For those of you 21 years-of-age or older, what is the single biggest mistake you've made in your life?

Interesting question.

In looking back, I was so concerned with having cash in my late teens and early 20s that i lived at home through college to keep a low end job that i had in high school and play sports for an extra 2 years at a JC.

i would have figured things out sooner and grown up had i moved hundreds of miles from home to go to college.

Not dating in HS. There is no better time or place to learn to deal with rejection.

My single biggest mistake was getting my girlfriend pregnant when i was 18. I gave up college and any freedom.

Getting married. Or, getting married to somebody that would divorce me.

Will cost me about 1.5 million all in.

I kicked around too much in my 20s, feeling sorry for myself. I should have put it in gear earlier. Many wasted years of crap jobs and self pity.

It all worked out tho.

Not having spent enough time with my grandmother and sister before they died.

People you love don't last forever.

Make the most of the time you have with them.

Not choosing a major that had more potential, or not switching when I had my doubts.

Doing OK and I don't need to keep up with the Joneses, but think there could've been a better inflection point had I tracked my science-based course load into a more-in-demand major. On the other hand, people ask what I'm doing to stay comparatively young-looking; will admit many in my natural-resources-related career have comparatively lower stress job-wise.

Not taking the initiative and finding jobs internships volunteer work and networking , that suits my taste and morals. Can't be lazy and inactive : make it happen.

Not planning for the long term and focusing more on having a good time. If so, plan for the long term and have fun at the same time. Although, I'm not sure if that is possible...

Also, sell out early so you don't have to delay your eventual selling out. Money is undeniably important in modern civilization.

Buying UWTI a few weeks ago with half my life savings

Sdjsj8282 wrote:

Buying UWTI a few weeks ago with half my life savings

So, you bought $3k worth of UWTI? What's it down to now?

Investing too much time in girls who are pretty on the outside and ugly on the inside.

For me, getting lazy in my early 20s and letting myself gain a ton of weight while I did nothing (athletically) with my "peak" years. Now in the 40+ age range, all I can do is wonder "what if?"

Ladies and gentlemen, my whole life has been a mistake. I will share a number of specific elements that comprise the one big mistake, so take heed and use me as the example of how NOT to run your life.

1. I did not apply myself academically. Was a "C" student in HS and college and now I have a crap job, no professional future, and no realistic hope of retiring.

2. I did not work as hard as I should have as a runner. I gave a good effort, but I did not sacrifice as much as I could have. Settled for lesser program in college and was too chicken (bleep) to follow my dream and make my mark.

3. Got married...and got married for the wrong reasons. I basically settled. Now I'm divorced and too big of a loser to get a date, much less find anyone to share my life with.

4. "Retired" from competitive running - which basically meant I gave up life as a local road racer and the occasion $200 winner's prize - settled into a sedentary lifestyle and gained 80 pounds. I'm so fat and lethargic that I can't even get motivated to go for a walk.

5. Didn't travel enough in my youth. Now I have bucket list destinations that I will never see.

Trust me, you don't want to end up like this. Figure out what your passion is, then study and work as hard as you can to make it a practical part of your life. Be opened minded and flexible, but seek direction and stay the course.

OUT

Broke up with my emotionally unstable ex-girlfriend at the train station after I had been overseas for about 5 months. She cried the whole train ride home and was publicly humiliated.

During a phone conversation a couple difficult months later, I told her she was hateful and vindictive and that I had broken up with her because I was infatuated with a friend of mine I had been studying overseas with. I told her that last part because I wanted to get if off my chest after lying about it earlier, but in retrospect it's not something I should have told her in her present condition. The next day I had a facebook message from her father saying that she had gone missing the night before (after our phone conversation), and they had finally found her in the prayer-room of her church. She later told me that she had gone out that night intending to commit suicide (something she had been considering for months)after what I had said. Roughly two and a half years later I still wonder how that phone conversation didn't end up being the end of both our lives.

Anyway, I learned to be a little bit more careful about what I say and to whom.

Starting to run.

racing a 10k with a sfx in my tibia is probably up there. In my defensive before the race, it only hurt when I touched it or landed my foot on the ground.

Not planning my future when I was in HS is the biggest one so far. I ended up taking time off after HS to find out what I wanted to do. Now I'm 20 in my first year of college.

agc5k wrote:

Not planning my future when I was in HS is the biggest one so far. I ended up taking time off after HS to find out what I wanted to do. Now I'm 20 in my first year of college.

20? is that a typo or do you actually regret that? There is no difference between 18 and 20. In fact, I would say you have a leg up because you didn't wander in as a completely clueless 18 year old. You would probably have 30,000 of debt and nothing to show for it at this point.