejection, friendzones, getting stood up and breakups. Unfortunately I bought into the idea of "the one" and would let these setbacks devastate me far more than it should have.

I kinda wish I hadn't given up on it so early in life but on the other hand so far I've met a few very interesting people and made some great friendships so far getting back into it at this stage in my life and quickly making up for lost time.

#31

Excelling in my chosen career came at a cost to my family. The better course for me would have been to forgo that big promotion so I could spend more time with my kid when he was young. The money wasn't worth it, looking back.

#32

Tell people you love them. Ask them questions about their life. Listen to their stories. Connect, even when it's hard, even when you're a teenager who thinks 'they know better'. Cause someday you wake up and you have a hundred questions you wish you asked them before they were gone and a hundred things you should have told them while they were here.

#33

That just because you might be the most talented, doesn't mean that you'll succeed. You also need to build relationships with people that are willing to help you succeed.

#34

You can't cram for a science test the morning of it.

#35

Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.

#36

Schools actually not for fools.

#37

No one will like me until I like myself.

#38

Having a social life matters, the value of dedicated saving, the need for regular exercise, and picking up an acceptable hobby.

#39

I worried way too much about if people liked me for way to long.

#40

Should have just chose the college that is in my area instead of going so far away.

#41

How young I still am.

#42

It's never too late.

#43

That women owe me nothing.

#44

That I really could do anything that I put my mind towards.

#45

Your thoughts make up your universe. They always matter.

#46

I probably could have dated in high school but at 26 and never even kissed a girl (so now I don't know how) I think that ship has sailed.

#47

Dont burn bridges. Ever. Networking is how you go up faster than other people do in life.

#48

A predictable/planned life doesn't necessarily equal an easy one, let alone a good one.

#49

Its not what you know, its who you know.

Even better, I was actually raised to believe that people who use their social connections to be successful are cheats, incompetent, etc.

#50

God isn't real and I'm wasting my time worshipping a fantasy.
I need to be the best teacher I will ever have. I can learn anything if I want. I can focus myself and change my brain.
Ethics matter labels are irrelevant.
I am only limited by my imagination not my past.
Physically I can become whatever I want.
A man becomes what he thinks about all day long.
I won't die without a woman.
I wont die without friends.
The silence is not fatal but ignorance is.
I have a responsibility to push my life to the edge of the possible not just have kids and pawn off the responsibility for growth and self-development onto the next generation.