Who wouldn’t like to live in a world without consequences? Where you could go back in time and start all over again. Where we could be fully in charge of whatever happens. Where life would give us lemonade instead of lemons.
The reality, however, is way different. So when someone asked “What are the hardest pills to swallow in life?” in an AskReddit thread, it surely hit very close to home for many people.
The responses started flowing in, with one uncomfortable truth being spilled after another.
This post may include affiliate links.
Animals are worthy of moral consideration
Animals, whether pets or livestock have no say in their situation. If you take an animal into your life, it's welfare must be your priority.
No one really knows you. They know their own version of you.
That’s true even for the people closest to you – like for instance your family. It took me decades to understand that … and a couple more years to accept it as a fact. Oh well …
That your boss and coworkers won’t care how hard you worked the second you leave the company.
Enjoy life. Go outside. Have a picnic. Don’t work so hard.
I mostly worked for myself - enjoyed challenges and creating good and easily usable systems. My work was mine... a source of pride in what I had accomplished. And I enjoyed getting paid for my work... but I did it for me, not for the company.
Some relationships or friendships are meant to be temporary. Appreciate the memories and lessons they give you, but when the time comes you have to let go and move on
It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose
Not only is incompetence frequently left unpunished, it is sometimes also richly rewarded.
Being in love isn’t enough to make a relationship work.
Falling in love is a feeling. Staying in love is a choice that requires work. A relationship is like a plant that needs tending.
Just because something is not your fault doesn’t mean it’s not your responsibility
Some bells can’t be unrung. And you have to live with the fallout from decisions you made and things you did when you didn’t know this fact.
You can't force a cat to cuddle
Bad things happen to good people.
Sometimes for no reason at all, completely randomly.
Doesn’t matter how fit you are, you get old and your body starts to break down. It sucks. Hard.
I just turned 41 today. I swear everything in my body started to hurt for no reason, a year ago today XD
Two justice systems; one for the rich and one for everyone else.
Some countries start to wake up on that and change their laws so that fines are a percentage of income and wealth and not fixed amounts of money. A billionaire might just scoff if a parking ticket costs 1000 bucks, but if the fine is 1% of income even they will feel it and think twice about doing it again.
Bad people win frequently.
Some people in leadership position are not good leaders. Some who are not in leadership are good leaders.
People will take advantage of your hard work. Many people get to where they are because of nepotism.
Nobody is obligated to be in your life. Years of commitment and love can go up in smoke because someone decided they were done with you.
Truth. I took my marriage vows 100% seriously. My ex did not.
That sometimes even if you tried your best, you just weren't good enough.
When you're young and healthy, it's hard to imagine being anything but.
When you lose your health, it's mind blowing how quickly things change.
You can't" be whatever you want to be" just by wanting it
And most of the times problems are really problems, not "challenges" how they're trying to sell to us.
you only get the one life, so dont wait for things to be perfect
And don't always wait for something big to happen to make you happy. Find pleasure in the small things, like a beautiful flower, a sunset, the full moon, etc. or life will be dull.
That no matter who you are or what you do, the wide, wide majority of people (like me) will be a memory for one generation and then utterly forgotten.
Sometimes when bad things happen to you it’s your own fault.
The world does not revolve around america.
This is so irritating. No one thinks that. I’m American. We just go about our lives just like everyone else
The ones who think like the post are the loudest so they end up potraying that image of America unfortunately
Load More Replies...This. You can always tell an American on social media who has no clue that the rest of the world does things differently, and in some cases, better. Land of getting shot at school, killed by police brutality, or dying because you can't afford health care.
Unfortunately, you're not wrong. I haven't had health insurance in 12 years and I have serious medical problems I have to pay out of pocket for and then I gey fined by my state for not being able to afford insurance, after paying all that money for treatment.
Load More Replies...I see this a lot on BP; people reply to posts as if everyone knows exactly what they are referring to without specifying their location or other relevant information which helps to clarify that their opinion/thoughts are from a United Statians frame of reference. Most other people start with something like "Canadian perspective here..." or "In the UK..." etc.
Downvoting the upvote faery every time the faery says United Statians
Load More Replies...Actually the world does revolve much more around America than most Americans think. A German class required us students to watch the German news to help us improve my language skills, and most students were utterly shocked by how much coverage US policy, people and events get. They were completely blind to this, and they didn't like it, either. America is a superpower, so of course it has a huge footprint, but for most Americans, it's just home--nothing special. The influence America has may annoy people in other parts of the world, but we are for the most part luxuriously unaware of their annoyance and our influence. It's a huge country. Most of us don't even interact with non-Americans.
Damn straight. And we’ve got your southern and western borders covered
Load More Replies...Canada, the US, and all South American countries are all American. This post should probably be more specific about who they are trying to s**t on
For anyone saying don't say you are American, Mexican is the same. It's also the united states of Mexico, but a lot of people don't know that either
Right! Like all of us in the North American continent, know what countries are here. Estados Unidos De Mejico, United States of Mexico= Mexicans. United States of America =Americans. Canada has its own, but the USA is the full name.
Load More Replies...If anyone has an issue to how things are here, take a stand and look at how you can correct what is wrong, instead of complaining about it. Also know that you do not have to stay here if you are that pissed off Set the process in place to emigrate to your ideal country. See how that process is done and get back to this post....
I love it when people present this as a solution. People living paycheck to paycheck will never be able to afford this, and you know it. Saying we shouldn't complain is ridiculous - "look at how you can correct what is wrong" doesn't mean a whole lot when the entire system is working exactly as it was intended to and you're not sitting on the billions of dollars it would take to significantly change it.
Load More Replies...I'm getting very tired of seeing Americans on TV across the political spectrum calling the United States the "Greatest country in the world". Greatest how, exactly? Greatest military spending? Greatest number of guns per citizen? Greatest incarceration rate per 100,000? I can't think of a single positive category the country is #1 in, what makes it the greatest? Americans as individuals are good people same as people from anywhere else...but I don't understand the depth of belief of American exceptionalism.
America was built on the backs of impoverished people all over the world. Slavery being just one example. The entitled 'america first' crowd who don't even think twice about how their wealth and privilege come at the expense of people who can barely survive working to supply us with luxury. It's disgusting.
50 states with different state laws and their own Constitution is like having 49 other countries to think about. Louisiana has Constitutional law and parishes unlike the other 49 states using common law and counties. But we all agree that Florida is crazy. We have our own problems. We would have had less problems, like the Civil War, if England had won the Revolutionary war. (England banned slavery in 1833)
The US Dollar is the primary reserve currency for the entire global economy, so in a literal sense the world's commerce does revolve around the USA. For things like social equality, criminal justice, infrastructure, and so on, the USA is in the stone age compared to other developed nations.
Americans are literally just trying to survive. We are well aware of how evil our government is.
I wish I could like this a million times. I married am American. We have been together for 6 years, and we moved him up here last year, and the number of things he assumes I know about is mind-boggling.
Well, does he know much about your native country as well?
Load More Replies...It doesn't revolve around Americans. Apparently it is in desperate need of our tax dollars in the form of unsecured Aid.
No it does not, but it does revolve around their entertainment (Hollywood, television, video games) and that is a fact.
Too many think this way! People in many other countries can't stand Americans (US) because some are so vain when abroad. If you aren't aware of this fact.....
having lived in Europe for the past fifteen years, it's always embarrassing when I have to tell people where I'm from.
Load More Replies...LoL it does but doesn't. America gives other countries jobs, supplies and suxh c**p, so ya their world revoles around that. As for people, we are all idiots lol
And most of the time, you'll be judged as a group whether you believe like the group or not...
And stop calling the United States "America," there is north, central, and South America and the United States are only part of one contingent- everyone on this side of the world is American
Then what would you suggest? I'm asking seriously. I always say I'm from the US but Mexico is The United States of Mexico, and it takes a bit too long to say "I'm from the United States of America" every time - and most people look at me funny when I do.
Load More Replies...Unfortunately, lots of people in the USA think that. Another annoying thing is that we call the USA America, when in fact, all of North and South America are in America.
We don't have to say it out loud it's an undeniable fact that it does. I'll just leave this here for you https://youtu.be/4nnpN1V_ZXQ
I'd change the wording to, "There's a whole wide world outside America". 99.99% of Americans don't think the world revolves around it, but I bet at least that many have never visited another country or have knowledge beyond what CNN or Fox choose to broadcast.
The rest of the world isn't jealous of Americans. They're perplexed at how we could be so blind and so ignorant. America isn't all that special. It was a wonderful idea that got corrupted. The people are horribly mislead by the government and lied to by the same in order to steal resources from other countries. We're not the good guys. We're the evil bully butting out nose into everybody else's business. The US is the evil empire and the rest of the world is just hoping the citizens will finally notice this and put a stop to our government.
Load More Replies...Yeah no s**t. The world revolves around Texas. F**k the rest of America.
I’m just s**t trolling, y’all. It’s Friday. Just laugh. Be Happy. F**k All Of America. 🤣
Load More Replies...If that were true why does every other country look to us to solve their problems or come running to us when their government is overthrown for sanctuary?
More often than not the US is responsible for their government being overthrown and the media makes it sound like we're the good guys.
Load More Replies...Just thank us for your continued protection, sit the fück down, and STFU
Load More Replies...This is why Putin won't give up in Ukraine. Also why he has many other countries behind him. He has convinced them it's them against the west. They have the mindset that the US invades other countries why can't Russia. It's really sad actually because on one hand we are helping Ukraine but on the other it's because of us that it's happening.
Possibly the most ignorant thing I will read this year
Load More Replies...Yet we still have the "We're #1" crowd screaming loudly.
Load More Replies...No, we don’t. Did you just generalize 330 million people?
Load More Replies...You mean the President who is trying to work with the rest of the world on big problems? Unlike his predecessor who worked to destroy our relationships around the world?
Load More Replies...You’re going to not exist in a very short amount of time that will feel like it went by in a blink.
Life gives you the test first, then the lesson.
Limp Bizkit: life is a lesson, you learn it when you're through
The people you love the most in life will die, sometimes sooner than you could imagine, and the only thing that will come close to healing that wound is time.
Arrogance is not extreme confidence, it's the opposite of confidence and it shows your insecurities.
If people call you arrogant, they are not intimidated by your confidence, they see what you are so desperately trying to cover up.
I don't agree with this necessarily. I've met some really talented people who are arrogant. I think arrogance CAN be a cover for insecurity or incompetence, but quite often it's also a case of narcissism.
No one will love you the way you want/expect them to. I feel like a lot of relationship problems, at least the minor ones, come from a miscommunication of love. We love in our own way, and find ourselves expecting the same kind of love when that’s just not possible. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s hard to remember sometimes.
I know many couples that give me the impression that love never was a part in the relationship. For both sides. I just wonder... why?
Nobody is 100% *good* no matter how much you lie to yourself.
I've calculated that I'm about 45% evil, which is much better than previous estimates of 70-75% evil.
you can’t help people who aren’t willing to try and help themselves
to quote a music artist i like “you don’t take the advice you f*****g use me for”
No but you can suggest options... apart from that it's up to them to pursue them
Sometimes things just change, it’s nobodies fault but they change.
Someone once said (but said it better), "the only constant in life is change"
Accepting the fact that the person you thought you'd spend the rest of your life with might not be the one.
This one is false. There is no “one”. A relationship takes hard work and sacrifice, regardless if they are what you considers “The one” or not.
That lot of people you have are just there for the fun times, when accidents and life trauma happens most of the people you thought of as a safety net will just vanish.
Like how you think as a new parent that if something happens to you, there are this village of close friends and tight knit relatives and family that will be there for the kids. It’s really tough to accept the idea that it’s really not like that.
People come and go from your life and sometimes you’re the reason why.
Problems need to be solved. Most of them don't go away if you ignore them.
Depends on the problems, that's a really touchy advice if you suffer from anxiety because most of your problems are made up to give a reason for your anxiety to exist in the first place.
If you want a great life, great friends and experiences, you have to seek them out for yourself, and nurture them. They aren't randomly assigned to you, and no one else will take care of it but yourself (ofc also partly depending on other people, but you have to have agency)
You aren't as unique as you think, so probably you aren't much different compared to the other 100 people that someone may have met that day. The "I'm built different" dialogue goes on everybody's head.
Being cynical is not the same as having healthy skepticism.
It doesn't make you seem smart, but rather short-sighted and just angry that the world didn't just award you everything you feel entitled to because you are so gifted.
They left out the most cheerful one: you might die any time and today may be your last day alive.
My favorite is, "almost everyone becomes an orphan at some point." The only way to avoid that is to die before your parent(s).
Load More Replies...The world isn't black and white and there are no fixed standards. Many truths depend on point of view and in many cases facts have different weight depending on the individual situation. So be careful with judging others. You only see the moment, never the whole picture, so wait a little before you judge and if you can't get all the facts, don't judge at all. I just saw a colleague calling out the laziness of another colleague in an open slack channel at work. Her teamlead made her take down the message in minutes and had the IT delete the reactions. The colleague in question wasn't lazy, she has cancer and is out of office several times a week for cancer treatment. So while it's completely ok to have opinions, it's not ok to carelessly apply them when you're not truly sure and in the know. You never know what's behind the surface.
Exactly! Never judge just off of what you see, everyone has many dimensions to them. If you frequented a lot fandoms as a child to escape reality, your more likely to understand this. I never reacted to or made comments on posts about a fandom I was not at some point a part of because I knew I didn't have the full picture. This turned into me being the (self-proclaimed, I try) kind of person that won't argue for bs on issues if I have even an inkling that I'm mislead or not well enough informed. Some things, albeit cringe as teens and children things are, can teach them a lot.
Load More Replies...“Some Bells Can’t Be Unrung” – this is a wonderful and precious thread full of insight and wisdom that makes me ponder or contemplate. Thanks!
What a depressing article. I will not be reading anything this author compiles again.
Just because someone does something you don't like doesn't mean you have to hate them for it
This actually a highly depressing post, that I don't should need 40 depressing things. Life is life and s**t happens whether good or bad. Is the author okay? Because it's awfully Stanger to write a post this long on Debby downers.
Im fairly unique, not in a good way totally, that being said I have 2 pupils in one eye and have pointy ears. I can u also see ultraviolet light. Id like to see how many points eared, 3 pupils people out there that can see ultraviolet there are. On the negative side I do have some mental issues. One day at a time!
no I quite like these posts because it shows the common features of humanity and how much we share in life experience. Cute, funny and entertaining - see the top of the screen - click animals or funny, instead of "featured"
Load More Replies...They left out the most cheerful one: you might die any time and today may be your last day alive.
My favorite is, "almost everyone becomes an orphan at some point." The only way to avoid that is to die before your parent(s).
Load More Replies...The world isn't black and white and there are no fixed standards. Many truths depend on point of view and in many cases facts have different weight depending on the individual situation. So be careful with judging others. You only see the moment, never the whole picture, so wait a little before you judge and if you can't get all the facts, don't judge at all. I just saw a colleague calling out the laziness of another colleague in an open slack channel at work. Her teamlead made her take down the message in minutes and had the IT delete the reactions. The colleague in question wasn't lazy, she has cancer and is out of office several times a week for cancer treatment. So while it's completely ok to have opinions, it's not ok to carelessly apply them when you're not truly sure and in the know. You never know what's behind the surface.
Exactly! Never judge just off of what you see, everyone has many dimensions to them. If you frequented a lot fandoms as a child to escape reality, your more likely to understand this. I never reacted to or made comments on posts about a fandom I was not at some point a part of because I knew I didn't have the full picture. This turned into me being the (self-proclaimed, I try) kind of person that won't argue for bs on issues if I have even an inkling that I'm mislead or not well enough informed. Some things, albeit cringe as teens and children things are, can teach them a lot.
Load More Replies...“Some Bells Can’t Be Unrung” – this is a wonderful and precious thread full of insight and wisdom that makes me ponder or contemplate. Thanks!
What a depressing article. I will not be reading anything this author compiles again.
Just because someone does something you don't like doesn't mean you have to hate them for it
This actually a highly depressing post, that I don't should need 40 depressing things. Life is life and s**t happens whether good or bad. Is the author okay? Because it's awfully Stanger to write a post this long on Debby downers.
Im fairly unique, not in a good way totally, that being said I have 2 pupils in one eye and have pointy ears. I can u also see ultraviolet light. Id like to see how many points eared, 3 pupils people out there that can see ultraviolet there are. On the negative side I do have some mental issues. One day at a time!
no I quite like these posts because it shows the common features of humanity and how much we share in life experience. Cute, funny and entertaining - see the top of the screen - click animals or funny, instead of "featured"
Load More Replies...