People Are Sharing The One Thing They Stopped Doing That Instantly Made Their Lives A Million Times Better, And I'm About To Try Them
Sometimes, life doesn't get better by adding something — it gets better by letting go. When u/Same-Tea1899 asked, "What's one thing you stopped doing that instantly made your life better?" people shared the surprisingly small habits, mindsets, and toxic patterns they let go of that completely transformed their well-being. Here's what they had to say:
1."I stopped lying to myself. I accepted that there are things about me that had to be changed. I accepted the fact that I believed some things that were harming me. I accepted the fact that I had made mistakes. I can't explain the relief of being able to look at myself in the mirror and say, 'You messed up bad, but you can learn from your mistakes and move on and try not to mess up anymore. You're not perfect and that's cool, just try to be better going forward.'"
—u/fazlez1
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2."Not sleeping. I used to pull all-nighters regularly. I probably spent the better part of the last two decades constantly sleep-deprived. Forget that. I sleep now. I don't care what urgent matters there are and what demons are whispering in my ears — I check out, even if it takes a bit of help with meds. It has improved my quality of life by several orders of magnitude."
Edwin Tan / Getty Images—u/ooOJuicyOoo
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R48e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R88e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe3."People-pleasing."
—u/VelvetMousse1
4."Waiting for someone to join to experience something."
—u/Feeling_Investment16
5."Not exercising at all. Exercising makes me feel much better in general."
PixelsEffect / Getty Images—u/Ben5544477
6."Overthinking texts before sending them."
—u/[deleted]
"Mine is more the opposite, at least with comments and posts online. I'll type something and think, 'Do I really want to start this fight?' Then I just delete it. I don't have time or patience to explain to people why they're wrong."
—u/ThePastJack
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7."Doomscrolling every moment I pick up the phone. Gone from four hours of daily phone use to two hours. Still some work to be done, but feeling much better."
Tim Robberts / Getty Images—u/Consistent_Prize_253
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R4pe4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R8pe4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe8."I went no contact with a toxic narcissist relative."
—u/nellnober
9."Trying to manage other people's happiness. I am an adult. The people around me are adults. It's their job to tell me if they're upset, not my job to sense their mood changes and react before they get mad. They're grown adults — they can speak up if they're upset."
—u/lucue_
10."Eating a terrible diet."
Yagi Studio / Getty Images—u/noir_lord
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11."I kicked a 14-year opioid habit. I'm 2.5 years off. Whether it's pills, booze, sex, drugs...addiction is so hard. Those asking for advice: find an 'anchor.' My anchor is my husband and child. They keep me tethered to reality and sobriety because I want them to be proud of me (and they are, of course). I know how hard addiction is, and I am so proud of the fighters and survivors and the success stories. Keep fighting!"
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R53e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R93e4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe"Quitting and sobriety are intense and sometimes seem impossible, but y'all are out here killing this! The more of us that tell our sobriety stories, the more hope it gives to other addicts."
—u/luckykricket
12."I had a friend who was definitely a bad influence. Had to walk away from them."
—u/Bland_cracker
13."Stop overanalyzing what people say to me."
—u/Deep_Investigator
14."Deleted Facebook."
Picture Alliance / dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images—u/Petty_Paw_Printz
15."Stopped smoking."
—u/Quiet_Answer9363
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16."Not saving money. Once I get my salary, I take out 1,000 (of my currency) and split it into two accounts — one for long-term savings and one for emergency savings. Seeing the amount grow over time and seeing that I have backup money really, really soothes my heart."
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R5he4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R9he4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe—u/KazakiriKaoru
17."Quit drinking alcohol."
—u/wastemydayaway
18."I quit worrying about my neighbors seeing me embarrass myself while I work on my garden in the front yard."
Svetlana Repnitskaya / Getty Images—u/MissMcNoodle
19."Smoking weed. Turns out what I thought was making me happier was driving me deeper into depression and exacerbating mental illness. Who knew? 600 days clean today."
—u/mindman1515
20."I stopped holding in my anger and blowing up at random times. Now, I just express what I'm angry about instead of invalidating the feeling. Instead of suppressing it, shoving it down, and slowly turning it into resentment."
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R5re4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R9re4kr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe—u/Mini-Heart-Attack
Have you cut something out of your life that made everything better? Let us know what you stopped doing that changed your life for the better in the comments — you never know who it might help!
Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
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