40 ‘Butterfly Effect’ Stories Where Seemingly Insignificant Choices Had A Great Effect On These People’s Lives

Choosing to participate in martial arts was a decision that forever changed my life. It had a profound impact on various aspects, including the way I talk, walk, and perceive myself. Martial arts gave me more confidence and transformed my mindset.

There were several things along the way that changed my trajectory.
1. Left my hometown and my best friend who decided to become a drug addict
2. Quit smoking and hanging around low motivation people
3. Got a science degree that allowed me to earn a comfortable living
4. Cut my mom out of my life, who had put me down constantly since I was old enough to remember
5. Married my very normal stable husband and had children with him

I quit sugar. Anything that wasn’t fruit. I was the unhappiest I had ever been in my life and I told myself, “just 1 month”. Every hard day I just said, “one more day”. Then I kept going, eating healthy, no processed foods, working out, day-by-day I gained momentum. I lost over 100lbs (probably 150lbs, but I never weighed my starting weight. I imagine it was close to, if not over 300lbs).

This completely changed my mind, body, and spirit. My friends asked “How did you do it?”, I said, “I stopped lying to myself”. I was wishing and hoping to be “skinny” but was eating and treating myself like c**p. Sugar did not make me happy. Processed foods did not make me happy. When I finally took control of my life, I lost the weight, and my mindset shifted to: “I want to be healthy” not “skinny”.
I gained a little bit of weight during covid, but now back on track. I have never felt better in my life. I grew up fat, I was always “fat”, and I now have a lil more chub than I would like, but I am happy and healthy and not too hard on myself. It just takes one day, day-by-day, but you have to do it for yourself. Only you can do it for yourself. The hardest thing is facing the reality of your choices and habits.

ETA (It's a long one!): Thank you for the award and the positive responses! Truly, our society (in the US) makes it difficult to eat healthy. It's an active choice we have to make, and everything surrounding us wants us to quit and crave. What helps me most is cooking for myself and being in control of my ingredients.

In the US we do not teach proper nutrition, cooking, or meal planning, which is a foundation of health. I had to educate myself and started with a "clean-eating" path, which included animal products but no processed foods or added sugars (I did eat Lily's Dark Chocolate Chips, no added sugar, which really helped my chocolate cravings in that first month!); I had lost 100+lbs. But I admit, it was more restrictive. At the time that's what I needed.

Then covid happened and I was depressed and had to eat frozen pizza and ice cream! I had to! So I did! But then that's all I was eating, and I wasn't happy again, and I gained maybe 40lbs.

I reflected and shifted my mindset again and found something that works best for me: a Whole Food Plant Based lifestyle (check out the r/PlantBasedDiet sub!). I feel no restriction with this lifestyle, and have lost weight without working out. I only walk and do yoga and pilates. And I love to eat! We should enjoy eating and life! My mind, body, and spirit have never been more positive than living a plant-based life. There is so much variety and freedom. Plants are medicine!

I advocate for a plant-based diet, especially if you're like me who loves to eat! We need to eat! Food is fuel! Plants have a lower calorie density, so you eat and feel full! Greens and Beans baby! Get that fiber! Get those micronutrients! It's all about longevity and nutrition. But it's not like years ago on that first month of my journey I was craving vegetables, it took time and I evolved to this point. It's a journey, day-by-day, and I am still on my journey.

But years ago, after that first month, then months of no added sugar, I could actually taste food again. I could taste the sweetness of blueberries and broccoli, but it took time. I remember eating some candy when I felt more in control of my eating and thought, "I can taste the artificial chemicals", and I didn't want it. Because my gut shifted. They say your gut is your second brain!

I could talk about this stuff all day, I know this edit was long. But truly this choice is what changed my life forever. Honestly, I open my messages for anyone struggling and needs some encouragement to message me. I truly love to help people, and know how intimate this is (food and our bodies). Thanks for reading friends!

Coming out, saved my life.

Decided when I started college to start saying yes to opportunities and to interact with people more often instead of being paralyzingly shy. My reasoning was that in college, no one would know who or what I had been, so being someone knew would not look fake or phony. Life immediately became less stressful and more fun. That has remained the case ever since.

Cut contact with my abusive mom.

I was engaged at 24 we called it off a mutual decision. She went on to eventually marry and have 2 kids and raised a beautiful family.
I moved out of state, worked for three beverage companies that all ended up getting bought. Not retirement money but allowed me to travel, live in full amenity lofts in downtowns and go to every concert festival I wanted. I realized I wasn’t the family person and glad we didn’t get in a situation that would have been detrimental to everyone especially if we got married and had kids.

Made a spur of the moment decision when I was 18 not to go to school for what I had planned to my entire teen life and applied to work in the UK for a few months
It completely changed the trajectory of my life and led to a series of other gut instinct decisions that gave me the life I have now that I absolutely would not have if not for that first choice

Before my husband and I were dating, we talked a lot and hung out as friends. The night before I was supposed to go to Vegas for a friends birthday he kissed me. Needless to say the whole trip I was antsy thinking about him and how crazy I felt for already being in love. I went to see him the day I got back, and never came home. Now we are married with a perfect baby just under 2 years later

Back when The Onion was only in print, there was an ad in one issue that said _The Onion Personals: You could do worse. Hell, you always have_. Met the love of my life a few days in.

started lifting weights, left mormonism

Seeing a therapist about my anxiety.

Having my son. I love that little f****r with everything I am, but damn life used to be so much simpler.

Applying to a coding bootcamp. Best decision I made as well. I don't absolutely loathe what I do for 40 hours a week anymore and I have enough money to only have to check my bank account to make sure I still have the financial cushion I managed to get into place.

I can't speak to what the job market is nowadays, and I personally wouldn't recommend a bootcamp when everything you need is available for free online, but if anyone has ever been interested in giving coding a shot I'd strongly recommend it.

When I was 13 years old, 25 years ago, me and some friends were shark fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. My buddy caught a shark and gutted it and put it on the side of the boat. He was older than me so he was an authoritative figure of some sorts.

For whatever reason I wanted to jump in the water and swim after these events and I asked my older buddy if I could. He hesitated for a second and said no.

A few seconds later he shines the light on the area I was about to jump and there’s a massive hammerhead shark right there. His decision to say “no” perhaps saved my life.

Leave my cheater 1st wife after 20yrs.
Start meditating at 50yrs

practice delayed gratification instead of instant cheap gratification

Signing up for school as soon as the pandemic hit, I now have a completely new career and life because I immediately took action after loosing my income during the pandemic.

Going to get my masters degree. I was on a path of poverty even with my bachelors degree. Now I’m on a very comfortable trajectory and can afford a decent life for myself and my family

Leaving home.