We all learn from the mistakes we make in life and all that stuff, but sometimes, a decision a person makes can drastically alter the course of their lives…
And today we’re going to focus on the bad stuff.
Let’s hear from folks on AskReddit about the worst decisions they’ve ever made in their lives.
This is gonna hurt…
1. Time to move forward.
“Probably that 20 years of nonstop drinking and drug use looking back and trying to understand how I made that same decision every day is sad.
Got myself together now at 36.”
2. Not a good idea.
“Getting caught up wanting to be flashy in a fancy car at 19. Please learn about interest rates and depreciation if you’ve never bought a car before.
One of the worst financial situations you can be in is stuck in an upside down loan with a high interest rate and can barely make payments on it.”
3. Run away.
“Falling in love with the wrong person.
And to this day, if I meet a girl and her name is Amy…It’s a hard nope.”
4. Too young.
“Was engaged to a 32yr old mom of four kids when I was 21yrs old.
I was NOT ready for that life.”
5. Don’t even start.
“Trying crystal m**h. I didn’t use for long, but damn did my life take a nosedive after that.
Been off the stuff for 2 years now, and trying to pick up all the pieces and put my life back together again. Although I don’t know if I’ll ever get back on track with a felony conviction on my record.”
6. You have to show up.
“During my late teens, I missed the funeral of my best friend’s brother.
To all the kids out there who are open to learning empathy but might not understand ityet, BE THE PERSON WHO IS THERE FOR YOUR FRIENDS.
Folks just want a shoulder to hug; do what I couldn’t and be a presence for your mate(s).”
7. It’s never too late.
“Waiting to get into the culinary field.
Wasted a lot of time going a traditional route of getting a degree and should have done it right after high school than waste 10 years bumbling about.”
8. Listen to yourself.
“My worst decision in life was not taking the time to get to know myself better.
I allowed the opinions of others to dictate my life and, as a result, I made decisions that didn’t align with my core values.
It was a difficult lesson to learn, but I’m grateful for it now as it has helped shape me into the person I am today.”
9. Close call.
“To go on an obscure hiking trail in New Zealand rather than choosing a well frequented one.
I nearly d**d and came to terms with my d**th multiple times before ultimately saving myself by scaling a mountain after battling hypothermia.
I still suffer from PTSD from the cold because of me having to spend a night without shelter in the rain while having no clue where I was.”
10. Oops.
“”It’s okay I’m on the pill…”
She was not in fact on the pill.”
11. Turned it down.
“About fifteen years ago I had an opportunity to start an assembly line job for one of the big three auto manufacturers. (My father-in-law worked for them, and he had the opportunity to put my name in to fast-track me onto the job.)
I turned it down, largely because I was working for my mom at the time in her failing medical office and I felt like if I left it would mean certain failure for her business.
My mom’s business folded anyway a few months later and apparently 100% of the people whose names had been put in were hired in on the spot, with full seniority and benefits.
My wife and I eventually got an offer from an aunt to move across the country, and she could get me a great job where she worked. So we uprooted our lives (not that we had much to uproot, but our family and friends were here) and moved across the country.
The job opportunity fell through before I got there (despite interviewing over-the-phone and making it clear when I would be moving there, they gave the job to someone else without notifying me) and my aunt moved away a few months later, leaving my wife and me in an unfamiliar place with no job, no relatives, and no friends.
We were there for five years. The first three were bar none the worst years of my life, with so many struggles- financial, marital, social- eventually we made friends that stuck around and eventually we were able to get jobs that lasted more than a few weeks, and then those last couple years were good, but it was a tooth-and-nail fight to get there.
Eventually we moved back home for a few reasons, one being that (through a shocking happenstance of luck and coincidence) I was able to get a job at one of the other big three auto manufacturers.
From the moment my new job started, it was like we were living brand-new lives- we’ve always had enough money for whatever we need, we’ve had health and dental insurance so we don’t need to live in fear of illness, we’ve reconnected with old friends and made new ones, and our lives have been 100x more fulfilling than it ever was before. We finished paying off our house back in 2020, something I never would have thought was possible.
Although I love where my life is now, and I grew and matured a lot during those difficult years, I always wonder how different things would be if I had taken that job offer way back when.”
12. Listen to your gut.
“3 months ago I decided to ride home on my motorcycle at night from a motorcycle show instead of camping out…I literally had a pact with myself to never ride at night and I broke it this one time.
I kinda had a feeling I should stay but I ignored it. When I was about halfway home, I got rear ended by a car and I’ve been messed up, physically and mentally, pretty badly ever since.
Broke my neck, my pelvis, fractured my hip, got a big laceration on my head that still isn’t healed, and I have really bad muscle damage on my leg. I’m walking with a cane til further notice. Lesson learned, always listen to your gut.”
13. Wasted time.
“Staying in a mutually a**sive/toxic relationship because of our trauma bond as well as me loving him way to much.”
14. Chronic pain.
“I used to live in a penthouse that was built onto the roof of an existing apartment building. Floor 14 was the top floor of the main building and it had PH1-4 on it, there was a flat roof, then there was PH5, and PH6 on top of it.
I lived in PH5 and I forgot my keys one day and my roommates wouldn’t be home for an hour. I decided it would be a good idea to use the window in the stairway, which happened to be at PH6 level to jump down onto their special roof area at my level so I could climb through my bedroom window.
It had rained the night before and the wood their “patio” was made of was slicker than it looked. The ceilings of our level were 12′ high so I was jumping from about 14.5′ up. It didn’t look too bad, but when I landed my feet immediately slipped and I landed on my back. My ankle was completely numb.
Though that ankle didn’t suffer a break, it did suffer a soft tissue injury that has caused me constant, chronic pain for the last 9 years. It ruined one of the healthiest periods of my life when I was running a few times a week and I weighed 180lbs.
Over the last 9 years my weight has fluctuated drastically, my health as well obviously, and it all coincides with whether my ankle is doing okay, or it is so bad I literally think about taking a sharp spoon and scooping out the painful areas of my flesh.
I tried for years with physios, specialists in sports medicine, MRIs, and never really got better. I gave up trying about four years ago and I have gotten to be the biggest I’ve ever been. But, I decided to try a highly recommended physiotherapist a few months back and I am seeing progress that I’ve never seen before, so things are looking up. She has been utterly fantastic.
So yeah, I basically caused myself 9 years of chronic pain because I was too idiotic to just wait for an hour or so for my roommates to get home. My ankle goes from about 1-5 on the pain scale, it’s not horrible, but chronic pain is just so d**n draining, and every time I’ve tried to get back to exercising eventually it gets so bad that I stop.”
15. A bunch of them.
“I feel like I can’t really find that one “worst decision” because my life until now is just a snowball of slightly bad decisions piling up.
Don’t quit school cause it’s boring, get you driver license, and don’t take things for granted.
And don’t waste money when you can’t afford to!”
What’s the worst decision you’ve ever made?
Tell us your story in the comments.
Thanks a lot!
