Our lives will pass us by before we realize it, and in the blink of an eye, the weight of our choices can come crashing down on us. We all make bad choices, and we all make mistakes, however, some of our mistakes can follow us around forever.
There have been many times in my life when I was making a big decision where I had to pause and take a step back and ask myself, “Am I making a big mistake?” Of course, I think we all have these moments. Looking back, I know my choices weren’t always the greatest. The impact of our choices and decisions, even small ones, can be massive. Unfortunately, we don’t always realize this until later on. (Hindsight is 20/20.)
Below, I will go over 6 mistakes you will regret in 10 years.
1. Never leave your comfort zone.
It’s easy to get caught up in a moment and to want to take it easy. However, it’s also easy to get stuck in this mode and never feel able to reach beyond that. In some cases, the thought of reaching out of your comfort zone may make you feel anxious, so instead of trying, you stay back. One day, though, you may be left wondering what you could have done if you had left your comfort zone.
2. Waiting for the perfect time.
The notion of ‘perfect timing’ is a myth. There is no perfect time to buy a house or start a family, get married, or move in with your partner. Life just isn’t like that. Things happen and no matter how much we prepare, there will be obstacles. If you are always waiting on the perfect time, you will always be waiting.
3. Giving up too quickly.
When things get difficult, it can be tempting to give up. Unfortunately, when you get into a cycle of just giving up when the going gets tough, you are going to miss a lot of good opportunities. Much like anything else, anything worth having is going to require effort.
4. Pretending to be someone you are not.
It’s in our human nature to want to fit in. We want to be accepted, and we want to be loved and to feel secure in our communities and social circles. This desire can lead us to put on a front and to fit into a mold to fit into society. The thing is, if we all try to fit into a mold, there is no room for individuality. What is the fun of that? Not only that, but it’s miserable trying to be someone else, instead of just being who you are and learning to live with that.
5. Staying in bad relationships.
It might seem like the right thing to do, to stay in a relationship that isn’t optimal, because you have kids or because you feel like the relationship has potential. People stay in bad relationships for several reasons. One day, though, if your relationship is legitimately bad, you may regret wasting years of your life with someone that wasn’t right for you.
6. Not learning from your mistakes.
We all make bad choices in life, and when we do, we can either face ourselves and learn from our mistakes, or continue to repeat the same negative behaviors. When we continue to not learn from our mistakes and instead, continue to repeat them over and over again, we end up getting the same crappy results. In many ways, this by itself can prevent you from leading a happy and decent life. This can result in a massive amount of regret later down the line.