Who wouldn’t like to live in a world without consequences? Where you could go back in time and start all over again. Where we could be fully in charge of whatever happens. Where life would give us lemonade instead of lemons.

The reality, however, is way different. So when someone asked “What are the hardest pills to swallow in life?” in an AskReddit thread, it surely hit very close to home for many people.

The responses started flowing in, with one uncomfortable truth being spilled after another.

#1

No one really knows you. They know their own version of you.

Image credits: PamelaJWiley

#2

That a dog’s life is not long enough

#3

It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose

Image credits: Unreliable--Narrator

#4

That your boss and coworkers won’t care how hard you worked the second you leave the company.

Enjoy life. Go outside. Have a picnic. Don’t work so hard.

Image credits: iStillPlayPS3

#5

Not only is incompetence frequently left unpunished, it is sometimes also richly rewarded.

Image credits: amvoloshin

#6

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

Image credits: alexandria-haynes

#7

Just because something is not your fault doesn’t mean it’s not your responsibility

Image credits: Drunkula

#8

Animals are worthy of moral consideration

#9

Being in love isn’t enough to make a relationship work.

Image credits: VogTheViscous

#10

You can't force a cat to cuddle

#11

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.

Image credits: the_digital_merc

#12

Bad people win frequently.

Some people in leadership position are not good leaders. Some who are not in leadership are good leaders.

People will take advantage of your hard work. Many people get to where they are because of nepotism.

Image credits: VStarRoman

#13

Bad things happen to good people.

Sometimes for no reason at all, completely randomly.

Image credits: Important_Outcome_67

#14

That sometimes even if you tried your best, you just weren't good enough.

#15

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.

Image credits: Elijahb88

#16

Sometimes when bad things happen to you it’s your own fault.

Image credits: SIRUNKLYDUNK2

#17

Life gives you the test first, then the lesson.

Image credits: TheHairyManrilla

#18

You’re going to not exist in a very short amount of time that will feel like it went by in a blink.

Image credits: gleafer

#19

you only get the one life, so dont wait for things to be perfect

Image credits: Gryffindorq

#20

Nobody is 100% *good* no matter how much you lie to yourself.

Image credits: LipsOfScarlet

#21

The world does not revolve around america.

#22

Doesn’t matter how fit you are, you get old and your body starts to break down. It sucks. Hard.

Image credits: Barrrrrrnd

#23

No one will love you the way you want/expect them to. I feel like a lot of relationship problems, at least the minor ones, come from a miscommunication of love. We love in our own way, and find ourselves expecting the same kind of love when that’s just not possible. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s hard to remember sometimes.

Image credits: imjust_ro

#24

That no matter who you are or what you do, the wide, wide majority of people (like me) will be a memory for one generation and then utterly forgotten.

Image credits: bunkerburner

#25

You can't" be whatever you want to be" just by wanting it

#26

When you're young and healthy, it's hard to imagine being anything but.
When you lose your health, it's mind blowing how quickly things change.

#27

The people you love the most in life will die, sometimes sooner than you could imagine, and the only thing that will come close to healing that wound is time.

Image credits: orange150

#28

Accepting the fact that the person you thought you'd spend the rest of your life with might not be the one.

Image credits: IAmMyth

#29

Two justice systems; one for the rich and one for everyone else.

Image credits: Professional-Ad-1611

#30

you can’t help people who aren’t willing to try and help themselves

to quote a music artist i like “you don’t take the advice you f*****g use me for”

#31

Arrogance is not extreme confidence, it's the opposite of confidence and it shows your insecurities.

If people call you arrogant, they are not intimidated by your confidence, they see what you are so desperately trying to cover up.

#32

That lot of people you have are just there for the fun times, when accidents and life trauma happens most of the people you thought of as a safety net will just vanish.

Like how you think as a new parent that if something happens to you, there are this village of close friends and tight knit relatives and family that will be there for the kids. It’s really tough to accept the idea that it’s really not like that.

Image credits: ToppsHopps

#33

Sometimes things just change, it’s nobodies fault but they change.

Image credits: ATequilaMockingbird

#34

Being cynical is not the same as having healthy skepticism.

It doesn't make you seem smart, but rather short-sighted and just angry that the world didn't just award you everything you feel entitled to because you are so gifted.

Image credits: zazzlekdazzle

#35

My dad used to say, "life's unfair and then you die."

#36

You will probably have to be ok with losing in nearly all aspects of life

Image credits: offcommy

#37

There will always be people that you can't vibe with or outright hate even though you know they're a good person, same goes for some people to you.

#38

You aren't as unique as you think, so probably you aren't much different compared to the other 100 people that someone may have met that day. The "I'm built different" dialogue goes on everybody's head.

#39

My parents are just people.

#40

Problems need to be solved. Most of them don't go away if you ignore them.

#41

People come and go from your life and sometimes you’re the reason why.

#42

Not everything will happen according to your plan.

#43

That pets have such short lifespans and knowing you'll eventually have to put them down knowing it's for the best. Which I unfortunately had to do with my dog of 14 years yesterday :(

#44

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 (ofc also partly depending on other people, but you have to have agency)

Image credits: fluffyegghead

#45

you can’t force communication from anyone, which means you might be left without answers.

#46

Many of the things you don't like about your life are your own fault

Image credits: SmbdysDad

#47

people won‘t treat you as well as you treated them

Image credits: chocpretzel

#48

Sometimes the person you love just doesn’t love you back.

#49

You are the only thing you can control and improve, still trying to get this one down myself tbh.

#50

Hard work ≠ success sometimes. Ouch.

#51

One's input into a relationship doesn't necessarily mean equal output from your partner.

#52

Hard work does not guarantee a comfortable life.

#53

- No one has the right to go through life without being offended or annoyed, and that includes you. Sometimes you will need to deal with someone being irritating for good reasons, perhaps regularly. E.g. I know someone who likes to play an instrument and it's loud enough that I hear it, and I simply work around it or through it because I know how important it is to their wellbeing. People are going like music, comedy, etc that you don't and that doesn't immediately make them wrong. (P.S.: within the bounds of ethics. Things like inciting violence are always going to need careful examination).

- "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life." - Star Trek TNG. I'm not usually a Star Trek guy, but that quote has proven true in my life and in the lives of others. By all means learn from your mistakes, but also acknowledge that it's possible to do your best and still fail. Success is rarely a straight line - often it's about being persistently good as opposed to actually perfect.

- This one is really hard until you get used to it: it's ok to not know so long as you are willing to learn. "I don't know" and "I was wrong" are not in and of themselves admissions of stupidity. Literally everyone has important gaps in their knowledge. Your choices are a) being self-aware and open to change or b) being obstinate as well as wrong. Being right all the time is not on the table.

#54

If every person in your life is toxic, you are the common denominator.

#55

Some people just want to watch the world burn.

#56

Not everyone has the same heart as you.

#57

You will keep attracting the same s****y people and the same s****y situations until you own your s**t, do the work, and heal yourself.

#58

That just because you want a relationship with someone doesn’t mean that they want the same thing.

#59

The friends you had in high school probably won't be with you in ten years.

#60

Beyond elementary school, there is no value to being "really smart, just lazy."

It just means you manufacture your own failures.

#61

That you actually did a bad thing, and didn’t make it up to the person you hurt, and that somewhere out there, someone’s just talked about you in a bad passing way because of that.

Fortunately, if you do good and be good, the same thing will happen in a positive way. It’s hard being good but the results and the affect on other people because you’re good will make the world a bette place to be in, so that you or other people won’t have the need or want to do bad thing.

#62

People over-attribute their successes to their own abilities and under-attribute their failures to bad luck or being done wrong by somebody or society.

People often make their own bad luck and fall into success due in no way to any talent on their part.

#63

It’s nice to talk about what could’ve or should’ve been, but all that matters in life is what actually happens.

The corollary: almost all of the time, it’s up to only you to make things happen in your life.

The corollary to the corollary: it’s usually hard to make the things you want to happen, happen.

#64

Good day and bad days. They all pass, eventually

#65

You are not special, and no one will remember you.

#66

Growing up sucks

#67

I have to live on public government disability checks at 9,904 dollars a year I think about death all the time

#68

Not everyone in this life is here to be successful

#69

You can't be "in love" with someone who isn't in love with you.

You can care about them, you can love them, it can be the strongest you have ever felt about anyone in your life but several orders of magnitude, but it's not being in love.

It might be a crazy crush, infatuation, or an obsession. There might be genuine love and admiration there, but if they are not in love with you, then you two are not in love.

Being in love with someone is like being in business with someone, it takes both of you to be in it.

#70

You’re most likely not special, unique, or extraordinary in any way. You’re probably pretty average.

#71

things arent getting worse, you're just getting older and dont enjoy stuff as much

#72

You are in control of your own mind and don’t have to react to everything. You can have inner peace if you want it.

#73

That no matter how emotionally close I am to someone (in fact, the more close I am), they will always drift apart and disconnect or die at some point in my life.

I have no one I can truly emotionally depend on, permanently. That I will have to walk this earth knowing that I will always be alone at heart.

The love that people carry for me is only in that moment/temporary and it's often made me wonder if I'm unloveable or if there is something worthless about me.

I can't hold onto anyone.... And that's a very scary reality to live in. I don't know how long I can handle this reality and it's made me question my identity.

Image credits: Passion211089

#74

After a brief period of time beyond your death, you'll be forgotten - as if you had never lived.

#75

Nothing lasts forever.

#76

One day will be the best day of your life, and everything will be downhill from there.

#77

That almost all societal problems are caused by bad parents.

#78

That I wasted my youth.

#79

Being scammed out of your life savings

#80

Rejection by someone you love

#81

Accepting a difficult medical diagnosis

#82

When the doctor/specialist tells you your child has a severe chronic or deadly health condition or syndrome.

#83

there's no afterlife. brain physiology works like a laptop computer works. you smash the thing up with a hammer, it's not going to be computing in computer heaven it's f*****g broken forever. our heads are the damn same

life is pretty much a desperate struggle for most people, and we should be relieved that it's gonna end. not preach lies and b******t

#84

Wife having an affair with your best mate

#85

Fish oil tablets.

#86

If you're physically ugly, not just unkempt or a bit unattractive, chances are very high that you'll remain single. Nobody will fall in love with you.

#87

Everyone you love is going to die

#88

Sore throat pills