What improved your quality of life, so much, you wish you did it sooner?

[piddocktrumperiness]

For me it's a few things:
-Learning what past trauma is and how it plays out in relationships
-Learn to say no to things and people and not feel bad about it
-Realising no one really notices or cares what I do or look like; felt liberated to not always wear lots of makeup, dress in a new outfit or have my roots done, or eat out alone, or do anything alone.
-Not watching much current tv and picking up a book instead
-Listening to James O' Brien on LBC ( I know he's not everyone's cup of tea- but I learned alot)
-Waking up v early to have some me time. This was hard as I was a night owl for many years.
-Declutter and only buy when I need something. To be honest this started as I had to downsize to an empty flat after my divorce and am on not much money but it has helped with not worrying about possessions and all the cleaning involved.
-Divorce my ex husband- biggest impact haha

What improved yours?

@piddocktrumperiness I became totally disillusioned with the UK. No offence meant to any proud patriots on here, there are obviously lots of great things about it, including the wealth of job opportunities. But I hate the class system that pervades every aspect of society, lack of true community spirit where I live, the education postcode lottery, apathy towards tory policies that harm the poorest in society etc. Making the decision to leave this all behind has been so liberating.

@LilythePunk to be fair the poster said ‘often’. I travel by train a lot with work and off peak 1st class is genuinely often only a tiny bit more, and strangely on occasion less than standard! Depends on the journey of course.

Stopped drinking alcohol.
Meditation. I’m obsessed.
Growing vegetables. It’s like mindfulness in motion.
Massive declutter. It’s shocked me how anxious having too much stuff was making me.
Running - or more precisely, Jeffing.
Seeing a personal trainer and a yoga teacher once a week to build my strength. I have a core of steel now!

Weight lifting
Becoming vegan
Giving no fucks
Realising that life's too short for mediocrity in all aspects of my life ✊

Sertraline 50mg anxiety/depression medication. Wish I'd started taking it a decade earlier, I would have been much happier in my 20s. I feel like me, just without a big old bundle of crazy making me miserable and holding me back. Thought I could fix it with exercise/supplements/therapy/meditation and I was a bit of a failure if I couldn't. Actually I really do think it's a chemical thing and it was like King Canute trying to hold back the tides.

Gorgeous!!

I started kayaking, I was about 50 yrs old (now 61) and it has been a fantastic outlet for me, exercise I enjoy, I lost weight, developed a few muscles I'd forgotten about, it feels like meditating some days, and most of all made new friends of all nationalities and ideas. I really wish I had thought of it sooner, as I live close to the Thames and a canoe club.

Changed jobs so I had a 10 minute commute instead of an hour. So much better for my work/life balance.

• Getting a cat
• Learning how to be comfortable on my own - enforced during the lockdowns when I was living alone, and though I very much want a partner, I know how to be happy with myself until the next/right person comes along.
• Related: actively putting effort and care into the relationships I have, rather than taking them for granted
• Related x 2: setting firm boundaries around how much time I spend with my mother and other difficult relationships.
• Getting a cleaner
• Mostly stopping drinking alcohol.
• Getting a monthly subscription to my local yoga studio so I can just turn up when I want.
• C25K, outside.
• Wireless earphones for gym/running.
• Massive clearout (similar to you, OP, after the end of a relationship)... ...and now only buying stuff that I really need/want. THERAPY. so much therapy. But it took a while to find the right therapist and to be ready to do the work for it.
• A really good vibrator.

Most of all, which kind of covers everything, was treating myself with care, as though I really mattered.

This is such an inspiring thread to read

Tumble dryer
Downsizing
Learning to drive

Totally relate to this. I want a dog and to stomp through fields for two hours a day.
The second part about family is exactly my situation too.

Retiring at 50 . . .

Regular time for bed, seven days a week, almost no exceptions. Started when catch up tv came along.

I came onto this thread to say a Sellotape dispenser but that seems a bit trivial compared to the other postings!

No alcohol
Finding a fantastic cleaner
Decluttering and keeping it that way
Me time in the morning
More books less SM

I forgot to add taking up stand up paddle boarding as well

Divorcing my abusive ex- never looked back,every day is a miracle
choosing my own colour scheme for my own flat
getting my finances in order after YEARS of financial abuse
getting the sweetest little rescue cat
taking up gardening properly once out from under
stopping caring what anybody thinks,unless I really value them
finally retired at 68 - free to travel or veg at home as I want : result!
building new and great relationship with my adult children
recognising that at my age most men are a waste of space- they either want a nurse or a purse ( as my friend pointed out)

• cutting my Mum out of my life
• Living as a minimalist
• downsizing, paying off the mortgage and becoming a SAHM

Wish I'd done all three years ago!

left the uk, moved to a sub-tropical island.

Going alcohol free definitely improves your quality of life x

And buying a Frenchie just before the first lockdown. He’s got my through the worst times of my life x

Retirement. Now I get to do only the things I want to.

Painting. It's so relaxing!

Flying business class on holiday.

I didn't know French gents were on sale anywhere?

Now THAT sounds good!