24 valuable lessons that people learned late in life

As we get older, we often have these epiphanic moments where we realize just how wrong we were about some things or people. A chance encounter, a random article forwarded by a colleague, a life-altering experience that warrants the reevaluation of one's priorities, or maybe even an inspiring video that popped up on YouTube during a late-night scroll — you never know when such moments occur. No matter how these life lessons present themselves, they are the ones that reshape our personalities as adults. Reddit user rockothewallabee recently expressed interest in this phenomenon when they posted this question to the AskReddit community: "What is a lesson you learned too late in life?"

Here are 24 of the most enlightening answers to this question:

1.

"That attention and actual interest are two way different things. There are many men (women too. Just going off my experience) who might give you attention, flirt, etc, but that attention does not actually mean they want to pursue anything. I’ve had it apply to friendships too, where the person just wants someone to party with, go to bars, but isn’t interested in being more than an acquaintance. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong there, I just wasted a lot of time expecting too much from the attention givers. Learning to tell the difference between the surface level stuff and the ones who actually gave a f**k was a hard but important lesson for me." — JuracekPark34 

2.

"'Ride or die' is actually usually 'Ride until it gets a little uncomfortable or inconvenient, then your on your own but when my life goes up in flames I will expect you to throw yourself infront of a bus for me cause we ride or die.'" — Giengi

3.

4.

"Never trust your boss or coworkers to not stab you in the back for their benefit." — ambermage 

5.

"You can be the best driver on the road, but you can't control everyone else. Always keep your head up and drive safe." — Strik3rr 

6.

7.

"You have to take chances sometimes, and although it can be scary and outside your comfort zone you'll never know what could've been unless you go for it." — phantom_avenger 

8.

"You don’t need a million friends. Maybe less than 10, maybe 5, good friends. Put a LOT of effort into those relationships instead of spreading yourself too thin." — evilergarfie 

9.

10.

"I can do it myself. Now that we're in the digital age, I learned how to change my windshield wipers, trim my rabbit's nails, repair screen windows, replace my sub pump, ect. I always felt like I missed out learning hands-on thing because my dad checked out early. N'ah, girl, you can do that shit on your own!" — LuckyShoe123 

11.

"Don't kill yourself working at a job that would replace you without a second thought." — thelaughingpear

12.

13.

"It's not too late, but I've learnt that in certain situations where there's an opportunity to be accepted or rejected (whether it's work, romance, etc.) sometimes, the worst thing someone can say is no." — Loose-Professional34 

14.

"You can't really help people who don't truly want to help themselves. Unless a person realizes, admits, and is receptive to being helped and helping him/her/itself, you're just wasting your energy and probably adding to your own stress." — Some_Asshole_Said

15.

16.

"That other people don't care what you think. They're more worried about themselves, and you aren't the first thing on their priority list. Could've saved so many headaches if I knew this years ago." — SexualMastery 

17.

"The importance of dental health. I didn't take care of my teeth in my youth and now that I'm older I very much regret it." — -eDgAR- 

18.

19.

"That EVERYONE is making it up as they go along. Your teacher, parents, pastor, Army Generals, CEO's, everyone. No one has 100% true answers. However, success in life IS about being decisive. Get enough information to make an intelligent decision then confidently act on it. Others will THINK you have all the answers." — ChmeeWu 

20.

"You can't love someone into loving you back." — DieNachste 

21.

22.

"The kind of romantic love I had hoped for was a fantasy in my head and not how most normal relationships work." — Instar5 

23.

"It is important to talk about your feelings and it is okay to get help if needed." — Luwe95 

24.