What Are The Biggest Regrets People Have?
No-one lives the entirety of their life without a few regrets; the best you can hope for is that they’re the right regrets, that they’re the ones you can live with. You might regret not having seen your favorite band on their final tour, but that thought isn’t going to give you too many sleepless nights later on in life. There are some things however, that can cause problems, both in the immediate future and when a person is looking back and reflecting on how they lived. The good news is that if you know what these big regrets tend to be, you can do things to ensure that you don’t end up living with them in the future. Below, we take a look at some areas of life that can cause issues later in life.
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Fear of Expression
Everyone wants to fit in, to varying degrees. There are benefits to working hard to establish and maintain good relationships, but in our quest to be accepted, it’s often the case that we dampen certain sides of ourselves. We might tone down our views so as to not offend others, even when we don’t know for sure that they will be offended. The other side of the ‘fear of expression’ coin could be ‘fear of ridicule.’ No-one wants to be laughed at, which does seem to be an unavoidable aspect of putting yourself out there — no matter what you do, there’s always a chance that someone — or many people — will judge, mock, and the rest. The choice is between bowing down to this reaction or standing tall!
Working Too Much
We have to work in order to live. There’s no getting around that one! But we don’t need to work fifty plus hours a week, for years on end. There are advantages to working long hours — you’ll be paid more, most likely — but you’ll be missing out on a lot of the fun aspects of life. Even if you enjoy work, you probably don’t love it enough to make it essentially your entire life. Of course, it’s easy to fall into the idea that you have no choice but to work as many hours as you can — but in 95% of cases, that’s nonsense. There’s much to be said for working fewer hours and gently decreasing your standard of living. You’ll have more time to enjoy the finer things in life.
Taking Friends and Family For Granted
You don’t need us to tell you how annoying friends and family can be. They push your buttons, they have their annoying habits, you seem them too often — it’s enough to drive anyone mad. But who can blame them for being less than perfect? Ultimately, when you’re in a difficult moment, it’ll be your friends and family who are there to pick you up, help you out, and they’re also going to be there for all your happy moments, too. Later in life, many people look back and realize that they didn’t treat their loved ones as well as they could have. So give thanks for them, as often as you can! And if you’re really struggling to move past their annoying habits, just remember that you’re not perfect either….
Living Too Little
There comes the point in most people’s life when they want to find a partner, settle down, and live the life they want. However, it’s possible that this process can come too early in a person’s life. Because youth is so fleeting, people who settled down too early sometimes end up regretting not trying different modes of living before they decided on whatever lifestyle they ended up living for the bulk of their life. If you find yourself in this position, then it’s important to remember that there are no age limits on pushing yourself to try new things — it might be a little more difficult when you’re older, but you can do it.
Life Moments
In a talk about love, Alain de Botton references an old Eastern European philosopher, who says that “get married, and you’ll regret it. Don’t get married, and you’ll regret it.” You can’t win, basically. The only way to make it more bearable is to look for a person who isn’t “perfect,” but “good enough.” That’s love! Now, it’s always advisable to think carefully about long-term compatibility when it comes to finding a life partner, but what about having children? There’s a biological impulse that kicks in there, and though you need to make sure that your financially and emotionally ready for it, the decision can sometimes feel like it’s been taken out of your hands. Few people regret having children; many regret not having children. They feel like they’ve missed out on an essential life experience. Of course, some people can’t, for biological reasons, have children — but that problem is slowly being overcome, thanks to the work of companies like www.MCRMFertility.com. Having children definitely isn’t easy, far from it, but it is worth it! However, it’s also worth noting that you should never have children just because you think it’s something that you “should do,” something to tick off a bucket list. This is a lifelong commitment we’re talking about here.
Being Lead Away
No-one has all the answers as they’re navigating through life, especially in their formative years, and even more so when they’re going through a rough patch. During those times, we can often look to others to guide us — but while we can be drawn to people who are, say, fun, or daring, or who otherwise have something that we lack, it’s important that we’re not lead astray. Many people end up making poor decisions because they fall in with a bad crowd, who are friends in a loose sense, but who cause us to make mistakes. For a small amount of time, it’s no issue — but if it has a long-term, negative impact on a person’s life, they usually, and rightly, end up regretting it.
Poor Health Choices
When we’re young, everything is easy (ish), when it comes to our health. Being fit in your twenties doesn’t mean anything. It’s easy. However, the habits we fall into during those periods can have lasting effects. For example, smoking, drinking too much, or eating poorly. If we abuse our bodies for too long, the damage will be done (because they become part of our lifestyle), and we’ll feel the effects later on in life. Things like drinking might seem harmless, and the data shows that some drinking alcohol might not have a dramatic effect on the longevity of your life — but it does have an impact on the quality of your later years. To stay up and active for longer, a person needs good, healthy habits.
Tia, and TipsfromTia.com is trying to keep you looking good and
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