The beauty of having free will is that at any point you can decide to fundamentallyoverhaulyour life. Is it beyond difficult? For sure! But if you find yourself disillusioned with yourhealth, lifestyle, career, and choices, you can work to create a brighter future for yourself. Consistent, incremental effort is your biggest ally.Some of the members of the r/AskReddit communityopened upabout the biggest changes that they’ve seen people make in their lives. While many of these stories are inspiring, others are the complete opposite. We’ve collected the most powerful tales to share with you. Keep scrolling to read them.This post may includeaffiliate links.
The beauty of having free will is that at any point you can decide to fundamentallyoverhaulyour life. Is it beyond difficult? For sure! But if you find yourself disillusioned with yourhealth, lifestyle, career, and choices, you can work to create a brighter future for yourself. Consistent, incremental effort is your biggest ally.
Some of the members of the r/AskReddit communityopened upabout the biggest changes that they’ve seen people make in their lives. While many of these stories are inspiring, others are the complete opposite. We’ve collected the most powerful tales to share with you. Keep scrolling to read them.
This post may includeaffiliate links.
I knew a guy in college who was a straight A student on track to become a doctor, but he was miserable and burned out. One day, he dropped out, moved to a small town, and started a woodworking business. He’s now incredibly happy making custom furniture and says it’s the best decision he ever made.
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My own. went from drinking a 12pk a night and smoking weed every day. met the love of my life, had a kid and now I’ve been sober for 6 years.
3 years ago I was totally paralysed due to a neurological condition. Totally bed ridden dependent on carers. As of this month, I am almost a qualified teacher and ran my first 5K. A doctor told me years ago to accept my life for what it was. I never stopped fighting and now you’d never know anything was ever wrong with me.
If you’ve ever had to give up an unhealthyhabit, alter a deeply ingrained behavior, or pick up something completely new to you, then you definitely know how hard change can be. Even though adaptability and flexibility are virtues, far from everyone embraces them. To put it bluntly, it’s nice to be in your comfort zone, even if your life is far from great. When you start taking steps outside of that zone, you feel vulnerable.What’s more, it can be frustrating if you don’t immediately see any results. However, the small decisions you make every single day add up given enough time—for better or worse.So, one tip that might help you is that you should have realistic expectations. Don’t believe your own hype that you’ll overhaul your life for the better in a few days. It can take months (or realistically—years) of small changes to get to where you need to be. For example, if you want to live a healthier, happier life but hate exercise, you won’t become an athlete overnight. It’ll take lots of dedication and perseverance to reach your goals.
If you’ve ever had to give up an unhealthyhabit, alter a deeply ingrained behavior, or pick up something completely new to you, then you definitely know how hard change can be. Even though adaptability and flexibility are virtues, far from everyone embraces them. To put it bluntly, it’s nice to be in your comfort zone, even if your life is far from great. When you start taking steps outside of that zone, you feel vulnerable.
What’s more, it can be frustrating if you don’t immediately see any results. However, the small decisions you make every single day add up given enough time—for better or worse.
So, one tip that might help you is that you should have realistic expectations. Don’t believe your own hype that you’ll overhaul your life for the better in a few days. It can take months (or realistically—years) of small changes to get to where you need to be. For example, if you want to live a healthier, happier life but hate exercise, you won’t become an athlete overnight. It’ll take lots of dedication and perseverance to reach your goals.
My high school gym teacher went from being a health nut and bodybuilder to a professional pastry chef. One day he just decided he was tired of bench presses and protein shakes, went to culinary school, and now he runs one of the best bakeries in town. The dude gained like 50 pounds but swears he’s never been happier.
I can only speak for myself. I was 13 years old, overweight, sick all the time, prone to violent outbursts (mimicking my biological father), and actively researching the most painless and foolproof methods for ending my life.I started running. At first, I could only make it a couple of hundred feet. My ankles felt like they’d burst into flames. But I leaned into the pain, because it felt like something other than despair. I kept running. Within a year, I was fit, swore off violence, and found several compelling reasons to live. And I got hopped up on bananas and Diet Coke and ran 13 miles one afternoon like it was nothing.I’ve fallen back into the pit several times in my life, but I always claw my way out toward the light. Running has always been the fulcrum. I’d be dead without it.
A good rule of thumb is to make your goals as clear and specific as possible. According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Teaching and Learning, you can use theSMARTframework to meet your objectives effectively. Each letter in the acronym stands for the following: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic (what some sources name as Relevant), Time-bound (or Trackable).To elaborate, your goals must first be very concise and tangible. Next, you have to find a way to measure them so you know whether you’re progressing and can tell if you’ve reached them. Then, the goals should be attainable with the resources you have and the deadlines you’ve set yourself.You should also consider whether your aims are realistic and relevant to your life. And finally, you have to set deadlines for when you should reach your goals.
A good rule of thumb is to make your goals as clear and specific as possible. According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Teaching and Learning, you can use theSMARTframework to meet your objectives effectively. Each letter in the acronym stands for the following: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic (what some sources name as Relevant), Time-bound (or Trackable).
To elaborate, your goals must first be very concise and tangible. Next, you have to find a way to measure them so you know whether you’re progressing and can tell if you’ve reached them. Then, the goals should be attainable with the resources you have and the deadlines you’ve set yourself.
You should also consider whether your aims are realistic and relevant to your life. And finally, you have to set deadlines for when you should reach your goals.
My brother spent his late teens and mid-twenties being a lying, thieving, directionless bum who flunked out of college despite being extremely bright. Then one day he just decided enough was enough, a switch flipped in his brain or something, and he went back to school for electrical engineering, graduated one of the top of his class, and has a stable, well-paying career. And his relationship with the family has never been better. I couldn’t be more proud of him.
I know a guy whose daughter disowned him and wouldn’t return phone calls or letters for 10 years. After he sobered up for a few years, his ex-wife let him come back into their lives. He ended up walking his daughter down the aisle, and is literally a pillar in his community today.(I’ve seen the other kind of 180, too…but I’d rather think about the good ones.).
My niece went from being a m*th-addicted felon who couldn’t take care of her kids and bouncing in and out of jail to a respectable, reliable member of society.There was no fanfare. She just quietly went about changing her life. Most of us had just sort of written her off as a lost cause. My sister (her mother) had actually assumed legal custody of her kids.And she just…changed. She did what she needed to do to get her life back on track. It took a while, but it’s one of the most amazing and remarkable turnarounds I have ever seen.
Mayo Clinicsuggeststhat if you have a general inclination to eat healthier, you should take the time to get very specific. What exactly does healthy eating look like for you as you getolder? What are the unhealthy habits that you struggle with? It’s all very personal. Someone might aim to stop guzzling soda every day or to eat fewer sugary snacks. Another person might aim to eat at least five servings of fruits and veggies every day.
If you want to ‘walk more,’ you should first note how often you go for a walk, how many steps you do on average, and how much time you spend on the go. Then, you can come up with a very specific goal—e.g., doing 5% more steps every week for the next few months. The exacty numbers will depend entirely on your current lifestyle. Heck, it doesn’t even have to be walking that you focus on. Any activity that you enjoy and gets you moving will do.
Dear friend used to be a self-centered banker crypto bro with vile views on women.He was wealthy at a young age and even had an actual, honest to God marriage of convenience/trophy wife.He was driving alone on a rural road in the holidays and had a car accident where it flipped. He got some head trauma from that, but also the heat in the car went on and out of control. So, it turned into heat stroke that became an actual stroke.Took him three months to get out of a coma. He wasn’t good at math anymore and had a soft and friendly personality . Like, unusually so, for him. He also immediately demanded to be given drawing supplies. He didn’t have a lot of memories of before and still doesn’t. He’s not rich anymore, is a professional artist now, and him and his trophy wife fell in love for real.He’s extremely happy. He threw out all of his business suits, wears exclusively Hawaiian shirts, has a bunch of dogs, is bisexual and makes erotic ceramics.
Friend of a friend was big into mth at the time, already a couple years deep. He would regularly play scratchers and would frequently explain how if he spent enough overtime that he was guaranteed to win sometime. No amount of actual math helped him understand, so after buying his ds, he would happily spend the rest on scratchers.Well you wouldn’t f***g believe it, but that bastard won 30 grand on a $5 scratcher.He sobered up, bought a car so he could get a better job, and (I haven’t heard from him in a few years cuz i moved but i see his posts every once in a while) is living happily as a nighttime janitor for a school.Sometimes, I wish I could explain to the billionaires of the world how .000001% of their wealth could completely change a life, but I’m so poor I’d get crucified for even thinking about having a conversation with one of em.
Do you know anyone who has completely changed their life, whether for good or for ill? Have you ever fundamentally overhauled your career, health, or relationships?
My mom used to be a holocaust denier. I couldn’t accept this. I took her to the holocaust museum, had her talk with Rabbis, and introduced her to lots of Jewish people. She has spent a lot of time with the Jewish community. She did a complete 180, now she can’t believe it only happened once.
I was raised in foster care after parents died. Emancipated at 17. 6 months later I was waiting in county jail to go serve 3 years in Texas prison. Got out and turned everything around. Made 200k last year and love my life.
He was a law abiding, productive member of society, with a great career, home and family. Then one day he decided to go to the casino for fun.2 years later he was a convicted felon with no home, less family and no career.180’s are not always good things.
It was my 23rd birthday. I was 300 pounds and tired of life. I asked for a gastric sleeve, got the family support, went through the process on my own and now im 24, at around 226 pounds, and going for my Krav Maga green belt on Saturday. Still not at goal but way better. I’m still depressed though.
Probably mine. Went from alcoholic dead end job in jail to college graduate and middle school teacher with master’s degree.
My own when my wife and I got divorced. Changed my style, changed back to an old career path, and changed my life for the better. Nothing against my ex-wife, we just wanted different things. She’s doing well and so am I.
One of my high school classmates came from a conservative Evangelical household and it showed. She was very involved with the Christian club on campus and wanted to attend a big Bible college in the South. She was also really homophobic.Somewhere between graduation and now, she got married young. Her husband turned out to be an abusive POS. She left the marriage with their kid and moved back to the PNW and got a job.Then she met her now-wife and now works for a pro-LGBTQ+ Christian fellowship while raising their kids. Oh, and she posts a lot of pictures of their chickens on Instagram.
My buddy, 10 years ago he was addicted to Xanax, stealing from me to buy more, OD’d at least twice but somehow didn’t die. Finally gets arrested for stealing and is given the choice of 1 year in jail or to do the d**g rehab program which lasts for a year, he decided to do the rehab program. He did very well, I was the only person there for him as he went through it, and we became friends again. He got back into school, completed his bachelor’s, he’s now at a great university about to complete his master’s in biology and will continue on to complete his PhD.
My aunt passed away after a short bout of cancer that was related to her weight(very heavy lady). Her son(cousin) was very large as well and decided to lose the weight. Lost 165 lbs over covid and now runs marathons. Complete different person.
One of the biggest life 180s I’ve seen was with a friend of mine who went from being a high-flying corporate executive to becoming a meditation teacher. He was all about business, career advancement, and working long hours, living the stereotypical work hard, play hard lifestyle. Then, after a major burnout and a period of health issues, he took a break to recalibrate.
Former friend used to live with his unemployed mother, was pretty overweight and didnt have a career or education for him going. Was also bullied at school. He taught himself programming, workes in the field now, has a girlfriend and makes quite a lot of money. And hes of average weight now, too.
Kid I went to high school with was one of those young republicans, always going to church, and even scored a 100% conservative rating on a political party association survey we all took. It had been 6 years before I last heard he had been bisexual through college and attended pride parades and was advocating for Hillary for president.
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My brother’s friend grew up with a pretty rough home life. As a result, he spent a lot of time at my house and he more or less became an additional sibling and child in our house. My parents even offered to let him live with us after he graduated high school. Fortunately for him, he was able to get a full ride to a prestigious university and made friends with a bunch of rich guys there who let him live in their nice shared rental, and would often gift him experiences or gently used really nice things. He graduated with honors and made six figures out of college. He’s since gotten married and made a life for himself in our hometown. I don’t know how much contact he has with his family but he’s still close to mine.
Affluent family. Star college track athlete. Olympic hopeful. Knee injury. Surgery went well. Full recovery predicted. Prescription for Oxy for the pain. Addiction. Expanding d**g problem. Begins using h*roin. Homeless. Four felony convictions for crimes to feed the addiction = life without parole in prison.
My life after I took my wife’s advice and talked to my doctor about taking antidepressants. That combined with individual therapy and couples therapy.I didn’t see it after first until one day she made a comment that was something like “it’s like you’re a different person”.Little things that use to set me off and cause me to be miserable for hours or days are nothing. Looking back it’s clear I should have done this sooner.
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I know a Master Sergeant with 18 years served who was in a gang and has a sealed record from crimes he committed as a child. Now he is a straight-shooting crazy-eyed Master Sergeant in the US army who is about to finish his 20 with a couple degrees the government paid for and a pretty wild skillset.I swear I hear one of these fullblown 180 stories in the army at least once a week.
I had this roommate once…She was a rave every weekend get hammered and do whatever ds come my way kind of pretty girl. The dude she was seeing cheated on her at EDC in a threesome on the Ferris wheel (on video) after he told her he was celibate for religious reasons.He had taken her to his church, her first time ever attending, the week prior to this. When she found out she continued to go to his church, met a strait laced Catholic man and within a few months is married and living that god loving life.This girl went from Sullivan King rave’s/benders every weekend, sleeping wherever and taking whoever’s ds, to a church first thing Sunday morning kind of person and being a traditional house wife.
She didn’t have much, but volunteered, was friendly, etc. She inherited $600k in 2000ish, and BLEW it, became a nasty, bitter woman to all of us, consistently asking for money in the same sentence saying something personally and deeply rude “Don’t be a f*****, just lend me $,2500”.
My buddy went from being a couch potato gamer to running marathons. One day he’s leveling up in a virtual world, next thing I know he’s running 26 miles for “fun”.
I suffered from severe depression since the age of 18.After attempting sicide twice, I left the military at 22 and became an alcoholic and ccaine addict.I went from one catastrophe to the next, spending time in a mental hospital, police cells and lost everything.It cost me all that was good in my life and I’d just come to accept that I would die young and I was ok with that.Relieved even.Now I’m 38, I’ve beaten all my addictions, diagnosed with bi-polar so the correct medication really makes a difference and I’ve even quit smoking (I still Vape though - guys got to have something for goodness sake)I’ve started my own successful business, have a loving family and kids and finally have my own home.I’m grateful for my life now and glad I didn’t punch my ticket early.
I was a loser college drop out. Joined the Army, loved it, applied for and was accepted into a commissioning program.Changed my life forever.
raises hand Back in March I had one job, lived in a nice neighborhood, and had few cares in the world. Fast forward to April ‘24, my mom passes away making me the sole financial caretaker for my dad with dementia.His care is 9k per month - out of pocket entirely. I now have 2 FT remote jobs and some side hustles that, without disclosing too much, could potentially get me in serious trouble but I don’t have much of a choice if I have to come up with an extra 9k every month.I moved to a sy bug infested apartment in a terrible part of town to save as much money as possible. In the span of a few months my life went from easy street to something resembling a sy Breaking Bad knockoff.
My ex wife, we both had good jobs, 3 houses, 2 wonderful kids, I wasn’t perfect but I worked, did most of the childcare, all the cleaning and cooking. she decided she hated her life and took it out on me and the kids. Now a year later I have one of the houses and my kids full time, she sold her house, cashed in her retirement lost all $200,000 of it in a scam and is living with a friend thousands of miles away miserable and broke.
Well, when I turned 22 you see the great idea of dropping out of college. Now at 27 with little grace about the future, I completely regret it. I think my 22 year old self taught me a great lesson. Don’t get carried away with fantasies.
My sister went from being a terrible d**g addict that ruined her family and our entire family to being the person that would care for my kids if anything happened to me or my wife.
My ex-best friend. Great job, adored her adopted daughter, owned her own house. Her first husband left her and then she started dating (and eventually married) a guy at work that got her into d*s. They both failed dg tests at work. He died of alcohol poisoning and she started drinking very, very heavily and taking pills. A few times her daughter found her near death and had to call 911. Eventually her daughter moved in with her father. My friend ended up losing her cat, her home, and every single thing she owned. She used everyone in her life until she had no where to turn. She was last seen at a homeless shelter in Texas in February and was saying they were going to kick her out. Some group called Watchman’s Ministry took her in and she has completely disappeared. I miss my friend.I don’t know why she still haunts me. She cut me out of her life very abruptly in 2017, despite being best friends since 1987. I guess I want to know why, and what happened to her. And I realize I will likely never know, and that drives me crazy.
A friend of mine. Good kid if a bit rambunctious and a bit of a troublemaker. Definitely on the track to a solid living as he could fix anything and was always keeping himself busy tinkering with things. Not book smart, but definitely not someone who would struggle to survive if left to his own devices.He was in an accident that left him with a severe TBI among other things. Long story short, he ended up hooked on d**s and was in and out of rehabs and constantly getting into trouble.Good news though as he pulled another 180 out of his as and is now clean for years, has a family, and though still dumber than a box of rocks, is living the good life.I’m proud of that moron through and through.
Son of the district superintendent, took a lot of honors classes with him through high school. Honors graduate, scholarship offers, etc.About nine years after we graduated high school, he was in a news report. Had apparently been involved in home burglaries, police caught him in the act, he fired shots at them as he fled.Charges of attempted capital mrder, three separate trial attempts, convicted eventually of attempted mrder, serving a forty year sentence.So different from the straight and true honors student classmate we grew up around in our high school years. .
My best friend, Matt. He owned a home, had two dogs he adored and cared for, had a successful job. He decided to try m*th one day in 2022 and it derailed his life. He lost both dogs (they have since been adopted and are well), set his house on fire, lost his job and his car and refused help. He developed paranoia and distrusted family and friends who tried to help him.He passed away in January 2024 after taking his life and I still have a hard time accepting that it turned out the way it did. He was one of the smartest people I knew and a great friend.
Guy I knew in college - super smart, maybe a little cocky but generally a good guy. Pre-med, usually set the curve, got into a great medical school and definitely gave off “going to be a future Nobel prize winner” vibes. About a year later his dad gets arrested for tax evasion (or some similar white collar crime) and the dude completely snaps. Drops out of med school, goes down a dark rabbit hole of d***s, and ultimately dies in a shoot out with the police a year later.
I went to college with a girl who was an avid partier. Super nice girl, very smart, but every night just got hammered or was high on something was at the club every night ect. This was in Miami to. Ran into her the other day after not seeing her in 15 years ago. Now super religious doesn’t drink, party ect anymore goes on mission trips multiple times a year. I get people grow up and change their habits but talk about one extreme to another.
Guy used to be my friend.Had a family, 4 kids, a stand up guy. He would give you the shirt off his back to help out.during Covid he developed some bad habits, d*s or alcohol, I don’t know which. Family gone, none of the kids is allowed to be with him, stole from my house and is now homeless. He ran out of friends to couch surf with and steal from.No idea where he is and hope he sorts his st out before screwing his kids up more, but I’m done.
My (ex) best friend was the kindest soul. She was literally the epitome of a perfect person. Any time I needed a shoulder to cry on, she’d be there.Last August she met a boy, they moved in a month or so later and ever since she’s been with that boy, she’s been really nasty. Completely flipped. I caught her talking bad about me, saying things about my looks and my relationship. It really hurt. She also gossiped a lot and never had a nice thing to say about anybody.She also turned very toxic, and complained that I wasn’t doing enough with her, when I would see her at least every single week, despite the fact that she’d cancel plans to be with her bf, who she LIVED WITH.I made the difficult decision to cut her off completely in February. I have to admit, life’s been peaceful since then. But I miss the old her like crazy, I think about her and what she’s getting up to all the time.However, in her story, I’m the devil from hell and the s**t on the ground for cutting her off.I still cry over our friendship, and I miss the old her more than she’ll know.
An old friend was a bit of a ladies’ man but he settled down (again) & started a family. His wife left him and he went back to playing the field. Did well in his career but went off-track, took to living on a beach & smoking a lot of dope. Tried being a celibate hermit for a while, in preparation for being a Zen monk. That didn’t quite do the trick. He has now done the sex change, full surgery & everything, and has a married boyfriend.My apologies if that’s a little past the 180 mark!
My father just retired at 56, he was a sporty man who did triathlons, was learning to sail, had a partner, loved to go out and discover new places and with two grown children.He suffered a stroke and has been in ICU for 4 days with the possibility of losing his ability to be independent for even the simplest tasks in his life.
My husband’s mistress cheated on her wealthy, established high school sweetheart husband for my ex. She was always on lavish trips, going to nice restaurants, and he even bought her a Birkin. She never once had to do her own taxes, he took care of everything financial.My ex is unemployed, likely dead broke, and has been out of real work for a year so he could run off with her. When they have to work again, his prospects are going to be slim.I’d imagine they are deep in credit card debt right now since both of them lost their jobs.She nuked the life most women dream of (rich AND wonderful husband) for a fellow cheater and lazy opportunist.
Had a friend who was a somewhat successful consultant, one day he decided to be an influencer. He then decided to do it through showing what humans can do.He decided an iron man wasn’t cool enough, he’d do it on Antarctica, and call it an ice man.Took a while but he did it. And he’s a beast.
I’ve had many 180s in my lifeI did financially okay for my age and had a relatively cushy job and life then I joined the military after 9/11.I did pretty well in the military but after I got out and had a big career disappointment I became unemployed for many years.I became unemployed for many years but went back to school and got an advance degree which landed me a decent job.In a way I’m just waiting for the next thing to flip my world upside down again and can’t help but feel it’ll happen because of my past experiences. One of these days I’m going to drop dead suddenly or find out I have cancer probably.
There was a smart student, my neighbor, who was expected to join medical school. He decided to take a gap year and went abroad for work and cultural experiences, or so I assumed. When he returned a year later, he had completely changed. He became conservative, religious, and focused on calmness and meditation as if it were his full time job. He refused to push hard in life and didn’t enroll in any college for years, at least not until I moved away from the neighborhood.
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