You can look at life as an unending chain of lessons. Some of them we learn incredibly quickly. Others might take dozens of mistakes for us to finally grasp their significance. Hindsight is 20/20 and it’s often hard not to blame your past self for not foreseeing all the consequences of your actions. But that’s life for you. And unless you’ve got a time machine hidden somewhere, all that’s left is either to embrace the hard-won lessons and teach others about them, or to live in regret.
One internet user, u/IndianaC0NES, went viral on the r/AskReddit online community after asking everyone about the important lessons that they had learned the hard way. Many folks were happy to share their wisdom about money, relationships, and health, so that others might avoid the same mistakes that they made. Read on for their advice and upvote the tips that you found the most helpful.
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You can't use logical arguments to change the minds of those who don't value logic.
We firmly believe that it’s never—and we do mean never!—too late to learn from your mistakes. Changing your habits and your lifestyle, that’s something you can do at any point in life.
Would it have been better to have started living a healthy, frugal, and extremely social life years or even decades ago? Sure! But the next best time is to start developing those habits right now. Try not to be too harsh on your past self: you did the best you could with the knowledge, tools, and energy you had at the time.
It’s easy to be critical of yourself for not going to the gym after a long day’s work, but people tend to overestimate their (past and future selves’) willpower, as well as their capacity for change and putting in massive, sustained effort. That’s why making incremental changes works far better than trying to do everything all at once.
Just because a person with authority tells you to do something, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.
Not everyone is a good person. Some people actually want to see you fail. Stop oversharing. These nasty people will use it against you.
This is something I actually struggle a lot to convince myself! Rationally I know there are bad people, but emotionally, God, how can you be mean or unethical and live with yourself? Dude, I would never be able to intentionally hurt someone or hold something against them
Dumb people get old too, age doesn't equal wisdom, nor does it earn you respect.
"Politicians are a lot like diapers. They should be changed frequently, and for the same reasons." (Mark Twain)
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Age means you've had the opportunity to develop wisdom. Not everyone does to the same degree, or at all.
It's really weird when I see someone older than me acting a fool. I'll be like "You look like you managed to go how many decades, and nobody told you it's not okay to scream at a register clerk, or use the N word?"
Old enough to be retired from working? Then old enough to be retired from politics!
If you look at the presidents rated lowest by history, you'll find very, very few old ones there.
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True. But smart people respect their elders. Idk which elderly person hurts the OP.
Age only equals wisdom and people who continue to learn and grow throughout their lives. Unfortunately, many people do that.
Tying this one to the authority post as well, respect is earned, not given. There is a difference between having respect for the position and respect for the person, be they president, police officer, CEO, or manager.
My respect goes as far as holding the door open for a stranger. They don't often say thanks, but it stops there.
Sometimes it just means you’ve been dumb for a longer period of time than most.
Age does not equal the amount of wisdom someone has. Not to brag, I’m just stating what I’ve experienced, people have told me time and time again I’m “wise for my age” or really smart. I think they mean intelligent. You can be an old fool, a young fool, old and wise, and young and wise. Humans need to stop looking at the outside for information and look at actions for the inside of a person, words from a person
Yeah, but old people have seen it all before and know when something is full of c**p. (Unfortunately, they then believe in alternate narratives simply because they're in opposition to the mainstream narrative and not because they make perfect sense or can be demonstrated to be true, so they lose credibility.) Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age, but you can't get wisdom without experience. You just can't. If you think you can, well; all fools think they are wise.
When I was a young teen there was a frail old man that liked to pat women (and girls) on the a*s and say lewd things to them. He got away with it because of his age, but when I told my mom I saw him grope someone she told me "I don't care how ancient he is, if he ever touches you like that you slap him, and you slap him hard!"
No, you won’t fix your messy diet, excessive expenses, and floundering social life all in a day or a week. But over the next few months and years, you can radically change your situation for the better.
So long as the discipline is there. And you can maintain that discipline by genuinely being proud of every victory. No matter how small. Whether it’s remembering to brush your teeth before bed (instead of crashing on the sofa in front of the TV) or getting slightly closer to doing the recommended 10k steps per day.
Using substances to cope is actually the opposite of coping and the only thing you can be sure of is the eventuality of everything blowing up in your face.
139 days sober.
Your family doesn't always have your best interest at heart.
Making jokes about my trauma makes my trauma easier for me to deal with.
Making jokes about the trauma of others is f****d up and not my place.
Previously, fitness coach Anna Armagno Toussaint shared some great health tips to keep in mind as we all get older. According to her, the key to fitness and diet is consistency. That’s what lies at the core of healthy living.
"Losing and gaining the same weight is so bad for your body (and mental health). Focus on what you can, even if it's just drinking enough water or eating one serving of vegetables! And move a little even if that starts as stepping in place or simple short walks,” the fitness expert shared with Bored Panda during an earlier interview.
1000 is not a lot of money to have but is a lot of money to owe.
"It is so important to improve your sleep hygiene: turn down the temperature in your room, turn off your phone and all screens an hour before bed, keep the room neat, and get at least 7 hours! Sleep impacts so much of our motivation and energy levels, even days after a rough night," she shared.
"Pick one thing to start, stop, or swap. Take a daily walk in the morning or evening (or whenever you want, but I prefer when it is cooler), drink more water (set a timer if you're not good about and add in a fun liquid or powder or flavored seltzer if you don't like water), or focus on eating more whole foods (especially vegetables and fruit),” the fitness coach said that it through all the “little victories” that you’ll get where you want to be.
if something feels wrong, it likely is.
Don't let love blind your eyes, red flags are real.
Dental care is expensive!! Never be lazy with oral hygiene.
Learn when to stop drinking and call it a night.
I learned at an early age (late teens) that I can't drink enough to get drunk. My stomach/body reaches a certain point before it rejects all I have ingested. So, I can enjoy alcohol up to a certain point but then I have to stop. In now in my 60's and it still applies. Every now and then I'll have one drink too many (thinking I hadn't reached that point yet) and... well, up it all comes. Good and bad, I guess.
Stand up for yourself. If you get in the habit of letting people walk all over you, it'll be extremely difficult to reverse. Even if you're not confident, just fake it till you make it!
Be honest, not polite. You will be able to live with yourself afterwards.
Never have kids with someone you don’t want in your life forever.
Always take a chance to tell someone you love them. To give them a hug.
Never end a conversation on a harsh word.
Both for the same reason. **You never know if you will get to see that person alive again.**
I learned both those lessons from each of my parents.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people.
S**t happens and it doesn't really need to have a reason.
Sometimes you will be the bad guy, and sometimes you will be the good guy.
It happens.
Money doesn’t exist until the deposit hits your bank account and business promises mean nothing until legal documents are signed
Don’t marry someone with mental illness that refuses treatment.
Do not spend like there’s no tomorrow. Tomorrow will come and it won’t be pretty.
Don't ignore red flags. Don't be afraid to get help for dealing with an abusive partner. Don't be afraid to walk away.
WEAR A HELMET
It's an easy safety precaution you can take when rollerblading, biking, skateboarding, scootering etc. And it can literally save your life
Went all through the 90's thinking helmets were lame... Fell while rollerblading in my 30's and got a subdural hematoma, I wasn't going fast but the momentum from how I fell just slammed my head into concrete.
HELMETS SAVE LIVESSSS
A falling knife has no handle.
There’s always other jobs out there. Don’t stay in a s****y one just cuz you think no one else would hire you.
You are not your emotions. You are an awareness who observes them.
Your thoughts and emotions are just passing storms, while you're the much larger sky that contains them. You are the observer, not the observed. Sometimes you may be sad, angry, jealous, or similar, what's important is remembering that you are in control of how you act and deal with those emotions.
Note: this post originally had 41 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
If you are constantly walking on eggshells around your partner, you need to have a serious conversation, or many, or you need to get out--but something has to change.
Mike Birbiglia, the comedian, has a profoundly important piece of advice that he named a whole show for. It's called "What I Should Have Said Was Nothing," and it'll change your life.
What people say when they are drunk is likely the truth, especially if the next day they say "but I was drunk when I said that"
Bad people are capable of doing good things, it doesn't make them good or trustworthy people. Good people can mess up and make a bad decision and do something awful, It doesn't make them a bad person.
If you are constantly walking on eggshells around your partner, you need to have a serious conversation, or many, or you need to get out--but something has to change.
Mike Birbiglia, the comedian, has a profoundly important piece of advice that he named a whole show for. It's called "What I Should Have Said Was Nothing," and it'll change your life.
What people say when they are drunk is likely the truth, especially if the next day they say "but I was drunk when I said that"
Bad people are capable of doing good things, it doesn't make them good or trustworthy people. Good people can mess up and make a bad decision and do something awful, It doesn't make them a bad person.
