5 Regrets That All People (Sooner Or Later) Have

BuzzFebruary 7, 2018

After speaking with a few old people about what they would do differently if they could turn back time, we’ve realized that all the people in this world probably have more or less the same regrets. Since we are forced to make quick decisions every day (on average 70 per day), we have to make choices, and sometimes we even have to choose between two good things. Other times, we are given the opposite—we have to choose between the two bad things, so we take the one that we think it is less bad.

Some of these decisions can haunt you for the rest of your life and here are just a few of them. Do you already have one of these?

You’ve lost contact with some of the good people/old friends

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Being caught up in our weekly routine, we easily lose sight of how important some people are to us, especially those we have to make time for. When we are constantly in a hurry and busy, the relationships with our old friends are among the first things which suffer.

This is basically a bad thing since spending time with our friends is sometimes a precious therapy against constant stress. Our close friends bring us positive energy, some fresh and new perspectives, and a real sense of belonging in a way that no one else can give us. When was the last time you visited your good old friends?

You’ve made some decisions based on what other people think

Yup, this one is the most common regret people have, but still, it never stops. Even though we realize that this is a bad thing—to let other people’s thoughts affect our beliefs and actions—we often repeat it. Why? Well, because it is an innate desire to feel accepted by everyone, and we often forget how impossible this really is.

On these occasions, when we make our decisions based on other people’s opinions, the two things usually happen: we either make a poor career choice or we fail to uphold our morals. In both situations, we didn’t decide, even though we reacted/said something, but other people did so through our reactions. How defeated one must feel afterward —not being able to control your own thoughts and let them be possessed by other people’s. Terrible.

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You work too hard but wish you didn’t

Working hard is a great way to make an impact in the world, to learn more, to grow more, and to feel accomplished. By working hard, we sometimes even find happiness. However, this can become a problem when we do so at the expense of the people we love. Isn’t it somehow ironical that we often work hard to make money for the people we care about (mostly our children) without realizing that they value our company more than the money itself? Well now is the right time to change something until it’s too late. You should find a balance between doing your job and being with the people you love. Otherwise, in a few years from now, you’ll look back and wish you’d focused more on your dear ones.

You keep your feelings to yourself

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We’ve always been taught that our emotions are something dangerous and that they must be controlled. Yes, controlled but not suppressed —and there is a big difference! Still, many people suppress them and then they simply explode. The best thing you can do here is being honest and to say what you really feel but not necessarily express it. If you say it, you will see the other people’s reactions and they would cherish your honesty rather that burst of anger or anything similar.

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Do you let yourself be happy?

If you still don’t, then you definitely should since this is also one of the most common regrets that many old people have when summarizing their lives. When our lives are about to end, we see how trivial were all the difficulties we’ve faced in our past in comparison to the good we got or could get. This is because, with age, we realize that suffering is usually a matter of choice and most people realize this far too late.

We’ve been taught that pain is acceptable and that happiness is something for the irresponsible and lazy people. Well, pain is something we will always inevitably experience, but our reactions to that pain are completely under our control, as is our ability to experience joy. You should learn to laugh, to smile, and be happy every single day and this is especially required when you are stressed.