Many people have fond memories of their youth, but plenty have regrets. Sadly, many experiences and opportunities are entirely lost or worsened due to poor decisions we made in the past. We’ve compiled 20 things we did while young that often resurface as regrets, so be vigilant of these in your life.
Always Choosing the ‘Safe’ Option
We all want to feel comfortable, but constantly choosing the ‘safe’ option is something people regularly regret when looking back at their youth. Sometimes, the best choice isn’t the safe one, and people who never took risks often end up in dead-end jobs or unfulfilling relationships, and they regret it.
Giving Up On Hobbies
It’s easy to give up hobbies when you’re young because you’re bored, but many people live to regret such decisions. Young people pick up hobbies more easily because their brains absorb new information more quickly. Older people who gave up hobbies in their youth often wish they’d stuck with them.
Accepting One-Sided Friendships
Teenagers typically have large groups of friends, but this often comes at the price of accepting poor treatment or pretending to be someone you’re not. Older people are more content with smaller, close-knit friendship groups, which makes them regret previously accepting one-sided friendships.
Not Eating Healthily
A poor diet is bad for your body at any age, but eating unhealthily throughout your youth comes back to bite you when you’re older. The WHO warns that unhealthy eating puts you at risk of diabetes, several types of cancer, and cardiovascular disease, so you’ll regret it when you’re older.
Holding Grudges
Grudges come easily when you’re young, but you realize how fragile life is after you’ve aged. You’ll always regret not making up with loved ones when you see your peers growing old and passing away. It’s easy to take broken relationships for granted until it’s too late to mend them.
Sticking With Bad Partners
Poor relationship choices are one of people’s main regrets in their older years. Wasting years with bad partners, marrying them, and having children together, only to spend the rest of your life unhappy and unfulfilled, is a tough pill to swallow. Splitting with bad partners while young could save you decades of heartache.
Drinking Too Much Alcohol
Almost everyone has had a few wild times with alcohol in their youth, but, like poor eating habits, excessive drinking can affect you well into old age. People who become dependent on alcohol while young struggle to break the addiction when they’re older, and many suffer lifelong issues with their liver, heart, and pancreas.
Not Paying Attention in School
Many young people can’t wait to leave school, but entering adulthood is a massive culture shock. How well you do in school defines what you’ll do with the rest of your life, and people who didn’t pay attention and subsequently missed out on college and better careers bitterly regret it later on.
Not Travelling More
Traveling is an excellent way to broaden your horizons and have fun, so many people regret not doing it in their youth. According to NBC News, traveling while young is a great way to build confidence, become happier, and even reduce depression, all things that will greatly enrich your life.
Turning Down Opportunities
Many older people often wonder how their lives could have turned out had they not been so quick to turn things down. Whether it’s a job offer, a chance to move away, or a new activity, you’ll miss out if you don’t take the plunge, and you’ll live with regrets.
Worrying About the Future
It’s natural to worry about the future, but people often let their concerns hold them back, preventing them from enjoying their younger years. They regret this when they look back and see that everything worked out, so there was no need for all that unnecessary tension and stress.
Taking People’s Opinions to Heart
When you’re young, it’s easy to be influenced by what your parents, friends, and teachers say. Everybody has an opinion on what you should do, and not meeting these expectations makes you feel inadequate. When you’re older, you’ll realize that you should have brushed these opinions aside and focussed on how you feel.
Not Exercising More
Exercise is crucial for ensuring good health throughout life, so a lack of physical activity when you’re young can set you on a path of inactivity for the rest of your life. Many people regret not exercising enough in their youth when their health starts to suffer later on.
Not Setting Boundaries
Boundaries are essential for maintaining your autonomy and comfort, but many people don’t realize this until it’s too late. Verywell Family recommends setting boundaries as early as possible because it sets limits and helps you communicate your feelings. Otherwise, you’ll still be walked all over as an adult.
Neglecting Good Skincare
Having a good skincare routine while you’re young dramatically improves your skin’s appearance as you age. The older you get, the more your skin loses its elasticity, so using hydrating creams, collagen moisturizers, and sunscreen throughout your youth will protect it and lead to fewer skincare regrets.
Not Saving Money
When you’re young and start working full-time, having a paycheck is exciting, and it can be tempting to splurge. However, many people encounter financial problems when they’re older and regret squandering money in their youth. Had they thought about the future, they might not have struggled so much throughout their lives.
Not Spending More Time With Family
When our loved ones have grown old and passed away, all we have left of them is memories. Grief makes many aging people realize they didn’t spend enough time with their families, prioritizing other commitments instead. This regret is one of the worst because you can never get that lost time back.
Smoking
Smoking is terrible for your skin, teeth, and health–need we say more? Nowadays, people are less likely to smoke, but for those who are older, the damage has already been done. Once you start smoking, it’s easy to get addicted, and many older smokers regret ever picking up the habit in their younger years.
Repeating the Same Mistakes
Youth is the time to make mistakes and learn from them, but this doesn’t mean you should repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Looking back with hindsight, older people who did this are frustrated because they see how much they self-sabotaged and prevented their own progress.
Taking Youth For Granted
Last but not least, always remember that you only have your youth for a limited time, so you should make the most of it. Forbes highlights how, when you retire, you realize that youth is wasted on the young. This doesn’t have to be the case, though; always stay grateful and enjoy it while you can.
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