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What have you done to improve your life this year?

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NotTheGuyYouKill

Member
I'm in a pretty pissy mood, so I figured why not ask people how they've made their lives better this year in an effort to make me feel better about people in general.

What have you done this year to make your life better? You, proactively.
 
S

shaki123

Member
I have to say not very much. I kinda fucked up my life this year. The only good thing is that I now know I am fucked and I accept it.
 
B

bjork

Member
Got a new car (new to me), my first bed in like 7y, and a PC that can actually play some stuff. So I guess I spent money. Go me!
 
terrisus

terrisus

Member
Well, last year I spent a month and a half in the hospital.
I haven't done that this year
... yet...
 
M

McNum

Member
I made another attempt at fighting my phobia of dentists. Made the most progress I've done in over a decade on that. I had to try, was my last shot at not losing a damaged front tooth.

I'm still nervous and anxious about it all, and I think that's how it will have to be... but I got a root canal done and there is nothing worse the dentist can throw at me after that. Now to get one more done...

This is my greatest victory this year. But I can't just sit back and rest on it. It's still a fight.
 
D

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
• Cut out a lot of shitty stuff from my diet and lost more weight because of it.
• Stopped buying so many video games that I really don't have interest in.
• Got rid of a bunch of junk, so my apartment is much cleaner.
• Second job that pays decently for the weekends. Though I may quit it by the end of the year. The location is fucked.
 
M

MarshallH

Neo Member
Got some therapy/coaching for some long-existing issues, which has made a huge improvement to my life, I'm making some effort to finally graduate this year, and I've rekindled a passion for (making) music that I had lost over the years.
 
F

fuzzylogic

Member
I have been learning Spanish through Duolingo. The lazy man's study aide! I've always wanted to speak a second language, and I've begun to slowly make that happen. DL is just a starting point, hopefully. I've also started German, because what better way to stall out my language acquisition than by increasing the mental demand!

I'm learning to program through Coursera. Doing Python and Android classes currently. I'd like to switch to a career in programming, and this is step 1 of an intimidating amount. I used to program for fun in high school though (only basic languages and on my calculator), so I figure I gotta love programming way more than my current career. Seeing what you coded appear to life before you is very satisfying.

I have not been fired from my full-time job yet. Depressed me has made the effort, but I'm lucky to have the kind of job I do, where I can scrap by as this terrible version of myself. Need to shape up before I get canned.

I still struggle with depression, sleep apnea (I think) and being fat, but I've been doing a little better at that lately. Not sleeping well makes changing your life really difficult. It's hard to have any optimism or motivation when you're tired 27 days of the month.

I've been reading more non-fiction and learning really cool things I've always wanted to know more about. I had a significant shift in personal beliefs that is important to me, and makes me a little proud, even if it matters not at all to anyone else.

I also put away a lot of money into a 2nd retirement vehicle, which should keep me secure in my old age. I have no idea where I want to live for any extended period of time, so it's not like I need a house down payment in the near future anyway. Might as well have the money do something worthwhile. Right, I guess I increased my knowledge of investing from zero to enough to set up retirement vehicles this year, and I've increased my credit score 100 points and figured out my finances much better than before.

I'm an unremarkable loser, so the above is me doing pretty well. Posting this actually made me feel better about myself, sadly enough. I have done much more this year than I thought, thanks for the thread, OP. Still waste too much time on TV and video games though.
 
F

FuuRe

Member
Decided I didn't want to work as a slave my whole life and started some personal projects

I'm trying to become an entrepreneur
 
B

backflip10019

Member
Lost 25 lbs. Got in shape. Made more money. Stopped doing hobbies that I no longer valued because I was peer pressured into them. Started focusing on things and people who I truly value.
 
P

Pickman

Member
Got a good stable 8-5 job instead of working in retail again. I've quit playing WoW, which was a huge lifesink. I found out my gf was cheating and cut her out of my life like a cancer. I've started saving to buy a home. Renting is just like tossing money down a hole.

I've got a lot of improvement to make, but I'm content with my progress from where I was a year and a few months ago.
 
S

SteveWinwood

Member
i attempted to be more responsible, work harder, and put more effort into things

id say i accomplished that

tons of room for improvement though
 
N

nullset2

Junior Member
This has been the most incredible year in my life. I feel like I finally know what it's like to be a man of the world. I have a great job with responsibilities full of people I like, and I know how to be a social animal. I have prospects and dates now! I am independent!

nullset2 said:
I did something for the first time at the beginning of this month.

having sex

Makes me remember, I've been having a terrific year over here! This has been a year of firsts:

First apartment under rent
First time swimming
First kiss
First trip and first international travel ever
First credit card
And I forgot, I got high for the first time too :3

That's all happened within a span of six months.
Click to expand...

And I also watched the best movie of all time, Mind Game, so, yup, I've done a shitload of work to improve my life thise year, and I'm very happy :)
 
bengraven

bengraven

Member
Haven't had a chance to.

This is the worst year of my life. Started gaining massive amounts of weight for some reason, got higher than I ever expected to be on the scale. Because of that I've gotten very sick, spent the last 9 months wasting my entire savings going to the doctor.

Then I just got fired two weeks ago.
 
F

FuuRe

Member
nullset2 said:
This has been the most incredible year in my life. I feel like I finally know what it's like to be a man of the world. I have a great job with responsibilities full of people I like, and I know how to be a social animal. I have prospects and dates now! I am independent!



And I also watched the best movie of all time, Mind Game, so, yup, I've done a shitload of work to improve my life thise year, and I'm very happy :)
Click to expand...

I wouldn't call a credit card an improvement
 
Icefire1424

Icefire1424

Member
Moved the wife and I into a house after being stuck in an apartment for the last two years following a relocate. Took a new job that has me home on the evenings and weekends so I can spend more time with the family. Wife gave birth to our first child, a daughter, which has changed my life more than I could possibly describe here. Made several lifestyle changes that have improved my overall heath...

Pretty busy year.
 
F

FloatOn

Member
Got divorced from a pretty toxic relationship.

2 sucessful out of state business trips (3rd will be in December)

1 vacation

Cut down significantly on caffeine

Straight A's in school so far

Acquired 2 pretty awesome roommates
 
C

Captainbojanglesiii

Banned
Started volunteer work once a week since May

Hit the gym every week since before January and kept up with it

Started learning how to play Chess at a high level

Started my Junior year of high school in the IB program and have receieved straight A's thus far despite an immense workload and tests

Started managing my time better so I effectively play my games and still get everything done

Imporved public speaking skills

Made a large group of friends

Opened up more

Realized one of my friends was toxic and stopped talking to them as much



It's been a really great year and I've grown up a lot.


I still can't get over my damn Pepsi addiction though...
 
T

TheChocolateWar

Member
Have been providing pro bono legal services to youths in my state since passing the bar in an attempt to market my firm and goals. Plan on helping people out with immigration issues for free soon too.
 
bobawesome

bobawesome

Member
I've started running on the treadmill. It's extremely boring but I want to look like I used to. I'm not in terrible shape but I don't like the me that I see every morning.

Oh, I also settled on a major and minor and received my associate degree. It's not much but it's a start.
 
K

KorrZ

Member
Completely altered my diet and started working out again on a regular basis. Not to lose weight (I'm already only 140 pounds) but just to be healthier.
 
F

flkraven

Member
I've completed P90X twice and am in the process of studying for the LSATs. I'm eating fewer processed foods, and drink a smoothie every morning to get some fruits and veggies in. I've never felt so good/strong in my whole life, and I am really hoping I do decent on this exam.
 
Fnord

Fnord

Member
I started (re-started, really, after more than a year off) lifting weights and eating significantly better. As such, I've packed on some muscle and dropped 25 pounds since June. I feel better, I look MUCH better, and I'm all around happier. Got dumped by my girlfriend, which sucked, but I handled it notably better than I would have in the past. I attribute that to the working out. :)

I'm also following a regimen pretty strictly this time instead of just making my own and it's working a lot better.
 
A

AbsolutBro

Member
My complete inaction on getting a new job lead to a promotion in my existing position, so yay for laziness! I count this as proactive, because the time I would have spent job hunting was spent doing extra work at my current position, which was definitely noticed.

I expanded the size of my home garden, nearly doubled my produce output.

That's about it. I haven't made any headway into my desire to make a workout part of my daily routine, nor have I taken any steps to fix my debt issue (previously mentioned promotion aside).
 
Collete

Collete

Member
I'm trying to take the reigns of my self employment dreams.
While it isn't much, I've started a Twitch channel, have plans for a Youtube channel and I'm slowly making progress with it.
Been editting my first novel to have it published next year.
Trying to apply to grad school as well.

I don't know, I feel like I'm in a better spot than I was a few months ago.
 
M

Mupod

Member
Oh boy.

1. Moved to a new, much much bigger city. I was unemployed, depressed, running out of money and finding absolutely no work whatsoever in my field after almost a year of looking. I got the opportunity to take over a room my brother was renting and did it. Packed up my whole life into a little Toyota and moved to Toronto.

2. Found a new job. Wasn't easy - I was used to always getting interviews for the rare positions I'd see. But here, I could put out 50 applications a day and only get one interview in 2 weeks. The first month I got nothing, but changing my approach got me a job eventually. I'd always worked short term contracts before so it's nice even though I'm making a lot less hourly...although that might be changing soon, we'll see.

3. Found a doctor. Canada may have free healthcare but finding a family doctor in some places takes years. In Toronto it took me a day. Didn't find anything horribly wrong with me other than that I needed to lose weight, which brings me to:

4. Started working out. My first time on the elliptical I lasted 3 minutes. Now I can do an hour no problem. The fitness room in my apartment complex isn't huge but it's serviceable and I've been going regularly since June. Watching Giantbomb while I run has helped a lot and now it's habit. Everyone says I've lost a lot of weight, I dunno about that but I feel (and sleep) better.

5. Cut out sugary drinks. I had a real problem with drinking too much pop before - I was at or above 4 cans of pepsi a day at one point. I started cutting it down to one can, then to just drinking juice or tea. Then carbonated water. Don't drink pop at all anymore.

6. Eating better. Never really thought about it before, and I'm not sure I'm doing it right, but at least I'm not living off of shitty frozen boxed food anymore. Trying to get better at cooking, but steamed vegetables and meat on the grill is enough for me most of the time.

7. Trying to fix my teeth. Starting off with some wisdom teeth that should have come out 6-7 years ago. Don't have the money to do everything else I need done, but it's in the planning stage and I don't need to worry about broken wisdom teeth getting infected anymore. At least not the top ones.

I've still got a long way to go, and I have no idea how this job is going to work out long-term. But I figure if I keep trying my best then things have to at least get better.
 
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Masquerader

Member
My life was fucked up about 2 years ago, and I moped around for a year. Now though, I've started to make myself better, really. I'm fitter, slightly more talented, and actually am now in possession of a job. What's more, in doing all this, I'm feeling a little bit happier. This is my good year, after 2 years of shit.

It's taken a lot of effort, and I've got to continue giving it more effort, but even so, I'd say that I'm better than ever, really.
 
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