20 Life Traps That Are So, So, Sooooo Easy To Fall Into

20 Life Traps That Are So, So, Sooooo Easy To Fall Into, But Should Be Avoided At ALL COSTS

Jake Farrington  Sun, November 9, 2025   BuzzFeed

In our culture, we don't really respect our elders enough, despite hearing that phrase over and over growing up. While I think people of every generation have something to teach each other, young or old, it's undeniable that people with more life experience have wisdom to impart on those just getting started.

Recently, Reddit user Otherwise-Body-7721 asked, "What's a 'trap' in life that no one warns young people about, but absolutely should?" I found a lot of wisdom in this thread, and had to share some of the best advice from people who have lived to tell their tales.

1. "Don't become so focused on achievement that you forget to enjoy life."  —u/Klutzy_Dirt_923

"I had a roommate for a bit in my 20s. He tied his self-worth to his job performance. He'd come home sad or angry that his project wasn't moving quickly enough. We were at a bar together once, and I heard him crash and burn with a girl who seemed interested because he kept being self-deprecating and complaining about his job instead of talking about anything interesting he did.

Too many people put their self-worth in their job/achievements rather than seeing that as a financial means to support the life they want."  —u/dishonourableaccount

2. "Credit card debt. It's amazing how quickly debt can build, and as a young person, you assume you'll just pay it off. In reality, if you're not careful, suddenly it's overwhelming!"  —u/Riesroshi

3. "There are a lot of people around me who just never travel and work themselves to death. It's pretty sad. Even a weekend getaway to a state park or something does wonders for resetting how you feel mentally. They say they will travel when they're retired, but you don't know if you'll be here, and your health will certainly be worse than now if you are."  —u/Puzzleheaded-Owl7664

4. "Don't be in a rush to settle down. I'm 30 and I’ve seen many people settling down with the wrong person, and their partners slowly erode their enjoyment of life."  —u/Critical_Dot6979

"Even worse? Having babies with them. I have a friend who openly admits she regrets having kids with her husband."  —u/Any_Difficulty_6817

"Your partner's problems can ruin your life. And falling in love makes it really hard to objectively look at how serious those problems may be."  —u/Outrageous-9859

5. "Fiber is love, fiber is life."   —u/Pleasant_Scar9811

6. "For me, one of the biggest traps is social media, especially apps like TikTok or Instagram. They mess with your dopamine, your attention span, your self-esteem, and even your relationships. It’s so easy to block, unfollow, or replace people the moment there’s conflict or disagreement, instead of learning to communicate, commit, and work through things.

There’s also an overload of opinions and advice out there; it can leave you confused or disconnected from your own judgment. I’m still hooked on it myself, and I can see both the good and the bad sides. But it’s such a massive influence on young people’s lives now and not always in a healthy way." —u/Curious-0ne

7. "Lifestyle creep! You get a raise and immediately upgrade your apartment or your car, locking yourself into a higher cost of living forever! No one tells you that saving your raise is the only way to get free!" —u/Wrong-Election1997

"We qualified for a mortgage four times higher than what I wanted. I refused to spend that much. I love our home, and it's now worth over six times what I paid. I refused the 'lifestyle creep'. We all have a choice."  —u/thegeeksshallinherit

8. "Don't feel like you have to have it all figured out. At 40, I am winging it as much as I did when I was 16. I assumed adults felt more put-together, but I’m still waiting for that to actually happen. I remember my parents turning 40 and having a big 'over the hill' party with all sorts of senior props. I celebrated my 40th earlier this year with a week at Disney. Definitely still just an oversized child here."  —u/Hi_NOT_the_problem

9. "I had a boss give me the good advice of ‘don’t be good at what you don’t want to do.’ Unfortunately, I received that advice late and wasted some years doing things that weren’t interesting or challenging.

There’s nothing wrong with knowing how to do jobs you don’t want (in fact, it can be a very good thing), but sometimes you may want to hide some of that talent from management and potential employers to avoid getting pigeon-holed. If you make yourself irreplaceable with skills you don’t enjoy utilizing, you will find that management has almost no incentive to promote you."   —u/Boxcars4Peace

10. "Finally being able to afford 'the good version' of something, only to realize you're now too scared to actually use it. My fancy towels were 'for guests' who don't exist. My nice pans were 'for special occasions.' My entire adult life became a museum of things I was terrified to ruin."  —u/Kitchen-Fan6343

TO READ MORE:  https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/older-people-warning-younger-people-011602549.html