12 People Who Instantly Regretted Their Life Choices

Sometimes life hits us with consequences we never saw coming, and empathy becomes the only thing that helps us understand how quickly a choice can flip everything upside down. Regret has a way of showing up uninvited, right after a bad decision, a bold risk, or an impulse we wish we could take back.

• “I got to my fiancée’s apartment before her (we were both driving separately) and hid in her dark walk-in closet. As she was taking off her jewelry with her back to me but facing her mirror, I spider-ran at her while growling. The terror in her eyes seeing me scurrying at her from behind in the mirror, combined with the loudest shriek I’ve ever heard, caused me immediate regret. I felt horrible.” © Stayvein / Reddit

• “While working as a delivery driver, one of my supervisors was feeling extra nice and said that he’d pay for everyone’s Starbucks orders if a driver was willing to go get them. I ordered everyone’s drinks at the drive-thru, but didn’t get myself anything. Instead, I took a few sips from another girl’s hot chocolate. I thought she wouldn’t be able to tell that I had some, but it was dark outside and forgot I was wearing red lipstick.
  When I walked into the shop, I confidently gave it to her with the stains around the lid. She was disappointed, but too nice to say anything. I think about it all the time, 7 years later, and wonder why I didn’t just get my own FREE drink.” © sunflweroctopus / Reddit

• “I once replied to an email in a hurry without double-checking the recipient. Ended up sending a personal message to my boss instead of my friend. Immediate regret followed by a swift apology! Double-check before you hit send, folks.” © ninaroses612 / Reddit

• I skipped my mom’s 60th for a “career-critical” client dinner. She was understanding. The dinner was cancelled, but I didn’t call her. I figured I’d see her that weekend.
  When I went to her house, the door was locked. My heart sank when the neighbor handed me a note. It was from my mom. “You’ve always been so busy,” it began. “So I’ve decided to start living my own life without waiting for you.” She moved to another state to live with her sister.

• “My mom had PPMS (primary progressive multiple sclerosis) from the time I was 2 until she passed away when I was 32. When I was about 12, she stopped walking. Shortly before she stopped walking, I told her she looked like a penguin when she walked.
  I was trying to be lighthearted in a time that I knew was mentally tough for her; but I shouldn’t have said that. It made her feel awful, and that’s the last thing I ever wanted her to feel. I still think about it and feel guilt.” © DebrecenMolnar / Reddit

• “Quit a job I really enjoyed because my friend quit to go work at another company, and he said he was able to get me a job with him. The new company was small, operated out of a shared work space, and management had no idea how to run a company. I purposely got myself fired so I could collect unemployment while I was looking for another job like the one I had quit.” © itsfish20 / Reddit

• To get the promotion, I threw my loyal coworker under the bus. I got the corner office.
  6 months later, I found out that the coworker I betrayed was now the CEO of a rival company. But my blood ran cold when HR entered my room, breathless, and told me, “We’ve just been informed that your former coworker, the new CEO, has filed a formal complaint against you.”
  I stared at them in disbelief. “What complaint?” I asked, but they didn’t need to answer. The HR then handed me a stack of papers: the first was a screenshot of an email I’d thought was deleted, detailing everything I did to ruin his career.

• “Not standing my ground about what I wanted to study. Later, I realized that had I been a bit open to my parents, they would’ve definitely listened to me...
  My parents wanted me to become a doctor/engineer so they tried to get me into science, but I was horrible at math and everything science. I casually brought it up a couple of times that I don’t like science, and I’m much more interested in other subjects (history, literature, sociology) but I always wanted to please them, so I tried to swim in the opposite direction.
  I BARELY passed my high school, and my results were not suitable for medical/engineering study, so I just wasted like 5 years of my life achieving nothing, as I’m now completing my BA in English Literature.” © Sweet-Message1153 / Reddit

• “This is a little complicated, but I wish I had been able to come to terms with not caring what people think of me when I was younger. It did wonders for my confidence.” © Unknown author / Reddit

• “Regret spending my twenties playing video games. I did go to uni and got a degree as well, but there’s so much I never experienced because I just sat in my room on my computer all the time.” © Freds1765 / Reddit

• “I regret thinking that nice things were not for people like me. The number of experiences, travel, career opportunities I turned down is crazy. All because I didn’t think I was good enough to deserve them.” © tea_ninja / Reddit

• “My friends and I talked about doing a 2-3 week Europe trip back in our 20s. ‘Oh, maybe next year.’ Eventually jobs, bills and families put all that to rest.” © TraditionPast4295 / Reddit

Take a moment to reflect. What’s something you deeply regret in your own family context? Whether it’s a small misunderstanding or a lifelong rift, please share your stories in the comments below.