To ask if you could go back in time is there anything that you would do differently?

[Cakeandbake229]

And if so how come?

I am currently trying to get a balance between having no life and trying to save for a house (I am late 20s) and trying to travel whilst I have little to no commitments (I am in a long term relationship).... it just made me wonder whether anyone can look back at their lives and say they would do anything differently?

Myself- a bit sad really but I regret getting so drunk when I was younger and putting myself in vulnerable situations, I rarely drink now other than the odd glass of wine of an evening!

I wish I'd learnt to say ''No'' a lot earlier than I did. Would've saved a lot of pain,heartache and abuse.

Loads.

I'd do a degree that led to a career.
I'd marry better.
I'd have made the effort to lose weight earlier.

I would have probably chosen a different career.
I would have not been in a hurry to marry and it would probably have been someone who had more in common with me.
I would have travelled more and explored the world.
I would have been more selfish.

I'd have left my ex much earlier, when he told me he'd been unfaithful the first time and not hung around thinking he'd change.

Get help for my MH issues before going into crisis, instead of listening to the GP who told me I should try cheering myself up by going shopping, and consequently getting into debt and going into crisis anyway.

Go and find my church earlier, and work out some way to meet DH earlier. All of that should mean fewer money worries and a bigger family now.

Not get married. Not be pressured into having 2 children.

I wouldn’t have wasted 4 bloody years on my loser ex. I gave up going to Australia to travel for a year then going to uni in St Andrews to do Museum Curatorship - I regret that every damn day. But then if I hadn’t of stayed with him I never would have met my DH and had my wonderful DS

Would have been more courageous and gone to a different university further from home.

Not married the man I've been married to for the past 18 years.

I didn’t need a student loan ( lived off my grant)- but I’d have taken one anyway & put it in a high interest account.
I’d never have stopped running.

Aww some nice answers but some also very sad!

Surprised at those who had regrets about children, to those who haven't already answered is there a reason?

My parents have been in a similar situation to previous posters, they were going to buy a house in Buxton as a rental property but it was too much of a gamble at the time and they didn't want to risk everything for what they believed to be a market that was going to fall, all these years later the same property has increased in value by 220k, doh! Hindsight is indeed a wonderful thing!

Got bereavement counselling.
I was just a kid but wish that when older I asked to talk to someone because that one single death was the most influential, personality changing major incident that structured my life and anger for the next 20 years.
It didn’t have to.

Tricky one. If I hadn't got married I wouldn't have had my lovely children. But also if I hadn't got married I maybe wouldn't be hurtling towards 50 with anxiety, depression and my self esteem through the floor. I had an opportunity years and years ago to chuck ex out and I didn't. Regret that I didn't then as it gave him the green light to treat me like crap for many more years.

I think regrets around children are about the unexpected restrictions on freedom and physical and mental damage to the female body.

If I could have been a dad instead of a mum I wouldn’t have minded so much!

I would have left oh 20 years ago but i was too scared about affording my own place. Looking back, houses were dirt cheap i could have done it.
I will never do it now. Bad choices are my life, nobody elses fault.

I'd be a better mother and I'd have eaten a healthier diet.

Work harder in my teens at school and first stages of my career in my 20s.
Decide who to invest time in, strong friendships rather than wasting time on people who vanish a couple of years down the line.
And yes I would save for a house earlier & be more sensible with money.

I'd love to have done more travelling but, like you, I felt owning a property was important. I don't think I would have enjoyed / relaxed while travelling knowing I'd be 'behind' when I got back, not having a house, savings or furthered my career. 2.5 months in Asia was sufficient. I hope I get to travel more in the future, with my DC.

Funnily enough, Dh and I were talking about this recently. The only thing I think I really regret is that we waited as long as we did to have our DCs. Had we known then what we know now, we would have had them about four years sooner than we did. Of course, the children we would have had wouldn't be the ones we have and I would never want to not have them. So on balance I probably wouldn't change anything.

If I hadn't done the bad things I wouldn't have met some wonderful people, so I wouldn't change much. I wouldn't stay with a terrible partner as long as I did- wouldn't give him a week if I knew then what it would be like. But that's about it, the rest I coped with and I'm not sorry for.

Id take exercise more seriously

I wouldn't have got with ex at all, never mind taking him back twice after cheating.

But then I'd be worried about The Butterfly Effect meaning I'd never meet DH or have DS.

I'd have gone to university to study languages.
I said I didn't want to go to uni as I didn't have an aim that required a degree, and everyone just accepted that. (I didn't have any real aim at all).
I suspect a boy would have had the advantages of a uni education pointed out to him.

Worked out the dynamics of my family earlier and been stronger to stand up to my mother rather than be filled with FOG.

Been more educated and then more disciplined when it comes to food, I’m overweight and not happy about it.

Otherwise there’s been loads of ups and downs - relationships, friendships, money, houses, jobs, moving cities, travel - and although some have led me to dark places ultimately I got through them and came out stronger so I don’t regret them.

Wouldn't have got married and become financially dependent on him. I'm stuck and am desperately squirrelling money away so I can leave.

I would never have given up exercise and/or never bought my first car which was the start of the end, weight wise.