Topic of the day: Never say never

Nov 22 - Never say never

What about those "never" promises you made when you were younger, only to have life prove you wrong?
I see it all the time on here—people swearing they'd never do this, never accept that, or never end up in certain situations.
As the years go by, I've noticed a lot of those once-solid "nevers" just get crushed by reality.
Lately, I've stopped using that word myself. Life is too unpredictable. Honestly, I wouldn't bet a dime on my own future certainty. 🙂
Where do you guys stand on this?

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This topic of the day was featured after 19 posts and pulled from topic of the day.

I have my fair never own little secrets I won't bother posting here because, frankly, the embarrassment would be too much to handle.

In general, I wouldn't say there were many of them, but it’s a safe bet that whenever I tried to claim "never," some life catastrophe would pop out from around the corner just to prove me wrong. So, I stopped making those kinds of promises.

I think when you're younger, you view life through this rigid black-and-white lens. But as you age and start making your own mess of things, you realize nothing is actually binary. People and circumstances exist in shades of gray. Embracing that helps you find some self-forgiveness when things get ugly, and honestly, it makes it easier to deal with the people around you.

It feels like you become more tolerant as the years pile up, though I suppose that doesn't apply to everyone..

I never thought I’d actually get over my ex. 🙂

But honestly, he nearly cost me my life. 🙂

Now, whenever people try to be nice by bringing him up, I just shut down completely.

Yeah, I mean, how much control do we actually have over our own lives? Not nearly as much as we think, because you just never know what’s going to flip the script on you at any given moment.

"Never say never" is one of those clichés that actually makes sense here.

I used to sit around thinking that certain bad things could never happen to me, you know? Like, that was just impossible. But life... man, life really showed me its darker, more brutal side, and made it pretty clear that it's the one calling the shots, not me. 😉

As for anything else, nah. 🙂

Back when I was younger and living in a total daydream, I used to say things like that all the time. I actually convinced myself that anyone choosing a different path—or just living a bit more recklessly—simply wasn't as "wise" as I was.

All those "never in a million years" moments were aimed at some distant future. But once that future actually arrived, I realized life doesn't really care about your grand plans or your stubbornness; you just end up living however things unfold.

One recent example of my "absolutely not" phase involved vaccinations. One day I was firmly in "no way, Jose" mode, and the very next morning, I found myself standing in line 🤣

My categorical "never" came back to haunt me with a heavy dose of irony.
I have come to realize that saying "never" is actually just an invitation for fate to slap you in the face.

To be fair, later in life, destiny responded to one of my "nevers" by showering me with incredible love and happiness.

Perhaps fate felt a bit sorry for me after I endured the consequences of that first "never." 🤣

Disclaimer: I don't believe in fate; I believe in the Quote from Terminator 2: Judgment Day: "There is no fate but what we make for ourselves."
(Shut up, there are no Terminator sequels!!!)

Thomas Hernandez4 said:Nov 22 - Never say never

What about those "never" promises you made when you were younger, only to have life prove you wrong?
I see it all the time on here—people swearing they'd never do this, never accept that, or never end up in certain situations.
As the years go by, I've noticed a lot of those once-solid "nevers" just get crushed by reality.
Lately, I've stopped using that word myself. Life is too unpredictable. Honestly, I wouldn't bet a dime on my own future certainty. 🙂
Where do you guys stand on this?

_______________
This topic of the day was featured after 19 posts and pulled from topic of the day.

That's never actually happened to me. If I've studied the past correctly, I should be safe.

I don’t always say things the same way twice—honestly, I never do. For the longest time, I've just been living by this one rule: everything is constantly shifting, you know?

But lately... man, I feel like my life has drifted into this weird, messy rut. It’s like I can’t see any kind of real change coming my way unless something absolutely catastrophic hits me out of nowhere—like a sudden health scare or some massive accident—and honestly, thinking about it that way feels pretty heavy and depressing.

Never am I eating dog poop. Did you hear me? Never! So go ahead, try to prove me wrong, you losers. 😵

Benjamin Taylor90 said:Never am I eating dog poop. Did you hear me? Never! So go ahead, try to prove me wrong, you losers. 😵

Are you really that confident about everything you've eaten up to this point? 🤔
Don't bet on it—food safety standards are clearly a foreign concept to you.

Honestly, whenever I say the word "never," I’m basically adding a giant asterisk to it. It's conditional at this point... I’ve lived enough life and seen enough about how the human psyche actually works—and how many curveballs life loves to throw at you—that I can't bring myself to take a "never" seriously. Life always finds a way to prove you wrong...

I’m in agreement with Glamor—and honestly, so is jadeowl2 😁
Total security is a myth—it simply doesn't exist 😁

About 8 or 9 years ago, I made this big, dramatic vow that I’d never post an ad on this forum again—but hey, life happens, and about a month ago, I finally caved and broke my own rule...

So, yeah, let me just make a formal, solemn declaration right here and now: there is absolutely zero chance I’m ever hitting that Powerball jackpot. 😳

I get it—for some people, saying "I would never" isn't just an opinion; it’s basically a way to signal which political tribe they belong to. So, in a sense, I see where they're coming from.

I can't really think of a specific moment or a big decision where I made a definitive "never" declaration. Maybe as a way to be dramatic, but nothing truly life-altering.

Back when I was just a little kid—maybe first or second grade—I actually wrote down a formal statement saying I would > smoke. Everyone just laughed at me! They kept saying people change their minds and that’s why we were making those statements (I guess so I could look ridiculous if I ever caught myself holding a cigarette). Well, fast forward to now: I still don't smoke and I never will. 🥳

That’s honestly the only serious never I can come up with right now.

Back in my younger days, I held onto quite a few "I would never" stances, though looking back, I’ve definitely walked back a handful of them. Off the top of my head, I can recall three specific ones: two were about my own comfort, and one was regarding my health habits—nothing major, just basic stuff. Honestly, I still find myself using that phrase today. I know what I won't do, what I find repulsive, and what isn't good for me. Even if circumstances change, I'll make sure those things stay off the table. Period. Most situations in life end up being shades of gray, but there are certain things that are purely black or white. When we're young, we tend to see everything in stark black and white terms—good versus bad. But the reality is that once you're actually in the thick of it, most things are gray. I have developed some new "I would never" rules too; they aren't just relics from my youth. I just hope I don't end up backtracking on these new ones.

Amanda James27 said:About 8 or 9 years ago, I made this big, dramatic vow that I’d never post an ad on this forum again—but hey, life happens, and about a month ago, I finally caved and broke my own rule...

So, yeah, let me just make a formal, solemn declaration right here and now: there is absolutely zero chance I’m ever hitting that Powerball jackpot. 😳

I like the plan.🙂

I could just choose not to play at all—which would result in the exact same outcome: nothing.😁

Rachel Richardson said:I like the plan.🙂

I could just choose not to play at all—which would result in the exact same outcome: nothing.😁

So far, I've managed to keep this last account clean—never touched it. It would suck big time if I actually lost, though... I'd be breaking my own word, and then what? What's the point then? 😲

Amanda James27 said:So far, I've managed to keep this last account clean—never touched it. It would suck big time if I actually lost, though... I'd be breaking my own word, and then what? What's the point then? 😲

I’ve actually come out ahead a few times myself.
But even then, we're talking maybe ten bucks🤣
They really ought to add another zero to that figure.🧐

jadepilot3 said:I have my fair never own little secrets I won't bother posting here because, frankly, the embarrassment would be too much to handle.

In general, I wouldn't say there were many of them, but it’s a safe bet that whenever I tried to claim "never," some life catastrophe would pop out from around the corner just to prove me wrong. So, I stopped making those kinds of promises.

I think when you're younger, you view life through this rigid black-and-white lens. But as you age and start making your own mess of things, you realize nothing is actually binary. People and circumstances exist in shades of gray. Embracing that helps you find some self-forgiveness when things get ugly, and honestly, it makes it easier to deal with the people around you.

It feels like you become more tolerant as the years pile up, though I suppose that doesn't apply to everyone..

Let’s be honest—some of those things are never easy to admit, even to yourself, let alone broadcast to the entire country.

Yeah, I’d say that as time goes on, those black-and-white categories we force on ourselves when we're kids trying to make sense of the world eventually start to blur. I try to stay away from that kind of rigid thinking now. Like you said, life is always just waiting around the corner to prove you wrong.

Charles Young56 said:Yeah, I mean, how much control do we actually have over our own lives? Not nearly as much as we think, because you just never know what’s going to flip the script on you at any given moment.

"Never say never" is one of those clichés that actually makes sense here.

I used to sit around thinking that certain bad things could never happen to me, you know? Like, that was just impossible. But life... man, life really showed me its darker, more brutal side, and made it pretty clear that it's the one calling the shots, not me. 😉

As for anything else, nah. 🙂

Yeah, unexpected situations are the ones where you don't actually know what you're capable of until you're forced to deal with them. You only find out when there's no other choice.

Brian Taylor2 said:My categorical "never" came back to haunt me with a heavy dose of irony.
I have come to realize that saying "never" is actually just an invitation for fate to slap you in the face.

To be fair, later in life, destiny responded to one of my "nevers" by showering me with incredible love and happiness.

Perhaps fate felt a bit sorry for me after I endured the consequences of that first "never." 🤣

Disclaimer: I don't believe in fate; I believe in the Quote from Terminator 2: Judgment Day: "There is no fate but what we make for ourselves."
(Shut up, there are no Terminator sequels!!!)

Glad to see the universe finally balanced itself out for you. 🙂