People Are Sharing Things They Wish They Learned Earlier In Life, And I've Got A Few Regrets Of My Own

Life is full of lessons — and you never know when you'll learn them. Sometimes, the things we realize later are also things we wish we knew a whole lot sooner.

U/bonny256 recently asked the people of Reddit, "What did you learn late that you'll teach your children early?" Hey, who knows — maybe some of these lessons will be new to you, too:

1."Adults are not all smart and wise people. Don't blindly trust those who are in positions of authority."

—u/Vesperri

2."Boundaries. It’s not necessary to light yourself on fire to keep others warm, especially when they’re just mildly chilly and could put on a sweater."

—u/howyallare

3."Financial literacy."

—u/EsotericRexx

4."Never admit you have a skill unless you're prepared for people expecting you to use it. I took on massive workloads at a few jobs before realizing that I should probably keep some talents to myself."

—u/goblinusMaximus

5."The importance of studying properly."

—u/Dhaynes99

6."It's okay to make mistakes as long as you do your best to learn from them. I don't want them to be afraid of failure like I am because I got yelled at for every little mistake I made growing up."

—u/ILikeEmSubby

7."Don't treat money as if it's just points to buy things. All of my life, I've been taught that money is just there to save up so I could buy the next big thing — which led me to have poor financial habits, and the inability to save money when dealing with severe impulse buying. Also, I would rather buy something now than to shop around or see if there's a deal. Same with returning things, I'd rather just not deal with it than waste an hour to return something for $10."

—u/yuribotcake

8."Learning a third language. It has helped me expand my business interests immensely and opened me up to previously inaccessible tourist destinations."

—u/Federal_Seaweed_1720

9."Basic life skills like cooking and washing clothes. My mom always refused to teach me these things out of laziness, while simultaneously complaining that I didn't do these things. I had to teach myself as an adult, which was embarrassing."

—u/MontegueLovesPie

10."That hard emotions will pass and that you shouldn’t fight your emotions when you feel them."

—u/Dhimfark

11."Your mental health is more important than your school work."

—u/Squishyswimmingpool

12."Body autonomy. My daughter is 2, and if she says no to a hug or physical play or anything like that, I will honor her wishes. I also never force her to give hugs to anyone. I wasn't abused or anything, but my parents were the type that always made us give hugs when seeing old family or friends, and quite often I didn't know the people well enough to feel comfortable with physical contact, but since I wasn't given the option to say no, I did it anyways."

—u/HoopOnPoop

13."Most of the time, when you hear what someone has to say, you’re only getting their version of whatever they’re telling you. Don’t put 100% faith into what they are saying."

—u/Weekly-Mushroom-1408

14."Invest your money into assets and make them work for you."

—u/Ill-Membership8095

15."Debt is rarely worth it."

—u/JerkCircleton

16."Failing is okay."

—u/Ieatalot2004

17."That it's okay to be whoever they are as long as they treat themselves and others with love and respect. That I love, respect, and support them. That they are worthy of being loved, respected, and supported by everyone in their life and that they shouldn't allow people in their lives that can't meet that low bar."

—u/Merickwise

18."Discipline and respect."

—u/Odd_Adhesiveness4804

19."Don't waste your life working for a bad boss. Find a better one."

—u/optiongeek

20."You are responsible for your future — no one else."

—u/Libre_man

Agree? Disagree? Have your own additions? See you in the comments!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.