In a very candid and vulnerable online thread, the members of the r/AskReddit online community spilled the tea about what they did that made them feel like they ‘wasted’ their 20s. Scroll down to read their thoughts.
Bored Panda wanted to find out more about dealing with our regrets in a healthy way, so we reached out to Jodi Wellman, MAPP, who was kind enough to answer our questions. Wellman is a speaker, author, and leadership coach, as well as the founder of the ‘Four Thousand Mondays’ project, which aims to help people make the most of their lives. You’ll find the insights she shared with us as you read on.
SapphireEcho , Pragyan Bezbaruah / Pexels Report
“Regrets of commission tend to fade over time as we learn to live with our stupidity (and rationalize our decisions), so it’s really the regrets of omission we need to worry about,” Wellman, the founder of ‘Four Thousand Mondays,’ said.
“I get excited about these ‘paths not taken’ because as long as we are still alive, we have a chance to course-correct these regrets-in-the-making and take the path after all. It’s really never too late to go back to school, change careers, rekindle a relationship, travel to Iceland, go blonde.”
mario9577 , Specna Arms / Pexels Report
randomusername_815 , Wendy Wei / Pexels Report
“It’s only when we tune into how finite we really are that we snap out of autopilot and stop taking our days for granted. I get people counting how many Mondays they have left to live (it’s way less morbid than it sounds),” she told Bored Panda.
“They can use my calculator here if math feels unfun. Tune into that countdown timer, and, all of a sudden, we want to book that trip to Iceland!” she urged everyone to be more active in living life to the fullest.
bad_robot_monkey , Bayu jefri / Pexels Report
Extreme_Today_984 , Lamar Belina / Pexels Report
detective_kiara , Monstera Production / Pexels Report
However, if we obsess about our imperfections and past mistakes, this can eat away at us, affecting our health, relationships, and careers. The healthy and mature thing is to embrace what’s happened and then make better decisions in the future.
Vinny331 , Becca Tapert / Unsplash Report
ghostfacestealer , Inzmam Khan / Pexels Report
Pale_Net8318 , Alena Darmel / Pexels Report
What’s a regret for one individual might be a badge of honor for someone else. But the grass is greener on the other side. We tend to envy what others have, thinking that life would be easier if we had this or that. The fact of the matter is there’s no such thing as a problem-free life. Making one decision means that you let go of others. If you could relive your 20s, you might have very different regrets after the second time around.
Xeavor , MART PRODUCTION / Pexels Report
spoonplaysgames , Towfiqu barbhuiya / Pexels Report
StAliaTheAbomination , Isabella Mendes / Pexels Report
Secondly, you want to ensure that you’re doing whatever you can to take care of your physical and mental health. That means staying away from harmful habits (smoking, drinking alcohol, overeating processed food, etc.) and embracing positive ones (exercise, healthy eating, socializing, engaging in pastimes you love, meditating, learning new things, etc.).
anon , Karolina Grabowska / Pexels Report
fslashd , Trinity Kubassek / Pexels Report
Kwando-D-Hornblower , Karolina Grabowska / Pexels Report
All that said, your 20s aren’t your entire life. It is perfectly possible to have an amazing life even if your youth didn’t turn out exactly as you wished it would.
march_rogue Report
FrederickDerGrossen , nappy / Pexels Report
sn1per50MT , JESHOOTS.com / Pexels Report
anon , Ron Lach / Pexels Report
Shoddy_example5020 , Matheus Natan / Pexels Report
angryrubberduck , Matheus Bertelli / Pexels Report
GoodDog_GoodBook123 Report
anon , Lisa Fotios / Pexels Report
ChaoticGoodPanda Report
314159265358979326 Report
Aware_Statement_205 Report
SaberTruth2 Report
Purples_A_Fruit , Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas / Pexels Report
IndigoWafflez Report
YinzaJagoff Report
Follow Bored Panda on Google News!
Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda!