If only… If I knew… If I could… What if…? If, if, if…

Unfortunately, sometimes it is too late to even think about all the IFs in our life. There are situations where we do things that we regret, but it’s useless, nothing can be repaired anymore. Regrets arise when we believe that we have lost something we cannot recover or that we have made a mistake that can’t be solved.

As unbelievable as it might seem, statistics have shown that men have more regrets than women. Is it because men behave more unreasonably than women? Or is it because they are not very sure of what they really want in life, therefore causing them to make a lot of decisions instinctively?

Whatever the answer, and regardless of what women might think – women who consider men insensitive and uninvolved, not to mention more – in general men regret the choices they have made.

However, remember that life is short, full of unhappy events around us, therefore it is not worth living it in regret.

15. Leaving their parents’ house too early

We all say that men are nothing but grown-up babies. Sometimes it is definitely true, as regardless of the men’s age when leaving their parents’ house, they still crave for their maternal love, affection and attention. Therefore, they act even more childishly than while they were living with their parents, especially with their mother.

The mother-son bond is unbreakable and the mother-son relationship is very dynamic. The mother’s role in their sons’ lives is essential for them both to grow up and to develop in a psychologically healthy way.

They regret they have to make this huge step in their lives even before closing the house door behind them.

14. Living the life their parents wanted them to live

We are always told that it is better to listen to our parents, that they know what is good for us, as they’ve got much more life experience than we do. It is especially true for mothers who sometimes have a huge influence on their “little prince” who’s already 21 and above.

There comes a time when we have to be thankful to them for all that they’ve done for us, but also to explain to them that times have changed and they have to trust us. After all, they are the ones who have educated us, right? If they don’t trust us and they insist on us following in their steps or we’ll fail, doesn’t it mean that they don’t trust themselves and the way they have educated us?

13. Worrying about what others think about them

Men are as concerned and worried as women when it comes to what the others around think about them. They even pay more attention and give more credit to others’ opinions than to what they really fell and would like to do. We are all human beings, we all make mistakes and have our own strengths and weaknesses.

Therefore, why do they allow other people’s concerns to weight so heavy on them, instead of simply trusting their own beliefs? Who are the others around to judge them? Are they perfect? I guess we all know the answer to this question.

12. Not having enough confidence in themselves

This is somehow related to the previous point, as sometimes men rely more on what women think about them. How often has it happened to you, a nice woman, that you get a phone call from one of your male friends, asking you what he should do in a certain situation, especially related to his private life or work? Whatever you answer to him, he takes it for granted, but in case of failure, who’s to blame?

Therefore, men should be more confident in themselves. Nobody knows better than yourself what you really want to do in and with your own life.

11. Getting involved with the wrong group of friends

It applies in general when people are young and do a lot of dumb stuff. In general they do it because they are easily impressionable at a certain age. They might find it even cool to belong to the most dangerous or to the most feared group, or even to the most popular group – which, most of the time, isn’t what you might think it is – but as soon as they find the right person for them, they regret their choice. They even feel ashamed of themselves, for their very stupid decision.

10. Not having the courage to speak at a funeral

Funerals are places where you’d never like to be and men try to avoid them as much as possible. They are very affected by the death of a person they loved, but they rarely have the courage to talk at his/her funeral.

Although speaking in front of a lot of people, especially at such an event, is definitely neither easy nor nice, they regret their categorical “no” answer even before having the opportunity to open their mouth.

9. Taking life too seriously

Although a lot of women could argue and try to contradict me, there are a lot of men who are much too serious, both at work and outside the office. Pay attention, I’m not talking about responsibility here, I’m talking about having fun, joking around and finding the humor in life.

It’s undeniable that we have a full life, that we are involved in a lot of things that require both our attention and energy, but nothing prevents us from cracking a joke with the shop assistant or going out for a drink with friends, just for the fun of it and not on a certain occasion.

Life is too short not to enjoy every moment of it! Despite being aware of it, most men find it very difficult to give up their macho attitude and look.

8. Hoping their life partner will change…

…despite all the evidence that this will not happen.

Let’s be serious. How many women have ever completely changed for the person they love? It’s simply how things are when it comes to women: you either take them as they are or you leave them.

Of course men regret this thought and the fact that they have such hopes, but please explain to me why they don’t understand a fact that looks very clear to me: a relationship that hasn’t started well can never end well.

Therefore, it’s better to change your partner than to live with vain hopes!

7. Choosing girlfriends who don’t share their hobbies but look like a million bucks

Remember that “charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting.”

Nobody denies the importance and the impact of physical appearance. But, never judge a book by its cover! You can get bored by the side of a woman who looks good but with whom you cannot communicate, who has nothing in common with you.

Also, keep in mind that the better she looks, the more expectations she’s got for you, the man around her. Are you up to these expectations? Can you sacrifice your hobbies or even your free time in order to spend more time at the spa or in the gym just to look good for a while, despite the fact that this was not your top priority for that day?

6. Judging women according to certain clichés or first impressions

As surprising as you might find it, men pay much attention to clichés, much more than women. They are also influenced by what they have been told by their fathers or older brothers, as well as by what their friends and coworkers think about women. Therefore, they judge women in general according to the way they look or they dress.

They hardly have the opportunity to discover what hides behind a “fat body” or some clothes that cannot be on the first page of fashion magazines.

Thus they miss the opportunity to meet wonderful people, and they keep complaining that they are alone. Sometimes, they simply cannot think outside the box.

5. Not putting themselves in the shoes of their girlfriends

We often say that men don’t really understand women. How could they if they have never tried to put themselves in the shoes of women? They often put too much pressure on the women around them, either at work, or at home.

Have you ever asked a man, not necessarily your husband, to spend some hours with the kids, while also doing the housework and going shopping? If you have, you already know the answer. If you haven’t, let me tell you that if the man accepts to do all this, he will complain about how difficult it was for him to accomplish the tasks – in general he accomplishes one or two tasks, not more.

Therefore, it is also our fault, as we don’t force them to take our place from time to time, at least.

It is hard for them to admit it, but men admire and appreciate women who are busy all day long, who take care of their children and of the house and who perform well at work too.

4. Not saying those 3 words very often…

…as they assume that their girlfriends or wives already know what they feel for them.

Let me tell you from my own experience that no matter how much you love the woman by your side, no matter what you do to show her your love – either by buying nice and expensive presents, or by taking her out or on vacations, or helping her with the housework – women need to hear the three magic words (I love you) as much as possible, uttered as such, of course, accompanied by nice gestures.

3. Never saying what’s bothering them

Men are known to be very introverted, thus finding it very difficult to reveal what’s happening inside them, in their souls. They are not good when it comes to expressing their own feelings, thus becoming frustrated. Poor communication or, even worse, the lack of communication may often lead to huge gaps between partners.

Although they trust their female partners, they prefer to keep quiet, hoping that whatever they feel passes unseen and without affecting anybody.

As women are much better at this chapter, they must teach men that as long as they’ve got a mouth, they’ve got to open it, as nobody will do it for them.

2. Using harsh words towards their female partners

Men usually do this because it is easier to offend someone, especially the person you pretend to love, than to try and find a solution to a problem or to settle a conflict. Once again, men prove they’ve got important communication problems. They rarely understand that verbal abuse can be extremely harmful in a couple’s life.

They regret the harsh words they use even before opening the mouth to utter them, but they can’t help themselves. Men use them and some minutes later, they try to apologize, either by using nice words, or by buying you an impressive present such as jewelry or even tickets to your favorite concert. Sound familiar?

1. Saying NO to their children too often

We live in a busy world, where there’s always something to distract us from what we would like to do. Therefore, we are entitled to wonder how we could balance meetings and extra hours at work and playing with our children. It isn’t easy! We are always between hammer and anvil, always asking ourselves which is the best choice to make.

Men are very sensitive when it comes to children, and most of the time they feel horrible, they hate themselves when they cannot promise their boys that they will come to support them for their football match or their daughters that they won’t miss their ballet performance.

They find refuge in work and nobody can blame them for working too much.

After all, they work to support their families, don’t they?