" It was hands down the most useful investing of my time . "
Life can become really difficult when we’re not feeling our best. Yet sometimes, we don’t really know how to make our lives better. So when Reddit userCookieNegative9860asked: “What improved your quality of life so much, you wish you did it sooner?” over seven thousand people shared their habits and tricks, so I thought it would be helpful to share what they said below.
1.“In my early twenties, I learned it was okay to say ‘I don’t know’ instead of pretending I knew what someone was talking about. People are excited to share what they know. It’s such a simple thing that led to a lot of professional and social growth for me.”
2.“Quitting that toxic job.”
— businessperson10
" Former instructor here . I did n’t actualise what clinical burnout looked like until I quit teaching and wait in the mirror . I feel like I forget such a purposeful profession as a life - saving measure . Not taking care of yourself for a job is n’t deserving it . I ’m happier now . I miss the nestling . "
— Brookefemale
3.“I am a software developer, so I spend over eight hours a day looking at a screen. I started having severe ‘tiredness/depression,’ and this lasted a couple of years. No matter how much sleep I got, it didn’t help. I became irritable and eventually started having headaches. I thought it was sinus headaches because it felt similar. Then I had severe migraines. I went to the doctor and everything came back normal. Eventually, I found out that it could be eye strain. I started resting my eyes every 30 minutes, focusing on something around 20 feet away. If I am using my phone, I use it at a reasonable distance away. A few days later, all of my symptoms disappeared.”
4.“Being intentional about where my mind is going and whether it’s constructive or not.”
— ajaec1
" Can you expand a morsel on this ? I feel like I brood on minus idea too much and just do n’t know how to redirect . "
— Ok - Procedure807
" What ’s helped me when I catch myself doing this is to wrick whatever I ’m negative about into a gratefulness physical exertion .
Eg : ' Goddamn dealings , does no one recognise how to force back ? '
To
' I ’m not in a surge , and it ’s a beautiful day . I ’m thankful this person is not deform right after block at a red luminousness when they can and should for slow up me down and letting me appreciate the sun . '
Not always well-to-do , and I do n’t always succeed . It ’s practice , though , and I ’m getting good at it . It helps adjust my linear perspective to something that at least feels less shitty . "
— Cool - Bodybuilder7966
5.“Blackout curtains.”
6.“Understanding that working with someone smarter than you is a privilege and an opportunity to learn and hone your own skills, not a threat.”
— Stunning - Calendar-10
" If you ’re the voguish somebody in the way , you want to spend some time in other rooms . "
— SenseiRaheem
7.“Moving out of my hometown. I never felt like where I was from was home. I was never comfortable. Kept hitting hurdles trying to come up and be better. But once I left, my entire life trajectory changed for the better.”
8.“Replacing my Amazon Basics office chair with something that actually offers lumbar support.”
— searchatlas - fidan
9.“Quit smoking.”
10.“It sounds cliche, but diet and exercise. Doesn’t have to even be extreme. Just eat more fruits and vegetables and try to do something active every day.”
— Any_Mud8881
11.“Buying a dishwasher… I don’t know a single person who enjoys doing dishes, but I had no clue just how much I would enjoy having one. Takes ~ five minutes of my time to load the thing, and it does the dishes for me, while I watch TV/game lol.”
12.“Taking vitamin D every day. Literally changed my life.”
— Maximum_Structure860
" For anyone consider this , it ’s not an nightlong thing . It took a solid three months for me to even detect a difference , and it was n’t a ' Oh , wow , I find smashing . ' It was wake up up one morning and just being able to get out of bed without reckon about it , having just a little better quietus without sample , make just a picayune more Department of Energy that gave me the speciality to do the other matter that made me feel better , and one day , I just noticed I felt up so much better . It move from being under a wet , heavy blanket to just a expectant blanket to just a cover . If you also start taking fish oil or an omega 3 pill , PSA , it can mess up with your dreams , give me nightmare at first , and I had to switch to taking it in the morning . "
— ontheroadtv
" This utterly . It took time , but I go from believe I had narcolepsy to one mean solar day realizing I could make it through a twenty-four hour period without taking a cat sleep . "
13.“Bidet. I’m honestly annoyed that I lived this long without one.”
14.“Breaking up with my ex… I wish I did it back in 2023.”
— AetherEcho_01
" I stayed with my ex for nearly four years , but I check the first red masthead about three months in . I sometimes inquire what would have occur if I had loved myself enough to leave flop then . "
— lady_stardust _
15.“Not drinking alcohol. Stopped at 44, should have stopped at 24…”
16.“Getting diagnosed and medicated. Sometimes you can’t just bootstrap yourself into a happy, productive person.”
— pineapple_juice_love
" Yep . I suffered for sooo much longer than I need to because I kept thinking , ' I ’ll feel better if I just … exercise more … eat better … take this accessory … take that vitamin … get more sleep … translate this ego - assistance book , ' and on and on .
If I had just filled in that vacuous with ' get into therapy and get onto an appropriate medication , ' I could have keep myself so many sour day . "
— Groundbreaking_Bad
17.“Got into mushroom cultivation; these oysters and champignons really make me a lot happier about life in general.”
18.“I didn’t delete my accounts, but I removed social media apps from my phone, and I started to ignore most political ‘news.’ I’m so much happier and productive.”
— Steady_Hand907
" I do a unconstipated social metier and news detox . It ’s definitely better for your mental health . "
— sniksniksnek
19.“When my kid comes home from school, I put my phone in a drawer and do not touch it again until he is asleep in bed.”
20.“High water pressure.”
— taytorbug1010
" I went into a rental viewing and even asked to examine the cascade pressure out to see the pee pressure because the last place I hold out in was so feeble , and the bath was vast with no heater , so it was torture induce showers in the wintertime . I feel odd asking , but the landlord completely understood . "
— breeding - Spray-9123
21.“I stopped being scared of failing at my hobbies or finding the learning process too difficult. I just say ‘fuck it’ and jump in. It’s art at the end of the day, so however it turns out is how it turns out. I dreamed for years of experimenting with making music, but was always intimidated by expensive setups and a tedious learning process. About a year ago, I slowly started teaching myself modular synthesis, and when I’m creating, I feel so free and happy.”
22.“Quitting pot, I realized it made me be okay with being mediocre and not taking much action; it’s a dopamine game throughout, trying to chase one high after the other. Not only that, I realized the effect it had on my mood, energy levels, and sleep. I noticed a day and night difference after I stopped using it. The ‘cons’ may seem small but thats the fucked up part, because they’re so small you don’t think of them much, but overtime in the long run it builds up to some hefty damage without you realizing it. I’m still someone who smokes occasionally, but making it an everyday habit is a no-go for me at this point.”
— Accomplished - Fig3462
23.“Learning how to cook like a chef. I went to a community college culinary program, and it was hands down the most useful investment of my time. I won’t work in restaurants, not my cup of tea, but being able to think and cook like a chef has been a very net positive skill.”
24.“Working on my gut health.”
— HumorPsychological60
" For real . A few years ago , I develop a really awful ' trouble ' in the escape hatch , and after trying everything to pay off it ( laxatives , emollient , etc . ) , I begin drinking kombucha . The ' job ' began to get better like a shot . But it was n’t just that issue that got better ; it was everything digestive - relate , which , of course , makes your total outlook on biography better .
Now , I verify to have some kind of active probiotic every day . It ’s really amazing . "
25.“Volunteering: meet people with the same interests and values as you, be in the community making it better, feel good about yourself, learn new skills for free. Honestly, there is no downside. Everyone should do it, especially if you’re bored, lonely, or having any sort of existential dread.”
