To ask if you could change just one decision you have made...

[LifePond]

What would it be?

Mine : In October 2005 I considered changing my mobile phone number but did not. I wish I did ....

I would never have started on the antidepressants I'm taking now. Nearly 15 years on them and I just can't get off them. I've got the dose right down but stopping completely bring physical side effects that I just can't deal with while pregnant and looking after young DCs.

@DrinkingReprehensively how odd, as I was thinking about the op question, that was exactly what i would change too (although not for me, for dh). Loss of hearing was a result of life-saving medical treatment so I wouldn't have changed him having that, but if we'd ignored our terrible terrible GP he might still have his hearing.

For me I'd have chosen a wedding photographer that didn't vanish with our original photos

Sorry that tag should be @DrinkReprehensibly

I'm about to make a few huge decisions so wish I could fast forward into the future to see how they turn out...

I wouldn’t have stayed with my ex for so long

To have stopped contact with my family a lot sooner.

Completely messed around behaved like a slut in the last years of high school and didn't bother revising for exams. Totally messed up in my exams. Refused to re take them despite my parents begging me to reconsider.

Had our planned first child with DH very early on in our relationship at a very young age. Recipe for disaster. We are still together 23 years later but with hindsight we took a massive risk and should have waited until we were a bit older.

I would have opted to go to college in Exmouth, at the other end of the country, instead of going to a local college and living at home. Would have opened up a whole new world for me.....but who knows.

I wish I'd gone after money, rather than spending my life trying to make it in the Arts, because the artistic life hasn't really worked out too well.

Getting married to my now ExH. Literally the worst mistake I ever made - financially, emotionally and psychologically.

Biggest regret of my life was moving overseas.

Not doing Art A-Level.

In those days you could do it as a fourth and I wish I had given it a try. I could have just dropped it if it was too much but stupidly that option simply didn't occur to me.

Not applying to join the police. I desperately wanted to be a police officer but my parents didn't want me to do it and stupidly, I want a different way to avoid upsetting/disappointing them. It remains one of my biggest regrets.

That said, my main motivations for joining were that I wanted to work with people and I wanted to make a difference. I am a secondary school teacher so I work with lots of people and hopefully make a difference somewhere so it's turned out ok.

Some of these are heartbreaking.

@PizzaPower

Quit my job last year to take a new one. Stupidest decision ever.

Being a mother.

I dossed about at school so didn’t get into my university of choice, instead I went through clearing to a ‘lesser’ uni. However, the course I found myself doing was far more interesting and the city I studied in was far more ‘me’. So while I rue my poor A level results, I don’t rue what happened apart from a sense that I never really fulfilled my academic potential.
On from that, I did a second degree in my thirties that was geared to the profession I found myself working in, and I wish in a way I’d just done this when I was younger as I would have so much more experience now —and less imposter syndrome —

I would not have gone on the pill if I had known the problems it would later cause.

I probably would have held out a bit longer/borrowed a bit more on the mortgage to get a slightly bigger house.

I would have shagged a certain friend's flatmate when I had the chance, as a part of me has always regretted not doing it. However, that might have had repercussions on how my life has otherwise turned out, so maybe that one's better left alone.

Mine would be listening to my DM when she knew my strengths were writing and numbers, so I should consider something like accountancy or journalism when looking at higher education and uni. Of course I didn't listen and decided I knew best, so went in to do a media Btec and then radio production and film studies in uni.

I did nothing with my my degree and now actually am very interested in in going into accountancy, but unfortunately just can not afford the money nor time to go back into education whilst I'm a single parent having to work full time with a 3 YO to look after

Would have made more effort to live frugally before we had dc to pay down our debt. God knows what we did with all our money back then but now having three young children, we really know what it means to live frugally and are only able to afford to pay just over the minimum paymebts. One bad month scuppers us. 3 more years to go til debt free. We had a plan but then we had twins.

Great thread...sad, but interesting!.

Mine would be to have confronted the school bullies that left me with life long self esteem and anger issues . Only just sorted some issues out through counselling last year at over 40.

They basically set the pattern of my life..i did shit at school because of them, and had trouble forming relationships.

There's been the usual 'sliding doors' moments with romantic stuff, but there is a lot of 'grass is greener' stuff as well.

To see my ex before she moved to Oxford

Thanks WhatsGoingOnEh. I also saw it as her trying to spare me the pain she'd been through, which of course she'd want to do for me. She was only 21 with her first, the baby tied her to an abusive man, and she struggled her entire life for money as she was too busy caring for kids to ever be able to focus on career or any training. My two older siblings were the source of much heartache (and no doubt I didn't give her an easy time during my teens either, though not to the extent of what their behaviour put her through). So when she told me never have kids, they only bring pain, I got it. I grew to understand my lovely mum even more deeply.

It didn't work mind you, I do want kids 😂 But her words always made me aware I didn't want to rush into it and wanted to focus on my career first, be older. So it was of use to me.