What's the dumbest mistake you've ever made?
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Jude (
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July 11th, 2010
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Trusting someone who turned out to be completely untrustworthy.
@jjmah Sorry it happened to you too. It happens to too many people.
Tie
Getting married
Starting to smoke
FYI quit smoking, got divorced. Slate is clean
Oh God… I can’t choose one. Seriously, there are just so many.
@jjmah Me too, perhaps too cautious.
It’s a toss up between a job I quit in order to show solidarity to a fired co worker and trusting in a man I thought respected and loved me through and through to the point I took steps to change my life to make one with him.
Letting people walk all over me.
Marrying my first husband and believing he was an upstanding guy. Boy was I wrong.
I’ve really made too few serious mistakes to mention.
Hitchhiking, by myself, when I was young. That would have to be the biggest one.
Not doing what I wanted with my life in earlier years…....And still not doing what I want with my life. :/
Accepting my doctor’s educated opinion.
I’ve made so many dump mistakes in my life that I’ve had to blank most of them out. But one I can never forget is that at around 11 I jumped out a second-story window using a sheet for a parachute. Needless to say, it was not a soft landing. I could have so easily killed myself, but fortunately, I limped away with only a slight sprain and a severe tongue lashing from my mother.
Trying to be someone completely different from myself to blend in. Never again.
DUMP MISTAKES? Jeez, I should proof-read my answers more carefully!
But now that I think about it, I probably did make a few dump mistakes when i was in diapers.
Falling backwards off my deck while trying to find a comet with binoculars. It was dark, of course, and I was wearing flip-flops. Ended up in intensive care for 6 days; two broken ribs, partially torn rotator cuff, bruised from head to toe, suspicious subdural hematoma, and loss of most of hearing in one ear.
The police and a psychiatrist stopped by in ICU to see whether my ex-husband or a boyfriend had beaten me up. I was tempted but said, “No.”
I recovered from everything but the broken stapes bone, which had to be removed. I tried three ear surgeries to replace stapes with a titanium prosthesis; all failed so I have to wear a hearing aid in that ear. Luckily, my other ear is fine.
I love that the fp bastard uses the word reckon. :)
@jjmah, ¼ of my family is Cajun, ¼ is Appalachian, and ½ is Yankee Italian. I’m a fast talker with a big vocabulary and a master of cute colloquialisms and gesticulations. ;-)
@jjmah, awesome! My maternal grandmother grew up on Bourbon Street. Glad to see I’m not the only one with swampy blood on here!
Working for my brother’s business for way too many years. He constantly used the money, materials, and laborers from the business for his own benefit and expected me to cover his tracks. I don’t look very good in black and white stripes!
Thinking that somebody could truly love me.
Any I have made twice or more :( , and I’ve had quite a bit
Letting myself gain weight, little by little, until it got to an unmanageable 50 lb excess.
Expecting the US government to honor it’s promises
Expecting honor and integrity from the US Navy
Being born to parents that were not billionaires
Hanging out with the wrong people when I was younger, and letting myself be influenced by them. I spent about two years slacking off and partying with… a bunch of slackers and partiers. There were some really fun carefree times, but otherwise everyone was always scrounging for money and not thinking about the future. When my stuff got stolen for drug money and I saw a guy overdose on heroin, I finally started to realize that what I was doing was really stupid.
@loser Well, I love you.
Start smoking, for me. Here I am, nearly thirty years older, still doing it. :(
Considering answering this depressing question. ))-:
Quitting the gym? No; it was putting too much time, attention and frustration into daughter #1 when daughter #2 deserved SO much more time and attention than she received. She is wonderful and deserved much more than she got from us.
I’m with @YARNLADY about gaining weight (except in my case it’s about 70lbs.).
It’s not so much the weight, as it doesn’t slow me down and I’ve always been a big guy, it’s the medical side effects – like type II diabetes.
Gotta work on that.
@cprevite: For starters, change your avatar to a nice bunch of beets with their greens. Then do the usual…it gets easier after a while. And keep no white foods in your refrigerator or pantry.
There are some wonderful frozen desserts made from hemp or coconut milk that have about 120 calories per ½ cup and are very satisfying. Trader Joe’s, health food stores, Food Coops, Bread and Circuses, etc.
@cprevite Gailcalled has good suggestions . You can also try carrot sticks and ice cubes.
@augustlan You are very special. I wish you could find a way to get that addiction under control. All of us here would be horrified if you got cancer. And we’re almost strangers! I’m sure that your loved ones would be overcome with fear and an impending sense of loss.
I thought of a proper answer. My biggest mistake wojuld have to be over eating. I’m roughly 35lbs overweight and its very hard to eat properly.
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@Dr_Lawrence Thanks. I know it’s a terrible thing, but I’ve never been able to quit successfully. I just don’t see it happening any time soon.
Marrying my ex. Second one, allowing her too talk me into selling the house on the lake and golf course. She wanted to live around the “jet set”!
At my company about 15 years ago: sending out an angry email instead of first sleeping on it and showing it to someone else first.
Gadzooks, the mistake that really haunts me today is not investing in Internet porn when it 1st got started and I had the opportunity to do so. I thought who in their right mind will pay $2 bucks a minute to have some gal they never seen talk dirty to them or with them? Apparently millions….....and the money I would have made off them I am still sick to my stomach when I think if it.
Not handling my finances better when I was young.
Hurting several people because of my insecurity.
Trusting people that shouldn’t have been trusted. And devoting myself to unsuccessful relationships. Boy did I learn my lesson!
Getting into a particular confrontation last October.
not keeping the copy from student loans to put in writing that they will pay for my medication in university…and choosing the wrong university to go with that money
One time when i was in Wisconsin visiting relatives. I was out riding bikes through the neighborhood with my little sister and I decided not to wear shoes or a helmet. Now, you may or may not already be thinking ‘omg what an idiot’. Well theres more sadly. While I was going downhill I decided that I wanted to stick my foot in between the fork and front wheel of the bike. I thought it would be like when people pin a card to the wheel and it makes that sound when it hits the fork. No, that’s not what happend. My foot got jammed, I flew over the bike, it landed on top of me, and we had to go to the ER.
doing stuff with a guy at a party,
trusting someone and ended up getting hurt
and hanging out with the wrong people….....
Showing up at a gun fight with just my medical kit.
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Drinking alcohol and smoking after promising myself that i was going to leave Denmark without doing those things. But now I have stopped smoking – and drink only at parties.
Internet dating with 3 girls at one time. I swear. I still feel like shit when I broke two hearts that night. I don’t talk with two of them, but I’m still friends with one, which is the one I want to be with now…..Things would have been SOO DIFFERENT between us now if I wouldn’t have done that to begin with. I’m not even that type of person. I swore to myself, never again. It.s been a year. So I’m doing good so far…
having a relationship with someone that was legally seperated..
Selling two of my homes and marrying someone that my gut said not too! I told the limo driver to keep going and he said that he had another wedding party to pick up. LOL
There are male gold diggers out there to you know. we have been divorced for 8 years and he still tries to make my life miserable.
Smoking “casually” in college. Luckily I stopped before getting addicted, but seriously… that was so stupid. I’m not sure I can call it a mistake, though. Let’s say it was a dumb decision.
Giving your all in a relationship too soon.
Moving in with a boyfriend. Way to suck the fun out of a relationship!
The dumbest thing I ever did, was repeat the same mistake over and over again, knowing better, but not knowing how to do different!
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Wow I’ve made many dumb mistakes… it’s hard to just pick one. I dropped college all of a sudden. But then I went back. Fortunately I still could go back and continue.
Wasting my time in relationships only to drag me down in school. Wish I could take that back because the people I was with during those times are not in my life anymore so it was definitely not worth the screwing up
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Losing my virginity to someone I didn’t love because of peer pressure.
Not following a nagging gut feeling after a job interview that not everything behind those smiling faces was kosher. It turned out to be a seriously toxic workplace with crazy turnover rates, but the economy took a header and I was stuck for 5 years. Never again…
Every time I havn’t followed my instinct.
@tearsxsolitude
haha I had that sort of situation too sometime, but i didnt do it with my bike, but with someone else, I was chasing him, and he was annoying me, so I decided to stick my feet in his front wheel. I fell, and he just went on… He said me that I should never do that again, because the next time I may lose my feet, haha,
Thanks for your answer,because of you I remember now!
I’ve made so many dumb mistakes I wouldn’t know where to begin. And as long as I live I will probably continue to make some.
My dumbest mistake happened just a couple weeks ago. I told my Psychiatrist that I would take any opportunity to commit suicide. That got me put on suicide watch 24/7. I have learned not to tell too much of the truth to a shrink that is the quickest way I’ve found to get locked up.
@Ron_C were you making a truthful statement? If so then you should be put on close watch. I’m sorry if you are feeling that depressed. I’ve been there so I know that being able to let your therapist now just how badly you are feeling can feel freeing and limiting at the same time. I just hope you’re safe and that you feel better soon.
@tranquilsea franky, telling the truth seem to make the problem worse because of all the people that ended up in my room. I have claustrophobia and the crowed caused an even greater panic.
Getting pregnant by a whack job at the age of 16 and dropping out of college. BIG mistake!
@Ron_C I remember just wanting to be left alone but understanding that I wasn’t safe enough to be left alone. You can understand that you are in the safest place you can be but still feel like you want privacy. I really do hope that you feel some relief soon. It is hellish coping with suicidal thoughts. They do eventually go away and you will eventually feel better. You are in my thoughts.
@tranquilsea I can control the thoughts but it’s hard to believe they’ll go away. It’s almost like stopping smoking. I quit about 7 years ago but sometimes I think I’d like to try again. The suicide thoughts are the same way only stronger. I’m under control but just barely.
@Ron_C They will go away eventually with therapy and a lot of work by you to discover what is driving the intense emotions. Suicidal ideation is a symptom that your internal pain outweighs your ability to cope with it. I’ve been in intensive therapy for 13 years. I was super suicidal for about 6 years. But through therapy and an extremely supportive family I am not suicidal today. But I also know that I didn’t believe I would ever get better when I was in the thick of it.
Marrying my first husband. The entire day of the wedding I was thinking of ways to get out of it. I married him at 9:00pm that night because I couldn’t bring myself to run.
@tranquilsea 13 Years! I’ll be 78 in 13 years. I don’t think that I can wait that long!
@Ron_C I had too many traumas that I needed to work through. For me, it was a slow process but it may not be for you. If it makes you feel any better: I was the messiest case many psychiatrists had seen.
@Ron_C If it makes you feel any better, my therapy process was much quicker. Hold on, and it will get better!
Being brow beaten into marrying too young,into having babies too young, into taking poor jobs to sustain myself ( and kids), into working myself too much.etc
Finally learned to carve out a life of my own and accept my challenges as best as I can.
Finally to let the past slide away and to embrace the present and future with a better outcome.
Finally to have control of my life as I see fit in directing it.
Finally to have the time to now reflect on future goals rather than carp on past mistakes.
Finally to chaulk up the past as experiences and learn from them.
Finally realising that there are future adventures and experiences to look forward to.
Realising that life is an ongoing adventure with many experiences that enrich my life to count on.
To enrich anothers life along the way too.
Oh I saw this way too late.
My worst worst mistake that has cost me the last years of my life, was to move to the south. I don’t belong in the south and I do not share the cultural or moral values of the southern US.
It sound odd but its very true. As an analogy, some plants cannot grow in certain soils. I am dying in the soil of the south. It offends my sensibilities, my personal code of morality and I could have given that move a great deal more thought.
@MadMadMax I’m from the South- born and bred in Alabama and Florida. I think I know which sensibilities you’re talking about. I loved my life there as a child, but I don’t know if I could move back—
As for withering in foreign soil, I feel exactly the same about Minnesota—I couldn’t survive there, and not because of the weather at all, but because of the culture.
pushing aside the hot friend because of my twisted sense of honor with my girlfriend that I would talk to her first and give her notice of a break up with her. Had I been given an opportunity to realize that sooner I would have rocked my friend’s world and honor be dammed. I love her and I would marry her in a heartbeat.
Moving to the farm…as I am a city girl from Dallas and try as you may
you just cannot turn a city girl into a farm girl 100%. My husband is
frustrated because he thinks after 10 years I would have gotten this
“farm life’ down but he is right it hasn’t happened.I have learned alot
but I just do not have the inbred instinct needed to properly “herd cattle”
and separate cows and “know” how a cow or hog “thinks”. I have tried
to make myself interested in it but I just am not and it is pretty hard to
fake dealing with farm animals. I do what I can to help but I always feel
like he is disappointed in me. I have to remind myself it is not my fault.
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Does it count if I say I can’t remember it? It was the 70’s, man…...
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