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

What What? wrote:

She left you for a garbageman?

A literal, back-of-the-truck-riding garbageman. Yes.

Nothing. I regret nothing. And I've f*cked up a lot. And I'm still f*cking up. In retrospect I can see that I made changes to my life plans that weren't necessarily in my best interest because of the influence of girlfriend/s with whom I'm no longer affiliated, but that's all part of the learning process and it builds character. So yeah, I regret nothing.

Luther Poach wrote:

Nothing. I regret nothing. And I've f*cked up a lot.

Refusing to regret and change is exactly the reason you've fvcked up and will continue to fvck up a lot.

Started smoking pot in 6 grade and was a heavy stoner right up to senior year barely made it out of high school.

I am lucky to have common sense but as far as book smart my memory is shot.

Have been a laborer for the last 30 years.

Maybe if I would have ran in school things would be different.

I did okay good wife and 2 good adult kids.

And now I will race anybody anytime.

wyuuu wrote:

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.

^^^ Pretty much this. We always think there will be more time, and then one day there isn't. Nobody ever really gets to the end of their life and says I wish I would have worked more, or watched more TV, or spent more time trolling the Letsrun message board...

Everybody always says they wish they would have spent more time with their spouse or kids or parents or the people they care about.

karpopper wrote:

for me studying was a waist of time

Clearly. You didn't learn to spell waste.

I regret spending so much of my late teens through mid twenties being the perfect responsible young adult. I was so consumed with getting good grades, not disappointing my parents and working so hard to make enough money to get by that somewhere along the way I forgot to have much fun. I wish that I would have taken a year off and backpacked around Europe or something.

Not taking a full ride scholarship to fsu. Although joining the army may soon take over as my biggest regret.

One thing I know for sure... Attitude, in large part, determines how you perceive life. So, you've laid it out on the table... Life has kinda sucked for you. NOW its time to drop that running verbal tape in your head or USE it to change for the better. Unless, of course, you want the second half of your life to be more bitter than the first. You are uniquely gifted so go about the task of figuring out how to use your gifts, even if not in the way you had originally mapped out for yourself. Start speaking as the person you strive to be and stop wallowing in what you think you have become. Your problem isn't your circumstances. It's your perception of your circumstances. Want next year to be different? What are ya gonna do about it! Come on, Dude... You can do this.

unluckyatlyfe wrote:

My biggest mistake was majoring in theoretical math. I worked really hard and went to the top schools. I thought that if a career in academia didn't work out, I could get at least get some sort of decent job. Unfortunately that is not at all what happened. In retrospect I should have studied econ or finance. Those areas are way, way easier and the job prospects are much better.

But you studied so!etching that you loved. Isn't that worth something?

derailleur wrote:

Let it be a lesson to you. Don't trust anyone with your "heart." From the outside, I look to have done ok. I haven't laid around wallowing over it. I've had other girls, most of them much better than she in most ways. I've made money, I've lived and continue to live all over the world, I work three months a year and live pretty well on my own terms (as much as one is able these years).

What do you do for a living, if you don't mind me asking? Sounds great. . .

Starting to run.

Quitting my team before they won a national championship.

Not getting treated for clinical depression.

Not understanding the unspoken rules about how the world works before finishing college.

Thinking that it was enough to be a purist, and work extremely hard at the things that interested me.

Spending some time unemployed because I was too narrow in my job search.

Not staying connected to old friends.

But hey, I'm still pretty young so maybe things will get better.

1. Dropping out of college twice. Now I'm working in a field I don't like with very few prospects of getting out unless I decide to finish my degree.

2. Not dating in high school or college when there were the most opportunities of something getting started, much less working out.

1. dropping the baton at state when youre in second place then finishing fifth.

2. not being myself

3. trusting a woman with money

Awesome. I needed this.

Never said that I didn't change, tough guy. All my mistakes have led to improvements. Gah. Judgmental, much?

There will always be mistakes. Even if you're the guy that mapped out his life at age 16 and it's all turned out like you thought.... guess what? THAT is a mistake too!

By living your life by some written plan you have totally missed out on thousands of other things to do, places to go, and people to meet.

i regret not bringing a second pair of shorts with me on my morning run today

By age 21, my biggest mistake was not waiting long enough to drink.

If you make mistakes before the age of 21 that are overwhelming, and didn't involve morally reprehensible, there is something wrong with you.