What is rock bottom, really?
Perhaps it's
sitting outside alone in the dark.
You're broke.
No friends or family
to call, feeling mentally
and physically sick.
Your addiction,
calling your name with no end
in sight
sounds pretty rock bottom.
But how does one get there?
It's scary to think about it this way,
but sometimes
all it takes is one
bad decision.
Pause.
Take a breath
and think carefully
about these decisions.
Some of the choices we're speaking about today
could change your life forever.
Here are 15 of the worst
life decisions anyone can make.
Welcome to Lux.
First stop studying
or doing something you hate
because it can change
the trajectory of your life
and put you on a path
plagued
with your personal misery.
And, like, that's a bit dramatic.
Sure.
But anyone who's been in this position knows
how hard it is to get out
once you've started.
Once you've committed,
it's your first foray into adulthood,
and getting it wrong can make it feel like the whole next
chapter of your life is spoiled.
When you're spending upwards
of 8 hours a day doing
something you can't stand, It's really easy
to become jaded,
complacent, and depressed.
Imagine spending years studying a subject
that doesn't spark any joy
or interest in you.
It's not just about
the dreary lectures
and endless exams.
It's about committing
a big part of your life to something
that doesn't fulfill you.
Your choice can lead you to a career
you're not passionate about
and make every workday
feel like a chore.
You also stunt your professional growth
and forget that you can be happy.
You don't have to sacrifice
your personal happiness
for a paycheck to buy
a really expensive car.
Who doesn't
love a little bit of luxury, right?
You know that we do.
But one of the biggest mistakes
emerging entrepreneurs make is to buy a car
that is far more expensive
than what they can afford.
Unless you already have a top
of the range car, chances are someone actually
being impressed by your car
is kind of slim.
Honestly, there's just a lot of
really nice cars out there right now.
You don't need to stand out that much.
It's a continuously depreciating asset
when you're actually using it
and it can eat away at a large
chunk of your salary every month.
It can send you into a debt hole that's hard
to climb back out of, even if you try to sell it.
If there is any place you need to stay within
your means, it's your car
to max
out multiple credit cards.
That first credit card
almost feels like free money.
And annoyingly, no matter how many payments
you make on it, what you owe
never seems to go down.
You barely even make a dent.
That's because banks and credit
card companies give you a maximum amount
slightly above what
you can afford to pay.
That way, you always need to rely on your credit
card to get you over the line for that month.
Just because you have
a maximum amount on your credit card
doesn't mean you should max it out.
The stress and anxiety
that comes with maxing out
one card to pay off another
and then using another card
to pay rent for groceries
and other bills.
It's just not worth it.
Do not do this to yourself.
Hand on a similar note to
skip out on paying your debt.
The repercussions
of not paying your debt for a few months
can affect your life,
your partner's life,
and your financial freedom
for years to come.
You might think it's okay
for just one or two months,
but you become accustomed to having
that little bit of extra disposable cash.
So it can be really hard
to scale back and start paying it off again.
And it affects your credit score.
So banks are more wary
of giving you a mortgage
and you don't have access to money that you can reach
for quickly in an emergency
to buy a house.
When a recession is heading
for most people, it's
a bad call to buy a house
when a recession is looming.
Buying a home
often comes with a certain timeline.
There is saving.
There are thoughts of raising your family in the home.
There is finding just the right place you want
so you're ready to go.
So even though there are
talks of a recession hitting,
things seem good enough now.
Big mistake.
You might think
you'll be okay because now
you own your place.
But banks hit you
with crazy interest rates and all of the other hidden
costs of buying a property
comes creeping up.
There is the uncertainty
with work and rising costs of everything else.
Your monthly expenses could triple,
and even if you wanted
to sell the house again,
you'd take a loss because people
can't pay top dollar
during a recession.
It's just so much better to wait.
In this case, bide your time, be okay
with renting a little while longer,
and put your future self
in a better financial position
before you commit
to cheat on your partner.
It's a terrible decision to cheat on your partner
and yet so many people still do it.
It's not a mistake.
It's an active choice.
It's cruel
and it brings an unimaginable
amount of pain and betrayal.
And for most people,
there is no coming back from it,
no matter how hard you work
to repair the relationship.
That person is always going to know
that if you had a choice
between hurting them and not hurting them,
you would choose the former
if you thought it would benefit you.
Cheating has ruined
marriages, families and futures,
and it's one choice that you can walk away
from and shut the door on.
And on a similar note,
to stay in a toxic
relationship,
everyone thinks that they're going to be
the ones who run away from a toxic relationship.
You'll know when it's bad and you'll end it.
No issues,
except it often takes
something so extreme
to realize your partner is treating you poorly.
And by that time you're so trauma
bonded to them that even though you know
you should leave, you feel like you can't.
The longer you delay
leaving, the harder it becomes.
Your courage
only dissipates as time goes
on, and so does your trust in yourself.
Don't stay.
It's not going to change and you're
not going to get braver as time goes on.
Your best time to leave
is right now
to drink and drive.
To put the kind of decision to drink and drive
between things like terrible
financial choices and relationship mistakes.
It seems morally lopsided
because this one has
far more dire consequences than anything else
we've mentioned,
but it has to be spoken about.
Far too many people
still do it, thinking that,
hey, unlike the other drunk drivers
that have hurt people, they're actually fine.
They're not that intoxicated.
But the truth is, it is not worth finding out
how intoxicated you are.
Get in an Uber, okay?
Or don't drink.
Do anything else other than get behind
the wheel of a car after
drinking alcohol
to avoid visiting
a sick or dying loved one.
It's a bad call
not to visit them.
And some people might ask
why on earth wouldn't you?
Well, for many people who come from difficult
families, the decision to cut
someone off isn't easy.
But sometimes it's necessary.
And for other people.
While sometimes other priorities
just seem more important at the time,
work and family
commitments, distance
and just life.
A study revealed that for a lot of people,
one of their biggest regrets
is not taking the chance
to say goodbye.
Even if the relationship wasn't the greatest.
Even if you've been estranged,
our minds crave closure when someone leaves.
Before we get that, it's like a book
that's unfinished, something that you're
never going to be able
to fully read.
Now, having said that,
it's also a mistake to force yourself
to forgive someone when they've hurt you.
You can just get over that hurt
and hope that by moving
on, it'll all go away.
If you force yourself
to forgive someone before you are ready,
if they end up hurting you again, you're
going to lose all the trust
and faith in yourself.
You'll blame yourself
for ignoring your intuition,
and you're always going to be questioning
who else might hurt you too.
It'll be hard for you to let people close to you again,
so you have to give it time.
Okay.
When you're ready to forgive,
you will know
to not take an emerging
addiction seriously.
Now, it's a terrible choice
to not take an emerging addiction
seriously, because addiction can
and often will creep up on you.
One minute you're having fun with your friends,
the next minute
they've moved out and you're
still stuck there.
It's hard to know where
the line is between having fun
and being a slave to an addiction.
When people start telling you
that they're worried about you,
the knee jerk reaction is to just brush it off.
Tell them it's fine.
But by the time people start
noticing that you've changed, you know that
it's even worse
than what they're seeing.
That's your cue
to get out and get help.
And on that note,
it is extremely detrimental
to not seek treatment
for your mental or physical health.
A move like this
never makes you stronger.
We have this sort of push through mentality
where we think that pushing past mental exhaustion
and physical sickness will mean that
maybe at the end
we'll feel better because at least
you've accomplished something, right?
But do you ever actually
feel better at the end?
No. You only feel worse and you create
this expectation for everyone around you that
no matter how bad you feel,
you can do what you need to.
So nobody feels the need
to step up and help.
The more you do this, the more you're
telling yourself and other people.
But this is okay.
But it's not.
It can lead to burnout,
depression, anxiety,
and full on collapse.
You need to rest, and
sometimes you need help
living life like you're 18
when you're not living
life as if you're 18
when you are not.
Might seem like a dream life,
but all you're doing is delaying responsibility.
You can't avoid it forever.
And when it eventually catches up to you, you're
going to feel like you're caught
in the trenches.
Clinging to the carefree days of youth
might seem tempting,
but it's a trap
that can stifle your growth
and potential.
Living as if you're forever
18 means missing out on the depth
and satisfaction that comes
with maturity.
Embracing responsibilities
in your personal life
or your business ventures
is what separates
the dreamers from the doers, the players
from the spectators.
It's about evolve ing, adapting
and rising to the challenges that life
throws your way.
Living without clear
goals or ambitions.
Living
without clear goals and ambitions leaves
you feeling like you have no purpose.
It makes life boring,
stagnant and disappointing.
Imagine setting sail
without a destination.
Where are you going and
what are you actually doing?
Well, that's life without clear
goals, with the clear defined goals.
Every effort you make is a calculated step
toward your version of success,
whether that's financial milestones
or personal achievements
or the impact you wish
to leave on the world.
Goals are the magnetic north to your compass.
They keep you focused in a world filled
with distractions, making sure
that every move you make
is a step closer
to your true potential.
And finally,
not investing for retirement.
This is last,
but absolutely not least,
a terrible decision you can make
is not investing for your retirement.
Building an empire is
only a part of the journey,
sustaining it well into the twilight years.
That is where the real challenge lies.
Retirement planning
is about scripting
the second act of your life, keeping things
as golden and fulfilling as the first.
It's about securing your legacy,
indulging in passions that you've shelved
and enjoying your time.
The ultimate currency
retirement shouldn't
be an afterthought.
It's a key chapter
in the story of your life,
one that deserves careful planning
and anticipate action that I like.
If you've made some of these decisions
and you want to backtrack,
you can do that right now.
No worries. It is not too late.
There's always time for you
to turn back and the best time to do it
is the moment you realize
you've made a mistake.
So let's be honest here.
What's the worst decision
you've ever made?
And how did you fix it?
Drop your story in the comments.
We love hearing from you.
We'll see you next time, Relaxer.
Take care.