“What Improved Your Quality Of Life So Much, You Wish You Did It Sooner?” (50 Answers)

In our personal experience, the biggest non-negotiable areas that you should prioritize in terms of your time, energy, and money are:

1. Spending time with your loved ones and focusing on positive relationships;
2. Getting lots of movement and finding fun ways to exercise so you don’t live a sedentary life;
3. Eating a healthy and nutritious diet while avoiding ultra-processed foods so you live longer and have more energy to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way;
4. Becoming financially literate, earning more than you spend, having a healthy budget, and saving and/or investing a portion of your income for the sake of your and your family’s future;
5. Doing purposeful, meaningful things at your job, in your hobbies, and while volunteering.

It’s very important to look at what you eat, as well as what food items you avoid. The BBC warns that based on a recent study done in eight countries and published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, people who eat lots of ultra-processed foods (also known as UPFs) may be at greater risk of passing away early.

Lead study author Dr. Eduardo Nilson said that UPFs affected people’s health “because of the changes in the foods during industrial processing and the use of artificial ingredients, including colorants, artificial flavors and sweeteners, emulsifiers, and many other additives and processing aids.”

The BBC adds that “UPFs tend to contain more than five ingredients, which are not usually found in home cooking, such as additives, sweeteners, and chemicals to improve the food's texture or appearance. Some experts say it's not known why UPFs are linked to poor health—there is little evidence it's down to the processing itself and could be because these foods contain high levels of fat, salt, and sugar.”

The NOVA classification of ultra-processed food includes things such as:

1. cakes, pastries, and biscuits;
2. crisps;
3. supermarket bread;
4. sausages, burgers, and hot dogs;
5. instant soups, noodles, and desserts;
6. chicken nuggets;
7. fish fingers;
8. fruit yogurts and fruit drinks;
9. margarines and spreads;
10. baby formula.

The author of the thread said that taking an incremental approach to changing your life, when you're unsure of what to do, is probably best.

"Please just take one small step. It probably looks insignificant, but just take one small step toward improving your life. You'd be surprised how one tiny step, one tiny action, can snowball into bigger changes," u/ CookieNegative9860 told Bored Panda.

"It's the momentum that counts, this little shift in your life can lead to miles of progress you never thought was possible."

The author said that they're very happy about the attention that their question got online. "I'm really grateful how many people took the time to share their experiences, giving thoughtful advice to strangers on the internet, it shows how much we can learn from one another when we speak honestly," they said.

They also opened up about the inspiration behind their thread. "Honestly, that day I was just bored, reflecting on couple of things I regretted doing in the past and a few decisions I was proud of, that got me wondering what others might say if I asked this question, so I decided to post it."

We asked u/ CookieNegative9860 about their thoughts as to why the question was so relatable to so many people online. "I think the reason why it resonated so widely with internet users is because, at a fundamental level, we are all not that different from each other. Most of us have made mistakes that we regret and done some things that turned our lives around for the better," they said.

"I believe there is something very human and fulfilling about helping others, even if it's just by sharing a small piece of advice, and I believe that thread became a space where people were open, kind, and generous, helping others and that is what made it so powerful."

They said that they "absolutely did not expect" the thread to get so much attention. "I made the post, and a couple hours later, it had thousands of comments, I ended up spending hours reading them, and even taking notes in my notebook, I truly appreciate everyone who took the time to share their insight, and experiences about what improved their life."