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30 Things That People Thought They Wanted So Much, Yet Regretted After Finally Getting, As Shared In This Online Group
The human mind is a strange thing, especially when it comes to our desires. They can arise completely spontaneously, occupying all our time - and then, when we finally achieve what we wanted, it suddenly turns out that the main joy was not so much from possession, but actually from the desire to possess.
So it turns out that over the years of our life, we have collected a whole lot of various things that once seemed absolutely necessary, and now we don’t even have a clue what to do with them. It's really like a suitcase without a handle - so hard to carry, such a shame to throw away. Yes, these are mind games, there's no denying it.
There is a popular thread on Reddit where people talk about different things they once thought they wanted, but really regretted afterwards. More than 12.7K upvotes and almost 8.4K comments suggest this topic is very close to people.
Bored Panda has compiled a curated list with the most popular and really ingenious things from this discussion. We strongly suppose you'll be interested in reading and watching - and, perhaps, will also have something to share.
More info: Reddit
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A backyard pool.
I always wanted one until I had one.
It was a huge pain in the a**. Had to buy chemicals, had to test the water, had to clean it, found dead snakes in the skimmer baskets, had to get the pump replaced, etc.
I agree with what several commenters have said. If you can afford to have someone do the work for you then it's something really nice to have. If you can afford the mortgage on the house with the pool but still mow your own lawn, clean your own house, etc. The pool is likely to be more trouble than it's worth.
I bought a collection of lockdown gym equipment I had all good intentions for. It turns out a lack of free time wasn’t really the reason I wasn’t ripped.
Being an adult...
As a child I couldn't wait to grow up. As a working adult, I couldn't wait to retire and I'm finding it isn't what I had hoped. It is easy to focus on the what you will gain in the next phase of your life, but you don't realize what you will lose. Just enjoy the good things in each day.
Marine fish tank. They look absolutely gorgeous when clean and running well however I didn't bank on how difficult it would be to have it clean and running well..
Ex husband had one of these. I really didn't want a small section of ocean in the living room, OK. A year later: SO MUCH MONEY. SO MANY DEAD FISH. SO MUCH FREAKING OUT OVER MONEY AND DEAD FISH. Then he got into reptiles.
Taking out student loans to achieve a degree that will never pay me enough to pay back the student loans.
Anyone in the US that reads this. Very few professions care about what school you went to. Or even physical locations. The few I can think of are doctors, hyper specific job that are also based at MIT, ect. For everything else. Get your generals done through a community college. History and math 101 are the same there as they are at Harvard only way cheaper. Do as much online as possible. And if you are still in highschool. See what programs/classes your school offers that will count as college credits. If you stack your classes right you could walk out of HS with an associates degree. Also also, once you start the Bachelor's degree things at least get funner. They are classes you care about. Because they are in the field you are interested in.
Working a job that involves skills from one of my hobbies. Now it feels more like work than the hobby.
I found the opposite to be true. I'm a metal fabricator that I started as a hobby. I now do it for a living and now I have access to equipment that I would never have been able to afford let alone have room for. I have also become so much better (there's so many people who are better than me) than I would have if I had kept it just a hobby
A business. Supposedly my dream job….but I haaaate it.
Yes, I own a bakery that I’ve run for 13 years. It’s successful, always paid its bills….but it’s definitely zapped the joy out of a hobby. Anyone that has worked with the public knows it’s taxing. I’ve lost the creative aspect and just feel like a slave to it honestly. Bakery hours can be rough, so maybe it’s the lack of sleep catching up to me, lol. I just know that I was already feeling burned out, but now with the insane increase to costs of supplies - and the unpredictability of finding certain things altogether, I’ve decided this will be my last year in business.
This is sad. I wonder if finding a different way to structure the business would be better. Such as making products upon order. So you have a menu of a few products that can be made with a more limited ingredients list and get customers to place a order for that product to be made and ready for pick up. That way ready-made products aren't going to waste. I always wonder how much of the products I see in bakeries get sold.
Being single
I’m a 25 y/o gay male that was dating an older man. We had a great life together. I thought I wanted to be single because I needed the experience of living on my own/having other partners, but now realizing I lost something truly special. It’s hard learning to date again
The experience of living alone is a valuable one to have, if you are fortunate enough to be in a position to manage it. It's possible to have that experience and still be in a committed relationship though.
Go pro.
I don’t even go on a picnic. What the f**k did I need a go pro for.
Buying a new ski boat. Expensive, too big to keep in the garage and burned $80 in gas in an afternoon (when gas was still affordable). Mostly I pulled the kids and their friends on wake boards or kneeboards around and around in circles while the air temperature was close to 100 and came home dehydrated and with a headache. A happy day is when you buy a boat. A happier day is when you sell that b***h.
To get off my meds. Did. Was absolutely terrible . Went back on them probably for the rest of my life
Waterbed. Biggest waste of money. Spent 1k on the most uncomfortable bed ever. Practically broke my back and sold it for 100 after just a year of using it.
Nose ring. Once I got it, it just felt like I had a booger in my nose that I couldn’t get rid of
At least with most piercings. If you don't want it anymore you can just take it out and not need surgery. Tattoos on the other hand.....
I have no idea what she’s talking about and I have to piercings in my nose.
My friend recently got one. She's already accidentally pulled it out twice (once in the shower, once with a towel after showering) and the thing is three weeks old. Sounds like a hassle more than anything and my mother and I call it a booger catcher. I have to be honest and say it doesn't look great, either. That could be personal taste because honestly, I've never looked at someone with one and thought "Damn, that nose ring looks nice". Also, she's 17. I'm not sure how happy she'll be in 10+ years with it, but who knows.
A friend of mine had one, until she got a bad cold. The hole blew a snot bubble every time she sneezed.
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I have mine since I was 18, more I'm 41 and without my nose ring I would feel incomplete, it has become a part of my body
Same here, I had mine done when I was 14! At such a young age, one would expect that I'd regret it later on, but surprisingly, I'm absolutely happy to have it (I'm in my late thirties). (Mainly because I know I wouldn't have the guts to get one now.) 😁 It's just a stud though.
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I can see how this would be regrettable. The feeling of a booger in the nose is most unpleasant.
I keep looking at them and all I see in my mind are boogers
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Jeez...Nose and nipple rings both just seen really painful. Just thinking about it makes my skin wanna crawl right off,and I have a P.A. Nipples and noses though...nope nope nopity nope nope nope.
No experience with nipples but nose rings don't hurt at all. Okay, the moment it's pierced through the skin that's when it hurts and the first 2 minutes after. And then of course it needs to heal for quite some weeks but if you don't mess with them during that time you won't feel pain. Same with earrings really. Plenty of ladies and quite a few men have earrings. Often pierced with a gun which is much more painful than a needle and so bad for your earlobes. Had I known that even after 15 years I'd still have trouble with my earlobes once in a while while my nose stud has given 0 problems after properly healing some 6 years ago, I'd have done my earrings with a needle too. That's my regret. Not that I have pain but sometimes my earlobes still get irritated or even a little inflamed. But my nose stud has given me only 2 minutes of pain, 6 years of joy.
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And what happens when you sneeze? How do you blow your nose? Never understood the appeal of them.
You just sneeze? And you blow your nose normally? Had mine for over 10 years, never had a problem with it. It's ok if it's not your cup of tea, tho.
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Love my nose ring, I’ve had it for 20+ years and it’s the only jewelry I wear regularly. I don’t feel myself without it. It’s the only piercing I didn’t get rid of when I hit 30
I've had a nosering since I was 17, 30 now. I can't relate to this at all. It's never felt like a resistant booger. The only thing that's weird about it is that it looks like I pick my nose when I change it out (also within the first year of having it when you have to fiddle with it so the healing goes well). My preferred rings are the studs with the loop back, easier to manage and they don't widen the hole.
I'm 80 years old, I have a nose stud, I do not like nose rings. I have no problem with mine.
I've had mine for about 10 years. Never had a problem. Studs & hoops.
I have a tiny little stud instead of a ring so I don't have that problem. Prefer that more, also looks more subtle. I wear it 24/7, normally I even forget that I have one. Unless I lose it in bed (happens once in a while). I will literally wake in the middle of the night because I feel there's something off about my nose and won't be able to sleep again until I find it back. I love my nose stud. Definitely not something I regret. Even when I remove it I just feel it's weird and I look weird without. 🤣
I hate the way these look on all but Indian people. Their style of nose ring is different.
A lot of them have studs and are diamond or look like it
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And it looks like one. I never understood the appeal of a nose piercing of any kind. It's a metal booger.
I always imagined that is what they felt like and wondered why anyone would want that. Especially anyone with seasonal allergies!
Mine was a stud & no matter how careful I was drying my face, I constantly pulled it out. After about the 3rd time of having to go back to the piercing parlor to have it put back in I gave up.
I have a nose ring but I keep a stud in instead of a ring. I can pick my nose just fine, lol
My daughter showed up from college with 1 and next time I seen her no nose ring!
I am a jewelry designer, and I make nose rings and septum rings for unpierced noses. Unlike the old clip-on earrings that were pretty awful, unpierced nose rings/hoops do not look fake at all and they don't fall out if made well. I think anyone considering getting a pierced nose might benefit from trying out the unpierced version first. Some people decide to stick with the unpierced rings because there's no hole to deal with, and it looks the same as a pierced nose ring. I also make hoops for unpierced ear cartilage, which is an option for younger people and those not ready to commit to an actual piercing. People susceptible to keloids also like the unpierced options.
I got my nose pierced and it sure hurt when you had to clean it for the first week or so. When the stud accidentally went down the drain, I wasn’t sad about it.
Thanks, guys. I was seriously considering a nose ring. I think they look so cool but... Once l do, there's no going back. The scar would be permanent if l end up hating it plus it takes a year to do it right.
Actually, my mom and I got ours done at the same time. It does take awhile for the healing process, but even after that, taking your nosering out and leaving it out will make the hole disappear. It's what happened to my mom's after years of having hers when her then job told her she couldn't have it. I've had mine since I was 17, never had a problem with it. A lot of times I've had people tell me they didn't even notice it. It's the same hassle of care as ear piercings, too, so it's not bad.
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My art degree from a private institution. It’s “nationally accredited“ which means its useless
I won't have to work another day in my life!
I became disabled in 2019
I can't understand this attitude. I, unfortunately was forced into disability myself. My culinary career was my entire life. I would get up in the morning, dress and head off to work. I would spent the entire day, often until late at night there, go home, shower, go to bed and wake the next morning to gladly start it all over again. This was my way of life and I adored it. My health improved a bit, so I began volunteering in one of the local kitchens cooking for the homeless. Last summer alone I put in over 100 hours for them and others and was happy as a clam again. Things have taken a bit of a downturn again, but I still look for ways to help.
Massage chair. I enjoyed the demo in the shop, that's about it.
an open relationship
My husband and I agreed to having an open relationship. It was one of the WORST decisions I ever made. If anyone is contemplating trying an open relationship, DON'T!
A house in the country. Was fun at first, have land, can do what I want. But now it’s a pain to get anything serviced on the house, deliveries take longer, and it’s a pain to go grocery shopping or just into town in general. And the upkeep on the land is now a time waste, and sometimes I just want someone to deliver me pizza! Moving into town this summer.
I found a good compromise : living in a medium city, working at the country. Both benefits: able to find peace and calm on my daywork, and everything I need in the evening. But it's France, a human sized country
A friend-with-benefits. I thought it would be fun and effortless but definitely not. He told me sweet things in the beginning saying he could see it being more, I fell for it quickly like an amateur
Then we had sex. Afterwards he’s playing hot and cold and my feelings are on a roller coaster of “what is happening??” Says he just wants to be strictly fwb and not pursue anything more but is still interested in me. *Then* he says he’s not interested in being friends anymore either. Maybe I was too clingy after the initial sweet words, maybe he wasn’t ever truly interested in anything but a one night thing but either way my head was spinning. I have never doubted myself more. I just wish he would have been more decisive on what he wanted.
Wonderful guy, wish nothing but the best for him but whew, hell of a week. No more fwb for me lmaoo.
The job I am currently in. The work is alright, but the company is s**t.
"The hours are pretty good, but now you come to mention it, most of the actual minutes are pretty lousy.”
When I was a kid, I was insistent on having a ketchup and mustard sandwich. I begged my mom to make it for me. My rationale was if a hamburger was delicious on a bun with ketchup and mustard, surely a sandwich minus the meat would be great. My Mom finally made the sandwich. I immediately regretted it.
Same with begging for Bakers unsweetened chocolate. How is it good enough in cookies but not on it's own?
This girl, thought she was nice, got to know her, turns out she has the personality of sandpaper
Sometimes you won't realize exactly how beautiful someone is until you get to know them. Beauty on the inside turns into beauty on the outside.
To live near family, instead of moving somewhere better. We haven't had two nice days in a row since October here. It is always raining, snowing, cold enough to kill you, incredibly windy, or just unpleasant out because of the resulting days before it. (Upstate NY near the Canada border.) Everywhere has issues, but damn, I just want to be outside in 70 degrees without taking a vacation.
As long as I'm away from them, I'll take any kind of weather. I live in a place with two weeks of summer, but at least I'm not even within driving distance.
That 2 lb novelty Reese Cup. I regretted how good it was.
I don't like Reese's and I don't like peanut butter. I've been called a freak.
A $1200 versace watch to impress a girl that I met off Facebook that I never ended up meeting in real life
Anyone impressed by an expensive watch is not someone I want to know.
Nickelodeon Video Now. I paid $70 for one and two discs. Then Video Now Color came out just a few months later and made it obsolete.
I still have mine! I only ever had one disk that played 2 episodes of spongebob, but I watched those two episodes like 10 times a day as a child. I randomly find it sometimes and it surprisingly still works great
Note: this post originally had 36 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I think having a lawn can be on this list. The time, money, energy and water that is needed for a lawn (especially a front lawn) is such a waste. We now have mulch with a pathway going through it with some perennials and a couple bushes. Looks so much better and it is so much easier to maintain. So much less wasted water.
Our "lawn" is a mix of several types of clover, wildflowers, and various mosses. I think it's beautiful, and it requires no maintenance except occasional mowing (and we always leave a patch unmowed for pollinators). It's always the first "lawn" to be green in the Spring while the fertilized, manicured lawns of neighbors are still brown.
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Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting.It seems illogical but it is often times true.
Mines would definitely be an Echo Dot. All my friends were talking about it so I decided to get one. Lights turn on during conversations for no reason and it made me paranoid it was listening lol. It’s now unplugged and not been used for months
Nope,I don't need nor want any of that. I have something like that on my phone and the first thing I did was disable it.
Load More Replies... What I regret is getting my earlobes pierced with a piercinggun at the jewelry store at the age of 16 instead of with a needle at the piercing shop. I'm now almost 32 and even though I have had earrings for half my life now, it never healed properly. I still sometimes experience inflammation. And on one side if I don't wear any earring in it for more than a week it will have actually partially closed. The skin trauma from getting pierced with a gun is really so bad it can leave lasting problems. I also advise parents who want to give their daughters earrings to not get them done with a gun. Go to a good piercing shop and get them done with a needle. It's actually less painful and doesn't give skin trauma.
number 23, she says "he was a wonderful guy" even though he played with her feelings🙄🙄🙄
Technically life has a return policy. At some point death comes for everyone and the world will keep spinning without you just as it did before you were born. No need to commit suicide. You can just wait it out. After some time on earth it will happen anyway. Best to make the most of it before that happens. Enjoy life a little. Make friends. Follow ambitions. Enjoy good meals. Maybe travel a bit. Life is maybe quite pointless. But that doesn't mean it's pointless to be a good person and do right by others and yourself.
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How about all those bikes people bought during lockdown? The greenway is right behind me, and, as soon as things started opening up people stopped biking. Now there are tons sitting in garages. I regret buying a device that makes my Android Auto wireless. Still need a charger, and, my new car really isn't set up for having a wireless charger easily.
I thought I wanted a full time job with health benefits and company pension. It turns out what I actually want is casual employment with the freedom to say no to any shift I don't want to work, and the freedom to do whatever I want when I get out of bed in the morning. I don't need health benefits from work because we have free health care. I don't need a company pension because I'm good with my money and I know how to save it properly. Having had COVID for the last whole month has really shown me how much I value my freedom, hobbies, and time with my dog.
So basically you want to be independently wealthy... must be nice.
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FITBIT WATCH! The thing would never sync to my phone. It's now a nice addition to the junk drawer.
One of my great regrets in life is not taking over my Uncles' shop in Westwood, NJ (J&J Stationary, if any of you out there remember it). But I know that if I had, I would have regretted doing it, because I'm not the type of person who can get up every day, open a store, work all day, close it, go home, and feel rewarded by it. I would have hated it. So I regret not doing it, even though I know I would have regretted doing it.
Spicy Chicken BBQ | Chicken Barbeque | Eid special recipe https://youtu.be/VP5lm_f0RgU
I think having a lawn can be on this list. The time, money, energy and water that is needed for a lawn (especially a front lawn) is such a waste. We now have mulch with a pathway going through it with some perennials and a couple bushes. Looks so much better and it is so much easier to maintain. So much less wasted water.
Our "lawn" is a mix of several types of clover, wildflowers, and various mosses. I think it's beautiful, and it requires no maintenance except occasional mowing (and we always leave a patch unmowed for pollinators). It's always the first "lawn" to be green in the Spring while the fertilized, manicured lawns of neighbors are still brown.
Load More Replies... Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting.It seems illogical but it is often times true.
Mines would definitely be an Echo Dot. All my friends were talking about it so I decided to get one. Lights turn on during conversations for no reason and it made me paranoid it was listening lol. It’s now unplugged and not been used for months
Nope,I don't need nor want any of that. I have something like that on my phone and the first thing I did was disable it.
Load More Replies... What I regret is getting my earlobes pierced with a piercinggun at the jewelry store at the age of 16 instead of with a needle at the piercing shop. I'm now almost 32 and even though I have had earrings for half my life now, it never healed properly. I still sometimes experience inflammation. And on one side if I don't wear any earring in it for more than a week it will have actually partially closed. The skin trauma from getting pierced with a gun is really so bad it can leave lasting problems. I also advise parents who want to give their daughters earrings to not get them done with a gun. Go to a good piercing shop and get them done with a needle. It's actually less painful and doesn't give skin trauma.
number 23, she says "he was a wonderful guy" even though he played with her feelings🙄🙄🙄
Technically life has a return policy. At some point death comes for everyone and the world will keep spinning without you just as it did before you were born. No need to commit suicide. You can just wait it out. After some time on earth it will happen anyway. Best to make the most of it before that happens. Enjoy life a little. Make friends. Follow ambitions. Enjoy good meals. Maybe travel a bit. Life is maybe quite pointless. But that doesn't mean it's pointless to be a good person and do right by others and yourself.
Load More Replies... How about all those bikes people bought during lockdown? The greenway is right behind me, and, as soon as things started opening up people stopped biking. Now there are tons sitting in garages. I regret buying a device that makes my Android Auto wireless. Still need a charger, and, my new car really isn't set up for having a wireless charger easily.
I thought I wanted a full time job with health benefits and company pension. It turns out what I actually want is casual employment with the freedom to say no to any shift I don't want to work, and the freedom to do whatever I want when I get out of bed in the morning. I don't need health benefits from work because we have free health care. I don't need a company pension because I'm good with my money and I know how to save it properly. Having had COVID for the last whole month has really shown me how much I value my freedom, hobbies, and time with my dog.
So basically you want to be independently wealthy... must be nice.
Load More Replies... FITBIT WATCH! The thing would never sync to my phone. It's now a nice addition to the junk drawer.
One of my great regrets in life is not taking over my Uncles' shop in Westwood, NJ (J&J Stationary, if any of you out there remember it). But I know that if I had, I would have regretted doing it, because I'm not the type of person who can get up every day, open a store, work all day, close it, go home, and feel rewarded by it. I would have hated it. So I regret not doing it, even though I know I would have regretted doing it.
Spicy Chicken BBQ | Chicken Barbeque | Eid special recipe https://youtu.be/VP5lm_f0RgU
