Whether it's out of choice or necessity, at some point or another we all find ourselves making changes in our lives that can unexpectedly end up vastly improving our lives. Now, they aren't always big, drastic changes, they can also be little things — like finding a new hairstylist who really knows how to cut your hair.
Well recently, I came across this Reddit post from three years ago, where user colorfulsoul_ was curious about just that when they asked: "What improved your quality of life so much, you wish you did it sooner?"
The thread went viral with over 33.5K comments, and people responded with all sorts of answers — from small things like buying good cooking knives to more serious things like cutting out toxic friends:
1. "Stopped working more than 40 hours a week."
2. "Letting my pride and ego take hits. I used to be such a 'me, me, me' person in my early life. When I allowed myself to be taken down a peg or two, I started having new perspectives on life and people around me."
—[delete]
3. "Setting my own boundaries after realizing that when I didn't, people set them for me."
4. "Cutting out toxic 'friends.' After years of knowing someone, it can be hard to see that they are no longer the person they were when the relationship started. My childhood best friend grew into a manipulative selfish prick. For years I hung out with him almost every day after work and always felt miserable afterwards. Everyone around me questioned why I still spent time with him. I always made excuses that seem ridiculous in hindsight. I should have cut ties 10 years ago."
—[deleted]
5. "You young kids will think this is crazy, but I am glad to have gotten older. All those things that worried me when I was in my 20s just don’t matter anymore. I’m 67 now and much happier."
6. "Quitting smoking. I couldn't imagine life without it back then. But man is life better without a constant need like that, not to mention all the health benefits."
"Me too! I can walk and run and go upstairs without wheezing now."
7. "Hiking in the mountains. Nothing makes me feel more at peace and excited at the same time."
8. "Learning to get over myself. Nobody cares what I do, nobody is looking at me, and why should I care if they are? Nobody outside my circle has enough context to make accurate judgments about how I live, so why am I trying so hard to justify my decisions? As soon as I adopted that mindset, being alive got significantly less shitty. I do my best to be a decent person and to take care of myself, and the only opinions I care about are mine, my partner's, and my therapist's."
—[deleted]
"How often do you think of other people, much less judge them? No one is thinking about you because no one truly cares about anyone besides their closest friends and family. They're too busy thinking about their own lives, and they've already forgotten about the embarrassing thing you did and never stopped to think about your life choices. You shouldn't care what other people think, because they don't think anything at all the overwhelming majority of the time."
9. "Flossing. I never saw the dentist as a kid, and no one really pushed me to or cared about my dental health."
11. "Independent blankets for my wife and I in bed. Incredible how much better you sleep when there's no waking up with blankets pulled half off or using one that's too heavy or too light. I'd HIGHLY recommend for anyone that sleeps with a significant other."
12. "I am 43 years old and just started exercising regularly again. Four times a week. Forget the physical benefits for a minute; the mental benefits outweigh the 'gains' all day."
13. "Seeing a therapist. My dad died when I was 16, and I never really talked to anyone about it 'til I was in my 30s... So many years wasted being angry and sad."
14. "Roomba. OMG, not having to sweep dog/cat hair daily is such a blessing."
15. "Deleting all the people from high school I don't see anymore from social media."
16. "Permanently placed my phone on Do Not Disturb (allowing only calls from contacts). This one change saved me from constant disruptive unwanted calls. Life is good on no ring lane."
"I did something similar. I turned off push notifications for pretty much every app."
17. "Buying a wardrobe of good quality, properly fitting clothing that I actually like. Agonizing over what to wear every morning because this doesn't fit properly, this one has a stain, I just wore that yesterday, I don't like how this sits on my body would start my day off very badly."
18. "Cutting out alcohol. I don’t criticize anyone who drinks, but I was a problem drinker. Stopping that cycle improved everything about my life."
19. "Breathing exercises. Focusing on really deep exhales. After about 10 minutes, my whole outlook for the day changes."
—[deleted]
"I went back to find this comment, I read this and thought I’d try it. I didn’t think I’d even make it 10 minutes. A half hour later, I felt almost high off oxygen. I’m writing to let you know that I feel much calmer now. Thanks for the breath of fresh air."
—[deleted]
20. "Eating healthy. It’s amazing after you realize how much you feel like shit after you just took down a double cheeseburger, extra large fries, and a large coke, but at the time, you don’t realize it and just 'think' you’re tired. Good eating habits and exercising changed my life."
21. "Accepting at 28 that I was a very emotional guy and letting myself cry whenever I needed to. I swear I cried constantly for about a year straight, as if catching up on all the feelings I repressed my whole life. However, it tapered off about a year ago, and it kinda sucks. It’s as if I literally grew thicker skin through truly allowing myself to feel the painful things I felt, and it’s become increasingly difficult to cry like I used to. It felt really good to just let everything out!"
22. "Givers have to set limits because takers don't have any."
"The only people who get upset at you having boundaries are the people who benefited by you having none."
23. And lastly, "I printed and framed that Calvin and Hobbes comic where the dad stops his work and goes to play in the snow with his kid. It hangs in my home office and reminds me what my priorities are. I've been much happier for it."
You can read the original thread on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.