Sometimes we fall into habits and patterns that slowly lead us into a bit of a sunken place. And you wish somebody had told you that life can become quite difficult because of the small decisions you make on the daily. Which is why this Reddit thread where people have shared the biggest traps we all can fall into, in life seems like such a great find.
Here, take a look. I think we can all use this wisdom.
1. “Credit card debt.”
2. “Getting into relationships with people you’re not compatible with, just because they are lonely or because everyone else is doing it, or because you don’t think you can ever do better.”
– JaronK
3. “Relationship inertia, especially when you’re in your 20s, really can extend relationships that should really only have lasted months and end up stretching into years.”
4. “‘The sunk cost fallacy.’ The idea that you shouldn’t give up, you should stick with it, because you’ve already put in so much work and would be throwing it away. Sometimes, you need to cut your losses and move on, and most people struggle with accepting that.”
5. “Thinking ‘I have plenty of time left.’ In the worst case scenario, you die tomorrow, no matter how old you are. Can be a car crash at 16 years old, bursting aneurism at 30 or getting shot at 55. Or, not less scary, you grow old, and are then to old to do the stuff you told yourself ‘One day’.”
6. “A bunch of little traps called ‘Subscriptions.’ I always wondered where my money was going each month until I stopped nearly all of my subscription services.”
7. “In traffic jam: I’m going to change lanes, this one is going faster.”
– acdes68
8. “Staying at the same job for too long. I made that mistake, now I’m paying for it. It doesn’t help your future job prospects having only one or two things to show on your resume and it’s extremely specialized.”
– Milnoc
9. “Thinking that you need to be at a certain point, at a certain age in your life. As long as you have a goal and you are working towards it, you are fine. Don’t fall into stress, anxiety, depression over an imaginary race.”
10. “Having kids because you think you’re supposed to. Not even putting any thought into bringing a child into the world but doing it ‘just because.'”
11. “To keep trying to get abusive family to change and treat you with humanity. And people who say you should stay because they’re family. Nope. Safety first can mean going zero contact and to actively keep abusers away, especially abusive family.”
12. “The biggest trap is not working on your brain. People live their whole lives saying to themselves ‘Nothing’s going to change, this is who I am.’ Mostly out of laziness, because changing for the better takes work.”
13. “‘If I just had (insert goal/money/recognition/thing here), I would finally be happy…'”
– Sunstang
14. “Keeping up with the Joneses. You’re not your neighbors, don’t go into debt trying to keep up. Let them go into debt trying to prove they’re better than you.”
15. “The dreaded ‘Life script.’ Marrying young, having 2.5 kids, a dog, and a house with a white picket fence. You can do all or none of those things and still have a happy successful life.”
16. “Drugs & addiction, as well as not taking care of your mental health.”
17. “College. I’m a proponent of higher education, but it’s not for everybody. I’m even thinking it would be better for some to learn a skill/trade or a junior college level discipline then reevaluate if they need further education, especially for those who aren’t very certain about their career path.”
– udub86
18. “That you have to have a big wedding ceremony with a giant dress, tons of expensive food, flowers, a photographer, catering, etc. All of that is nice and all but maybe I’d like to get married to the person I love without putting myself in 50k of debt.”
Words of absolute gold.