It is a universally known truth that life is really fucking hard, because the thing about being human is that so many of us make mistakes that keep us from living our best lives.
Recently, u/magicfeistybitcoin asked, "What's one of life's biggest traps that people fall into?"
The question struck a chord with over 10,000 commenters who waxed poetic about all of humanity's common pitfalls. Here are some of the best responses:
1. "You gotta be your own advocate. If you think other people will fix your problems, you're gonna have a bad time."
2. "I work in a nursing home, and I've seen an absurd number of people burn themselves out because they feel obligated to pick up extra shifts or come in early/stay late whenever they’re asked. You don’t need a reason or excuse to say no."
3. "Worrying too much about what others think or how I'm perceived. I think this goes along with increased self-esteem, but I started feeling a lot better about myself when I let go of the fear of judgement."
4. "Thinking that you're running out of time to do something because someone else has done it already."
5. "Never letting go of the past. That can kill you, I swear."
6. "Marrying or otherwise committing to someone who is mean to you and doesn’t treat you well."
7. "Getting in a relationship with someone just because of social pressure or not wanting to be alone. I have a friend whose boyfriend tried pressuring her into getting married, but they broke up because she wasn't ready. He then proposed to another person. I asked my friend why her ex was desperate to get married, and she said it’s his friends are all married and he didn’t want to be the only one who isn't."
8. "Toxic relationships. People try to 'fix' their partners, but they just end up getting themselves hurt."
9. "Having kids because society said they should. Nothing against kids, but the pressure to have children is immense from family, friends, and/or religion in most cultures. More often than not, child-free couples have to explain WHY they chose not to (or couldn't) have kids."
10. "Feeling the need to upgrade cars, houses, jewelry, etc. to keep up with your peers."
11. "Thinking people can’t/won't turn on you or set you up to fail for their amusement or personal gain."
12. "Sunk-cost fallacy. I stayed at a job for too long because I already put so much time and effort into it, even though the salary was crap. I finally decided to leave, and I'm doing so much better financially, emotionally, and physically. It's been five years since I left, and sometimes I wonder what my life would be if I stayed — and it's just depressing. Looking back, leaving was one of my best decisions of my life."
13. "Not knowing how to use credit cards right to either help or hurt you in the long run."
14. "I had to take out a payday loan once. I borrowed exactly what I needed to pay rent while waiting for a paycheck, then I paid it back the day I got my paycheck — regardless of how little I would have had left to live on until the next one. The interest on the loan was so high that I would've paid twice as much as I borrowed in just 30 days."
15. "Having an elaborate, expensive wedding that does nothing but stress everyone out and bankrupt you."
16. "Multi-level marketing. Someone got me to go to an 'informational' seminar once, and the rhetoric was exactly what a lot of people want to hear about themselves for validation. It was so manipulative."
17. "Alcoholism and drugs. Eventually getting high stops being fun, but by then you can't stop because your body is physically dependent on it. It sucks."
18. "Doing nothing due to fear of rejection or failure."
19. "Putting things off. We could do this more as kids because someone was there to pick up the slack or stay on top of us. But as an adult, the consequences of procrastinating can mess your entire life up."
20. "I have heard so many stories from people who achieved the highest level of success in their field...only to fall into the deepest depression of their life when they realized it didn't fill that piece inside of them that was missing."
21. "Assuming people on the internet know what they are talking about."
22. "Imposter syndrome. The cure is eventually realizing no one has a clue what they're doing."
23. "Believing that life ends when you hit 20, 30, 40...or any age, really. You can have new experiences no matter how old you are."
24. "Thinking you have more time and not appreciating every moment as you're in it."
H/T r/AskReddit
Some replies have been edited for length and clarity.