There are days when a tiny voice inside your head nudges you, maybe to double-check if you turned off the gas or to grab a jacket “just in case.” Most of the time, it's nothing. But every once in a while, that cautious little voice ends up saving you from something disastrous.
Today, we’ve scoured the internet for stories from people who acted on those gut feelings or made thoughtful, cautious, or even random decisions that turned out to be life-changing. In this collection, you’ll find tales of backup plans, second opinions, and split-second choices that made all the difference. Keep reading for some uplifting proof that playing it safe can sometimes be the best thing you ever do.
And don’t forget the basics, like your contact information. “It might sound obvious, but people still forget to include their phone number or hide it at the bottom,” she said. Keep it simple and professional.
“Ditch the quirky email address from h**h school. Use your name and a clean email, and ideally, link your LinkedIn profile.” Make it easy for hiring managers to reach out. The easier you make their job, the better your chances.
#22
I had a stroke and went to see a doctor because I thought I was just sick. He told me I had a sinus infection and prescribed me antibiotics.
Getting a second opinion saved my life. The second doctor knew immediately.
Getting a second opinion saved my life. The second doctor knew immediately.
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75points
#23
Using a cpap machine.
If you think you have sleep apnea, fall asleep randomly or never feel rested, PLEASE have a sleep study done. Your life depends on it.
If you think you have sleep apnea, fall asleep randomly or never feel rested, PLEASE have a sleep study done. Your life depends on it.
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70points
At the end of the day, a resume is more than a document, it’s your pitch. It tells your story and sets the tone before you even walk into an interview. “A well-crafted resume shows you take yourself and the opportunity seriously,” Erica said.
“It’s your chance to make a strong first impression, so give it the attention it deserves.” When done right, a resume doesn’t just list your past; it opens the door to your future.
#25
Condoms. Didn't plan on getting it on with anyone that day.
Grabbed a beer with friends. Hit it off with a gal.
What happens happens.
She sends me a message the day after telling me she had a herpes spur and didn't feel it in the moment.
Got tested. Don't have it.
Always wrap it before you shove it boys. And keep that bag on you always.
Grabbed a beer with friends. Hit it off with a gal.
What happens happens.
She sends me a message the day after telling me she had a herpes spur and didn't feel it in the moment.
Got tested. Don't have it.
Always wrap it before you shove it boys. And keep that bag on you always.
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68points
#26
Getting that second fire extinguisher. Bought enough time for the fire department to get to my house and save my roof.
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67points
#27
Listening to a parent. I was running to catch the bus when I was around 8 yrs old. Without looking, I was going to cross the street (bus was stopped with flashing lights). My parent yelled at me to stop and I did. A car flew by and would have hit me. The driver was located and arrested.
67points
And it’s not just resumes; these posts show how paying attention to certain details, even the ones that seem small or obvious, can actually make a huge difference. Sometimes, success really is in the details. Which one of these tips did you find the most helpful? Let us know, your future self might just thank you for it.
#28
So sick for 3 days. Everyone kept telling me I looked horrible. I was in so much pain. Finally went to hospital. My appendix had burst. Spent 8 days in hospital due to infection. Had surgery. Surgeon told my family I waited too long. Luckily it all turned out ok.
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67points
#29
Joining a Brazilian jiu jitsu gym. Lost 85 lbs. Made lots of new friends. It made every aspect of my life better.
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66points
#30
Wore my seat belt. Was in an accident last Monday and a new driver blew through a red light and smashed into me. If I hadn’t of been wearing my seat belt I’d have been dead. My car’s condition on the accident report was listed as “destroyed”.
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66points
#32
Always look up and question the medications doctors prescribe me. I've been yelled at by so many doctors because "you didn't go to med school, don't try to understand these things." Well one day I was having clear signs of serotonin o******e after taking a SNRI. I was hallucinating for days after taking it, nauseous, struggling to sleep, mood swings, etc. Not the first time this has happened to me, always from SSRIs or SNRIs, and it has since been confirmed by other doctors it is serotonin o******e syndrome. I called the doctor who prescribed it and told her, and she said, "OK, I'm going to send you over a script for Trazodone." I paused for a moment and said, "What classification is that?" She didn't answer. I said, "That's an SSRI isn't it. I'm already having serotonin o******e. If I take this it could k**l me." She got all flustered and tried to apologize and I just hung up the phone. F*****g idiot.
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59points
#33
Quitting Oxycontin after 2 weeks. The doctor’s group that I had chosen would only give you a week at a time prescription. After just wanting to sleep all the time and neglecting my dog. At the last Friday I said I needed something else for my nerve pain and no narcotics. I got a prescription for Ibuprofen and Tylenol. I was told that I would suffer no ill effects. Saturday morning, I began to experience what I would only describe as withdrawal. Sleeping in my bathroom next to the toilet wrapped in a comforter that was partially covered in vomit from the times I didn’t make it. My back door opened so my dog could go out for 48 hours which let the bugs in that swarmed around my head and bathroom. And I’m in pain.
I went to urgent care and was placed on an IV and handed materials for Narcotics Anonymous. I made the decision right then and there to avoid taking a narcotic again and from that point on when I talk about pain, they talk about me being d**g seeking. I am not. I’m now on an SNRI that helps with nerve pain, but in the back of my mind, I wonder if there is a going to be a point where it’s discovered that it is addictive in some way.
This was several years ago and yes; I am aware of the book and series called “Dopesick”. Not sure that I really want to relive that part of my life again, which I’m sure I will by watching/reading it. I was lucky that I had my dog at the time (she passed on) as that’s who saved my life by me being somewhat coherent enough that she needed to be fed and be let outside to go potty. My girl saved my life.
I went to urgent care and was placed on an IV and handed materials for Narcotics Anonymous. I made the decision right then and there to avoid taking a narcotic again and from that point on when I talk about pain, they talk about me being d**g seeking. I am not. I’m now on an SNRI that helps with nerve pain, but in the back of my mind, I wonder if there is a going to be a point where it’s discovered that it is addictive in some way.
This was several years ago and yes; I am aware of the book and series called “Dopesick”. Not sure that I really want to relive that part of my life again, which I’m sure I will by watching/reading it. I was lucky that I had my dog at the time (she passed on) as that’s who saved my life by me being somewhat coherent enough that she needed to be fed and be let outside to go potty. My girl saved my life.
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58points
#35
Early in my freshman year at Princeton, I went to a party in a dorm room. It was not in my dorm (Lockhart), but in a nearby one (Joline). I don’t recall why I went to that party. I didn’t know anyone there very well.
At the party was a girl named Nicole who lived in my dorm. I had met her once or twice, but didn’t know her.
We left the party and started talking. We sat on a bench out on Nassau Street and talked until 4 am.
We married in 1980 and were married until cancer took her in 2015.
Going to that party in Joline seemed pretty useless at the time, but turned out to be a key point in my life.
(Coincidentally, one of Nicole’s outdoor adventure buddies here in New Hampshire was a fellow named John Joline. He was from the family that donated for the dorm. But he was the rebel of his family and went to Dartmouth instead of Princeton. John passed away from cancer just a couple of months before Nicole.)
At the party was a girl named Nicole who lived in my dorm. I had met her once or twice, but didn’t know her.
We left the party and started talking. We sat on a bench out on Nassau Street and talked until 4 am.
We married in 1980 and were married until cancer took her in 2015.
Going to that party in Joline seemed pretty useless at the time, but turned out to be a key point in my life.
(Coincidentally, one of Nicole’s outdoor adventure buddies here in New Hampshire was a fellow named John Joline. He was from the family that donated for the dorm. But he was the rebel of his family and went to Dartmouth instead of Princeton. John passed away from cancer just a couple of months before Nicole.)
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55points
#36
Paying for full vehicle insurancec coverage in a foreign country on my honeymoon. Got sideswiped by a bus 20 min. later and totalled the rental. Got a new replacement rental same day without any fuss.
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53points
#37
I’ve been tracking my mood multiple times a day for a few years now, and decided to map it to my menstrual cycle a couple months ago on the suggestion of a friend. Turns out I have a hormonal disorder that makes me periodically insane (pmdd). The mood changes coupled with general depression/anxiety/traumatic events have almost killed me before. Highly recommend anyone who has a period and is randomly depressed/s******l/irrational for a few days a month do this and see if it matches up to a few days before your period.
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52points
#38
I’ve told it before so I’ll summaries this one:
Old mobile phones you had to set the time yourself. As a youth I set the time but messed up AM - PM , so my phone thought it was 12 hours earlier.
Alarm doesn’t go off, I wake up go to my bus stop, can’t, go to a different bus stop. Catch bus. While on bus see that my original bus stop has been flattened by a vehicle next to the highway.
If I had set my clock correctly I would have been there on time and died with the other dude that was there.
Mistakes, learn to live with em.
Old mobile phones you had to set the time yourself. As a youth I set the time but messed up AM - PM , so my phone thought it was 12 hours earlier.
Alarm doesn’t go off, I wake up go to my bus stop, can’t, go to a different bus stop. Catch bus. While on bus see that my original bus stop has been flattened by a vehicle next to the highway.
If I had set my clock correctly I would have been there on time and died with the other dude that was there.
Mistakes, learn to live with em.
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50points
#40
When I was young, my mom made me sign up for the frequent flyer program of every airline we ever took a trip on. Of course, the miles would expire before we ever flew each of those airlines again. Seemed like total waste of time and effort to my younger self. Fast forward, now I am in my 50s, have collected a few million frequent flyer points, mostly from credit cards, and every trip I have taken abroad in the past 15 years has been for free - in first or business class - by using those frequent flyer points.
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34points
