To ask what changes you've made that have changed your life?

[Fishface77]

I'm starting to have breakfast from tomorrow.
I'm usually late up and running around but I'm going to get up half an hour before the kids and am hoping this will help with my energy and mood in the mornings.

But I could do with some inspiration from my mumsnet family!

Deciding to stop pretending I believed in God.

I read an article in a newspaper - by Jane Asher I think? - where she said that the most freeing thing ever said to her was "You don't have to believe you know, it is not compulsory" I was raised in a devout Catholic family.

The article made me cry, it made me realise there was nothing wrong with me, that my views were as valid as any other. I grew that day.

Putting my needs and wants on a par with everybody else in my family. I noticed I get a lot more respect now as a result and actually get to have a break and a rest. Simple, but what a difference!

Exercising. It adds so much to your quality of life.

Thad a good one wondering. I have martyr complex and need to stop putting me and my needs last!

I gave up a career and now have a job. Lots less money but a much better quality of life.

That's good white rose. We spend a lot of our time and work so it makes sense to enjoy itz

I found low impact cardio videos on youtube. So i dont need space and trainers and jumping up and down to get exercise.

I stopped all alcohol. Both drinking it and in products, as well as a lot of other chemicals I’m sensitive to. My skin has improved and so has my mood. I’m that boring mate that doesn’t drink but I’m also the chilled one.

Ooh wizzywig I'll have a look!
And well done worried obsessive I think alcohol is so difficult to give up. It's such a ...social thing to do so it's difficult to let go of!

Stopped having breakfast as I was just forcing myself, not hungry, don't feel like it, don't enjoy it etc.

Interesting to read about the fasting on here, I could easily go more than 16 hours without eating, I never feel faint and I lost 5 stone way back when I ate just one meal a day. The loss lasted 10 years but some of it has crept back on so maybe I need to look at this again...

I love this thread!

I started volunteering after a very long spell as a SAHM. My confidence was at an all time low and I had ended up very depressed - life seemed very dark. The volunteering provided training for a fairly challenging role and I now feel so much more confident and happier. I can actually see myself getting back into employment - which I want so badly.

Gave up smoking
Sorted my finances out and started to save.

I'm not enjoying the breakfast shit. I'll give it another week. It hasn't changed my life. I might try giving up sugar.

The biggest: ending a 10yr relationship

The smallest: buying frozen chopped onions

Yes frozen chopped onions have been game changers for me too!

I need to do so much of this! I've had a rollcrrcoaster couple of years, including the birth of now 18 month old DS and being smashed in the face with awful depression and anxiety when he was six ish months old.

I've turned 30 this week and am reflecting.

• I've found a fantastic counsellor who is working wonders
• I'm building up the courage to hand my

Notice in and start my own business

• we've put a deposit down on a puppy and I can't wait
• I also batch cook now, mostly because DS is gluten intolerant so it's much easier to have a freezer full of stuff ready for him
• DP has had health issues so we've made the change to only butchers meat and fruit and veg from a company that sources or grows it locally. I thought it'd be more expensive but it actually works out cheaper and I do think we are healthier for it
• I only make time for people who make time for me. Like a PP, I'm actually very nice and a bit of a doormat. Culling people from my life means I've kept a handful of AMAZING friends and lost a lot of the crap ones.

There's so much work left to do though weight and money wise, self esteem blah blah

All the motivational thoughts on this thread and I'm creaming myself over the thought of frozen chopped onion!!!!

I know of someone who did the following and found it so liberating:

Gave away iron and ironing board - waste of time. Don't buy it or wear it if it's labour intensive.

Got rid of all mirrors - 50 years old - knows what she looks like ffs, doesn't need the pressure of seeing that she's not 18.

Got rid of TV - waste of time, space and money. Collects dust.

Massive de-clutter and downsized to smaller home (children left home). Cheaper, quicker to clean.

Stopped colouring hair - no chemicals, time/money saved.

Vegetarian - feels so much better in body and conscience.

Got politically active - started being involved in things she believed in rather than things you think you are supposed to do.

Joined a walking group - this led to all sorts of new exercise and now cycles loads - lost weight, much fitter and healthier - whole new social life.

She is inspirational. I have stolen some of her ideas myself and highly recommend them. Game changers.

I took up meditation using the Headspace app 9 months ago and it’s been a big improvement for me in the way I react to things , quite difficult to articulate how else it’s improved my life but I know it has !

Please keep the stories of leaving bad jobs going mine isn’t bad on paper but I know I’d be happier away from it , I’ve set a deadline of handing in my notice at the beginning of February as don’t want to be out of work over winter and I need to have the courage to do it.

I know I would be happier if I gave up drinking too but although I’ve thought about it most days for the last three decades it is still my daily wind down and emotional crutch. Oops sorry this is meant to be a positive thread !!

Exercise - I was 20 stone. I'm now 16 stone and run 5k 3 x a week. I'm not fast, but getting there.

And quitting alcohol. My skin is better, my mind is sharper. Just helped all round.

This is such an inspirational thread. Finally realise. Need to excercise and lose weight for me, not for anyone else.

Great thread!

Str4nge, what changed so brilliantly about totally stopping drinking?

Fab thread - thanks. Desperate times atm and some really inspirational ideas on here have given me plenty to consider.

Quitting my job. I was always moaning about it and how boring my life was, etc.

2 days into my new job I realised just how good I'd had it before. I quit the new one, went back to the old one and love it now. I never moan about my life anymore but realise how fucking lucky I am instead.

Also, moving out of a horrible houseshare in London into my own flat in the suburbs.

I meditate. Twice a day, for 20 minutes. I have more focus, more energy; I'm more efficient; I'm calmer and my headaches have disappeared.

Oh, I forgot the biggest one!

Getting rid of Facebook.

Felt like a weight off my shoulders. Don't have to compete with friends, no more living a fake life of staged photos, no more stalking people with better careers, no more wasting hours scrolling through clickbait and feeling inferior.

Been 4 months now and never felt happier. Got back into painting, sewing, reading, being happy.