Life is a fantastic gift, filled with joy, blessings, and wonder. However, some aspects of life seem unfair and downright cruel. While navigating the ups and downs life tosses our way, we gain insight into the harshest truths about living.
The internet is a great resource for sourcing thoughts and opinions of regular folks on the bitter realities of the world. A user of the popular Reddit community, R/askreddit, wanted users to share examples of tough pills to swallow about life in general.
Here are some of the top responses.
Some Things Can’t Be Taken Back
Our actions have consequences, and sometimes those consequences last forever.
“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,” replied one user.
“Once something is broken, it’s never the same. Every decision has a cost, consequence, and outcome.” added another.
Not All Relationships Last
We typically enter relationships hoping they will last. However, most of them won’t. Even some friendships are temporary, based on circumstances and situations.
“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,” advised one user.
Another user tried to see it from a positive angle. “I have a theory that some people come into our lives for a specific reason. Whether it’s to teach them something or learn from them, to help each other through something specific, or just grow together for a while. Once that reason is done, no matter how hard you try, the relationship just kind of fades off.”
Enjoy the time you have with your friends, but accept that sometimes friendships fade, and that’s not a bad thing.
No One is Obligated to Care
You can’t force people to care about you. We can put in 100% of the effort and do everything right, yet some people may still decide they don’t want to be around us.
“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,” said one user.
Another shared their story of lost love. “Spent 10 years loving and adoring my partner, and they up and left out of the blue about 6 months ago. I can’t make them stay, and I can’t make them put into words why exactly they left because I don’t think I’ll ever understand.”
The Bad Guys Win
In an Iconic episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the wise Watcher Giles lies to Buffy about the nature of the world. “It’s terribly simple,” he says. “The good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and, uh, we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after.”
Redditors know the truth. Sometimes the bad guys win.
“Bad people win frequently,” said one user. “People will take advantage of your hard work. Many people get to where they are because of nepotism.”
“Psychopaths tend to end up at the top or the bottom of society. Good people tend to end in the middle,” claimed another.
Life Takes Work
Some people expect all the good things about life to get handed to them on a silver platter. That’s not true at all.
“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,” stated one user.
“When I first went to College, I had this terrible misconception that people would just come get me to go to parties and stuff. College life I’ve seen in movies? It would just happen,” admitted one user. “Reality check,” they added. “Nobody’s going to do that if they don’t know you. You have to put yourself out there, meet people and make friends, and be more active if you want to be at parties and such. I learned others had similar misconceptions, and it helped.”
The Best Laid Plans…
Planning is essential. It helps us map out the actions we need to take to achieve our goals.
However, even the best plans can fail. We can’t control everything, and sometimes we must change our plans.
“Not everything will happen according to your plan,” said one user.
Another agreed but highlighted the positives. “The beautiful thing about plans changing is they can lead you to wonderous places you never expected to be, with people you never expected to meet. Every journey has its final day. Don’t rush. Stop and smell the roses. Take a walk once in a while. Order some nice food. You deserve it,” they said.
You Won’t Always Win
One user quoted a favorite Starship Enterprise Captain, saying, “It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose.”
We can do everything right, make no mistakes, perform flawlessly, and still lose. Sometimes the other person is just better, but that’s okay. We aren’t always going to be the best at everything.
“That is not a weakness. That is life,” added another user.
Sometimes it is Your Fault
Another bitter pill to swallow is that sometimes it is your fault. Our egos try to protect us, developing narratives to blame everyone else for our problems, but the harsh truth is that sometimes it’s our fault.
“The overwhelming majority of the time, when something bad happens to you, you could have done something to prevent it,” stated one user.
“Gotta admit to yourself that you have awful traits before you can start fixing them,” added another.
Everyone Ages
Taking care of your body is vital for a long healthy life. But the truth is, despite how much we work out, eat well, and care for our bodies, we will eventually succumb to old age.
“Doesn’t matter how fit you are, you get old, and your body starts to break down. It sucks,” said one user.
Others agreed but added that staying healthy and fit will delay the inevitable and ensure a high quality of life for longer.
Bad Things Happen to Good People
Life isn’t unfair, but it doesn’t care. Sometimes bad things happen to the best people, while horrible people reap the rewards.
“Bad things happen to good people,” said one user. “Sometimes for no reason at all, completely randomly.”
“And the converse, good things will happen to bad people. I’ve seen this happen after doing everything right,” added another.
Kids Get Sick
One of the harshest truths about life is that sometimes, the most innocent among us develop severe health conditions.
“When the doctor/specialist tells you your child has a severe chronic or deadly health condition or syndrome,” said one Redditor, saying that coping with this information is one of the toughest pills to swallow.
“This is literally the worst thing that can happen to a person,” replied another.
Time Flies So Quickly
We’re often so busy we don’t even notice the days and years slip away. One day, we’re old, and life has passed us by.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s How To Savor Every Moment
Life Has Many Bitter Pills, But You Can Live a Fulfilling Life Despite Them
With the hustle and bustle of daily life, we often forget to take time to do what makes us happy.
Here are 37 tips to help you live your best life.