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People shared the small changes they made that improved their lives in big ways

Real advice from real people.

daily habits, atomic habits, james clear, self improvement
Photo by Isabella and Zsa Fischer on Unsplash, Marcus Ng on Unsplash, Sarah Brown on Unsplash

Isabella and Zsa Fischer , Marcus Ng, Sarah Brown

In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear notes that “your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits … you get what you repeat.” Basically, if you want to predict where your life is leading, take a look at your daily choices. And Clear is certainly not the first or last motivational speaker to promote this wisdom. Pick up any self-help book, and it will most likely tout the message of how small, incremental changes can have an enormous impact on our lives.

A recent thread on AskReddit posed the question: What improved your quality of life so much you wished you did it sooner? For those of us who still can’t seem to tick off things like “drink more water” from the to-do list (despite knowing full well all the benefits) it might help hearing success stories from real, everyday people.

Here are some of the highlights:

Swimming for back pain

back pain, back pain remediesGiphy

“Drugs, bed rest for weeks, chiro, deep massage, electroshock. Then I swam some laps and over a three day period months of decrepitude vanished. I couldn’t believe and am now obsessed with swimming." – DontShootTheFood

“Most people who have back pain (especially lower back pain) have it as a result of sedentary lifestyle (exacerbated by sitting in office chairs for a long period of time). Swimming is a fantastic total body and core workout which just builds and balances strength to reduce back pain. If you have pain due to an injury, it may not be as effective." – hanksredditname

Managing road rage

road rage, driving habitsGiphy

“Someone wants to pass me when I'm in the left lane? Move over and let them pass. Someone wants in my lane? That's ok, I don't consider the gap ahead of me to be my real estate. Semi puts on their blinkers when I'm intending to pass? Let off the speed and flick my high beams to let them know there's enough room to enter my lane. All of this helps traffic flow better, makes things safer, and actually feels good to do. And all it required was to stop feeling like all of those things were a personal attack on me and my desire to get to my destination." – Buddahrific

Setting boundaries … even with family

setting boundaries, healthy lifestyleGiphy

“I used to feel like I had to hang out with people when they asked, and as an introvert would resent losing my ‘me’ time. Now I'm just honest with people and say I'm tired, or that I had a long weekend of Great British Bakeoff and dog snuggles that I was really looking forward to. Might sound lame but I'm 150% happier.” – Acceptable-Place0872

“…I'm in my late twenties and talk to neither of my parents. I forgive them for what they did, but I don't want a relationship of any kind with them and have made that very clear. I just stopped picking up the phone, texting back, messaging back at all. My brother still talks to one, but he suffers for it. I know I made the right decision.” – thekindwillinherit

Exercising for more than just your body

exercise, exercise and mental health, mental healthGiphy

“I wish more people knew exactly how helpful exercise really is for both mental and physical health! Throughout high school I was seeing psychologists for anxiety and other issues and they repeatedly told me to eat healthy and exercise to improve my mental state. It's pretty easy when you are in a bad place to dismiss that and say 'a chemical imbalance in my brain isn't going to fix itself if I go for a run' so I never followed their advice. When I was around 20 I got a gym membership and actually started exercising for unrelated reasons and WOW does it help a lot! If you have mental health issues, a healthy lifestyle might not totally fix you but it will DEFINITELY help.” – vindaflyfox

Breaking free from phone addiction

social media, phone addictionGiphy

“Disable your push notifications in tandem with uninstalling all social media apps. It's quite fascinating how much better you feel when social media isn't installed. Bye bye FB/Meta, Insta, Twitter, all of it gone. Talk about liberating. Took me about a month of "training", but now I hardly ever look at my phone, and I no longer feel phantom vibrations while it's in my pocket. It's disgusting how we've become slaves to our devices.” – dj92wa

Improving sleep

sleep, sleep and health, improving sleepGiphy

“I’ve been using my CPAP for a few weeks now and I actually know what it’s like to have energy and motivation and not be a zombie by 2 pm. If anyone else feels like that, I heavily recommend talking to your doctor about having a sleep study done.” – whomikehidden

“Sunrise Alarm Clock. I wake up so much better during the dark winter months.” – herbstavore

Decluttering

cleaning, cleaning tips, declutteringGiphy

“...A consistently clean home is amazing and doesn’t take a ton of time. 10-15 minutes a day I can keep things fairly tidy.” – unwinagainstable

“Nothing feels so relaxing when everything is in its place, organized and uncluttered. This obviously goes for at home, but also a clean car, clean desk, clean and organized computer and filing. Taking notes and reminders and deleting them when the task is done really relieves the mind. You can relax and focus better when your brain isn't cluttered and overwhelmed.” – KanataCitizen

Walking for an hour

walking, walking benefitsGiphy

“This literally saved my life. A lot of people think just going out for a walk has minimal benefits, but it has both great physical and mental ones. Highly underrated (and free).” – grittypitty

Journaling affirmations

journaling, affirmations, affirmation journalGiphy

“…it helps remind me of my values, which helps me make better decisions each day, and having done it for three years now, I can see the progress I’ve made in learning not to sweat the small stuff. It’s encouraging. I’m figuring myself out.” – babblewocky

Dropping sarcasm

better attitudes, self improvement, mindsetGiphy

"I thought this gave me sharp, dry wit but really it was one step up from a teenager's whiney voice making fun of people. It really was a low form of humor and, indeed, the perfect analog to the pseudo-intellectualism of the cynical act. It's so easy to be sarcastic and nasty and it gets old REALLY fast.” – zazzlekdazzle

Opting for positive content

positivity, postive contentGiphy

“I stopped consuming true crime content this past summer. It overall made me a more fearful, less empathetic, and more judgemental person by nature. The content encouraged my negative thought spirals and called it awareness. Never going back.” – notwest94

Practicing gratitude

gratitudeGiphy

“It is small but it genuinely makes a big impact. I had an assignment for a university course last year where we had to spend one week noting down something positive/good each day and then the next week negative things and I hadn’t realized just how much my life has improved until the week where I focused on negative things, it really solidified how much of a difference it made on my mood, how I felt about myself, and even how much I accomplished.” – supersaurus65

millennial-grind.com

There were some other great contenders: daily dancing, seeing a therapist, stretching before bed and at waking … just to name a few. But no matter the habit, they planted seeds for not only a new life, but for a new identity. As Clear would put it, “every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.”

Let authors like Clear help guide you—and stories like the ones above help inspire you—as you forge a better path for yourself, one small step at a time.


This article originally appeared on 12.8.21

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daily wellness
Joy

Adorable Golden Retriever absolutely loses it when he runs into his vet at a bar

No one has ever been this excited to see their doctor.

@cosmo_andtheoddparents/TikTok

He wuvs his vet.

Not every dog might jump with joy after seeing their vet out in public. But for Cosmo the Golden Retriever, it was practically Christmas all over again when he spotted his own vet, Dr. Jones, at a brewery.

In an adorable clip posted to TikTok, we see Cosmo in pure, unadulterated bliss as he snuggles with an equally happy Dr. Jones, who, considering he’s still in his scrubs, might have just gotten out of work to grab a quick pint.

Watch:

@cosmo_andtheoddparents When you run into your vet in public #goldenretrieversoftiktok #vetlife #animallovers #petparents #goldenretriever #goldenretrievers #doglife #dogmom #dailyfluff #charlestondogs #doglover #charlestondog #brewerydog ♬ original sound - Cosmo

Ugh, the cuteness is too much to handle! People in the comments could barely contain their secondhand joy.

“He looked over like, “Mom, do you see who this is?” one person wrote, while another said, “What in the Hallmark movie? Adorable!!”

One person even joked, “Did we all check the vet’s hand for a wedding ring? (Said as a married woman. Looking out for you all, or something.)”

According to Hannah Dweikat, Cosmo’s owner, the two actually share quite a history. She tells Upworthy that when Cosmo was but a wee pup, he “gave a scare” after eating a Sago Palm seed, which are highly toxic to dogs, from a plant in their backyard, which of course resulted in him being rushed to the animal hospital and staying there over the weekend.

While that’s every pet owner’s worst nightmare, and certainly a scary situation for the poor fur baby, Dweikat says that “the calm and patient demeanor” of Dr. Jones and his staff put Cosmo at ease. And because of this, “Cosmo has always loved going to see his friends—especially because they give him lots of treats and snuggles.”

Cosmo and Dr. Jones’ buddyship has also blossomed thanks to proximity, as Dweikat only lives down the street from the clinic. “Which means we get to see Dr. Jones and his staff out in public at times and Cosmo takes every chance he can get to say hi,” she explains. This time, however, she was able to capture it all on video. Yay for us!

What makes a good vet?

While not every vet, however gifted, will be able to elicit this type of reaction from their patients, having a calming presence like Dr. Jones is certainly a good sign for pet owners to be on the lookout for when shopping around for their own vet. But that’s not the only quality a good vet needs. According to Saint Matthews University, a vet also needs to have high stamina (both physically and mentally), as well as an ability to tolerate unpleasant situations (you can’t faint at the sight of blood or vomit), a high level of emotional intelligence (maybe all doctors should possess this skill, but especially those who work with animals), adaptability, a sense of enthusiasm, and finally, excellent communication skills.

Dr. Jones seems to have these attributes in spades, and his patients clearly love him for it. None so much as Cosmo, obviously.

By the way, if you’re in need of even more content featuring this precious pup, you can follow Cosmo on both TikTok and Instagram.

This article originally appeared in February

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Humor

Gen Zers hilariously try to explain to other generations what makes them laugh

"Half of Gen Z doesn't even get their own memes."

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Gen Z doesn't get their own humor.

When it comes to jokes, some generations love a very clear set-up-punch. "My wife is so lazy she… ba dum tss!"

For Gen Xers, "storytelling jokes" became more popular, made famous by the likes of Janeane Garofalo, Patton Oswalt, and David Cross. You were there for the hilarity peppered throughout a story, rather than the traditional short-form approach. Think Louis C.K., John Mulaney, or Kevin Hart.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

But on the subreddit group r/outoftheloop, a blatant question was posed: "What is up with Gen Z humor?"

The question comes from a very earnest place. A 35-year-old Millennial woman simply wants to connect more with her 22-year-old Gen Z sister. The OP (@trainstationpoet) writes, "She is the best marshmallow squishy ray of light I’ve ever known. When I see her I just want to connect in every way possible to get that sibling good-good. She sends me some memes like this one and I genuinely do not understand ANY of them."

There is a link to Know Your Meme, which contains a picture of the following: a stick figure drawing of a smoking man with a hat entering through a door into a bunch of squiggles and capital "As." On top, it says "Are Ya Winning, Son? Don't forget to play The Last of Us too.." (I, too, am stumped.)

She then shares the same website with a piece entitled, "13 Reminders That Gen Z Kids Are Still The Future (Of Memes)" with different examples of what generations might find funny. Even the intro paragraph could be read as sarcastic, so wait—is THAT Gen Z humor?

For example, someone (and there doesn't seem to be a byline) writes, "There's nothing like a dose of good old generational stereotyping to distinguish between the different age groups. Boomers are the 'selfish and entitled ones' (depending on your age), whereas Millennials are the different, more self-aware brand of selfish and entitled (or self-loathing). As for Gen Z, they've got bigger fish to deep-fry than entering an argument about whether or not they're repeating the pattern."

They add, seemingly more sincerely, "The youngest generation is truly one of the strangest, because they laugh at their pain in a way that older generations haven't been able to. And there's something kind of endearing about that, in a messed-up sort of way. The cheerful pessimism and absurdist nature of Zoomer humor reminds us that even if everything won't be okay for the youth of today, at least they've gotten pretty good at making some truly detached and meaningless jokes online, as these examples remind us."

They then proceed to share memes to exemplify this premise. One, also sourced from Reddit, is titled "Le Gen Z has arrived." Underneath, it says "Boomer humor: Bad Wife, Millennial humor: Bad Life, Gen Z humor:" and it's merely a cartoon of a dog giving side-eye to a pink "beast version" of said dog who seems to be pawing a blue "beast version" of said dog and… oh never mind, I don't get it!

meme, side eye, gif, dog, gen z, humorSide Eye Dog Meme GIFGiphy

Back on the Reddit thread, the OP adds, "What I really don’t understand is the ‘why’ of the Gen Z humor. Boomer = low-hanging fruit that is 25% funny, 75% putting down other people. Millennial humor is self-deprecating jokes about wanting to be dead. Gen X humor is… idk, I never hear about them honestly. Then Gen Z humor (to me) is about taking acid, ending up on the astral plane and saying one to five words that vaguely represent the picture in the meme."

There are thousands of comments. One Redditor offers sound advice, which is essentially not to show fear. "Best advice to add: Don't say you don't get the meme. Half of Gen Z doesn't even get their own memes. You just sound old if you say that. The memes go fast and don't stick for long, so if you don't get it, don't ask about it."

Another explains that trends change so quickly for Zoomers, they want to make it seem like they're always keeping up. "When people hear ‘meme’ they expect a joke generally. I don’t think that’s how Gen Z sees it. Being in the know is the important part for them. I’m reminded of fashion trends… in my personal opinion, many fashion trends are ridiculous, memes are now fashion trends, it’s not about funny it’s about popular."

memes, gifs, confusing meme, gen z humor, generational humorMeme Reaction GIF by TokkingheadsGiphy

Many add that the jokes are deeply layered and purposely confusing. And when one starts to go down the rabbit hole, it actually is pretty brilliant in all its absurdity.

Bottom line, everything about Gen Z's humor is perfectly summed up by this comment: "Apparently postmodernism includes post-postmodernism."

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Internet

A nail salon made an ad so funny that people are taking road trips just for a manicure

Nailed it.

Representative photos by Wonderlane|Flickr and Aris Leoven|Canva

This Canadian nail salon has people packing their bags for a manicure

There are a lot of nail salons out there and, without word of mouth recommendations from people you trust, it can be impossible to know which salon to visit. Thanks to social media, though, many businesses have pages where they can advertise their services without having to spend a lot of money on traditional marketing practices like television, billboards, and radio. Doing their marketing using pictures and videos of their amazing work can help keep a steady flow of customers coming—but one Canadian nail salon is going with a slightly different approach.

Henry Pro Nails in Toronto, Canada is leaving the Internet in stitches after creating a viral ad for his nail salon. The video takes the beginnings of several viral video clips but instead of the expected ending, Henry pops in completing the viral moment in hilarious different ways.

It opens with a familiar viral video of a man on a stretcher being pulled by EMS when the stretcher overturns, flopping the man onto the ground. But instead of it ending with the injured man on the ground, Henry seamlessly appears laid out on the floor of his salon and delivers his first line, "Come to my nail salon. Your nails will look beautiful."

nails, nail salon, manicure, henry's pro nails, adsRihanna Nails GIFGiphy

In another clip, a man holds his leg straight up and somehow flips himself into a split. When the camera cuts back to Henry, he's in the splits on the floor of his nail salon promoting loyalty discounts. The ad is insanely creative and people in the comments can't get enough. Some are even planning a trip to Toronto just to get their nails done by the now Internet famous top nail artist in Canada. This isn't Henry's first rodeo making creative ads, but this is one is without a doubt his most popular—and effective.

"I will fly to Canada to get my nails done here just because of this hilarious video. You win this trend for sure," one woman says.

"Get yourself a passport and make a road trip! My bf and I are legit getting ours and its only a 4 hr drive from where we are in Pennsylvania. Their prices are a lot better than other places I've been too," another person says while convincing a fellow American citizen to make the trip.

"Omg, where are you located? I would fly to get my nails done by you," one person writes.

"The pedicure I had at Henry’s was the best I have ever had. Unfortunately made all other places disappointing and I don’t live close enough for Henry’s to be my regular spot," someone else shares.

To keep up with demand, in late October 2024 Henry's announced another location was coming soon in Vaughan, Ontario. Though there's no word on when the new "more spacious and professional facility" is opening just yet, customers can keep an eye out for Henry's next ad on social media.

It just goes to show that creative advertising can get people to go just about anywhere, but great service is what gets them to come back. If you're ever in Toronto (or Vaughan!) and find yourself needing an emergency manicure, Henry's Pro Nails is apparently the place to be.

This article originally appeared last year.

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Humor

JD Vance accidentally dropped the college football championship trophy and people have jokes

We can still come together to make fun of politicians.

CBS News/Youtube & Michael Li/Flickr

JD Vance "fumbles" the coveted college football national championship trophy.

It's a tradition for sports teams that win major championships to receive the honor of visiting the White House and meeting the President. The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will be visiting soon. The World Series winning Los Angeles Dodgers visited earlier this year. And just this week, the national champions Ohio State Buckeyes took the stage with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, an Ohio State alum.

It was a simple photo opp. There would be no hard hitting questions from journalists about the economy or Russia. Everyone involved was there to simply celebrate the accomplishments of a talented and hard working group of young men in a controversy-free ceremony. What could possibly go wrong?

JD Vance had other plans. The moment he went to hoist the trophy, it appeared to quite literally fall apart in his hands.

Vance puzzled over the trophy for a moment as he tried to slide it toward himself. Then, as he began to lift it, the top half toppled over only to be caught by Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson before hitting the ground. You can actually hear the crowd gasping and holding their breath before Henderson saves it, all while the United States Marine Corps Band performs "We Are the Champions." You honestly couldn't script a more hilarious sequence if you hired Hollywood's funniest comedy writers.

To be fair, the college playoff national championship trophy is a little confusingly constructed. The bottom half is just a black stand for the trophy itself, which is the 26.5 inch tapered golden piece on top. So technically, Vance didn't break the trophy. He just didn't realize that it came apart in two pieces.

But it was too late. The blunder was caught by dozens and dozens of cameras, with the jokes about Vance "fumbling" the trophy nearly writing themselves.

Watch the wild video here:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Vance, the Internet's favorite punching bag as of late, suddenly found himself on the butt end of an avalanche of jokes.

Vance is no stranger to being made fun of on the Web. First, it was the theories that he wears eyeliner while simultaneously preaching about the death of masculinity. Then, it was enterprising social media users engaging in a war of one-upmanship to see who could create the most horrifying, bloated caricature of the VP.

And now, he can add this fumblerooski to his resume.

In a thread posted on the subreddit WatchPeopleDieInside, people came with their best jokes at Vance's expense:

"Ahh I see it's because the trophy didn't wear a suit and say thank you"

"That man has never held a trophy in his life."

"They are going to blame the Democrats for this."

On X, one user wrote, "JD Vance: Can't order donuts. Can't hold a normal conversation. Can't hold a trophy without breaking it."

Honestly, jokes were barely necessary. The photos are hilarious enough. The top half of the trophy tumbling limply into Vance's shoulder. Vance bending down, scrambling to pick up the base. It's all just *chefs kiss.*


People on the right had some fun at the VP's expense, too.

"Trophy must be made in China," one Reddit user joked.

"Dan Quail on steroids," added another.

Fox News couldn't help themselves, either. They made more than a few puns about Vance "fumbling" the trophy.

Even Vance himself had no choice but to try to take the mockery in stride.

The Trump administration is off to a controversial start, to put it extremely lightly. JD Vance's trophy snafu harkens back to a simpler time when we all came together to make fun of George W. Bush not knowing how to pronounce words or Gerald Ford tumbling down the stairs of Air Force One. There isn't much that's able to bring people from different sides of the aisle together anymore, and this one is just a minor blip in the grander scheme. But this little reprieve in the news cycle has definitely been a much needed source of comic relief.

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Kids

A daring boy invited classmates to his birthday party. One problem: there was no birthday party.

One mom knew the invite seemed fishy, but couldn't believe her eyes when they showed up.

Canva Photos

A mischievous boy created his own DIY birthday invitations.

We've all heard the sob stories about kids who invite the whole class to their birthday party, only for no one to show up. It's heartbreaking and horrific and all too common. But who's ever heard of a story where people showed up, but there was no birthday party?!

One mom is going viral for sharing a laugh-out-loud story of a young boy's ingenuity. It all started with an innocent-enough birthday invitation her own son brought home from school.

surprise, surprise party, birthday party, birthday, parenting, kidsWhen the parents don't even know about it, that's a successful surprise party.Giphy

The mom, who goes by Bree on TikTok, tells the tale in a now-viral clip. She says her son brought home a homemade (very homemade) birthday invitation from school. It read, in child's handwriting, "Your invited to my birthday, yay!" On the back, the chicken scratch read, "Come over and play soccer, play FIFA, do the trampoline..." and more.

Bree was suspicious of the invite from the get-go, but figured the boy's parents had just let him make his own. As an exhausted dad, I can definitely imagine a scenario where my wife and I just give up completely and let our youngest write whatever the heck she wants to and hand them out herself. So, although the handwritten invite was a little weird, it was easily explainable.

But then the strikes started adding up. Bree's son told her that they didn't have to RSVP and that the party was the very next day.

Bree, being a cool mom, decided to roll with it and show up anyway. And that's when things got hilarious.

“I turn the corner—not one balloon inside, not one table, not one chair inside, just [the boy's] dad and his three uncles. That's it. The dad looks at me, kind of surprised, and I was like, ‘Hi, we're here for the birthday party!’ And he just says, ‘Oh, okay, my wife's not home.’”

After waiting around for other people to show up to the party (unsuccessfully), Bree and her son noticed the boy taking a cake out of the fridge so everyone could dig in. At that point, Bree was pretty certain there was no party and they high-tailed it out of there.

Watch her tell the hysterical story here:


@breesquirrely

Talk about stressed 😂😂 #relatable #kids #mom #family #fypシ #trending

Viewers had a lot of theories and takes on the whole awkward debacle.

The video has been viewed almost 10 million times to date, with thousands reaching out in the comments to share their appreciation for the story. Some loved that Bree's son was such a good friend that he was willing to show up anywhere, anytime:

"At least you know your son is ready to rock for anyone. He doesn’t need decorations, cake, or even other guests ; that boy is ready to party."

"You're raising a good hearted young man. He didn't care for decor or anything he just wanted to show up for his friend."

@breesquirrely

Replying to @🌻 I highly doubt there was ever a birthday party 😂😂😂 ##update##part2##kids##relatable##fypシ##trending

Some said their own kids (or even themselves!) had pulled similar shenanigans in the past:

"My daughter did this, she made birthday invitations and passed them out to her classmates with my number noted. Had all the parents calling asking for address. There was no party."

"I'm 65 now...when I was in 1st grade I invited my entire class to come to my birthday party on Saturday. I woke up Saturday morning and told my Mom."

Others were concerned about the boy, wondering if he threw his own birthday party because no one else would. In replies to comments, Bree said that didn't seem to be the case. "I think it was a case of kids being kids and he forgot to tell his mama about the party he planned," she said.

Whatever the case, most commenters could agree that the boy in question wanted a play date with his friends and decided to take matters into his own hands to make it happen.

It's frustrating to be a kid and have so many things out of your control. When you're young, all your friendships are managed by your parents (for good reason) and while that keeps responsibility off your young shoulders, it's also challenging. Most of us remember being a kid and our best friend suddenly moving away with no warning! It's crushing and makes you feel helpless.

The boy who threw his own impromptu birthday party was practicing something called agency, which means the ability to make decisions about things that affect you and a belief that you have some power to control what happens to you. Agency is an important developmental milestone for kids and adults, and it's a key piece of our overall mental health. Some parents foster agency in their kids by printing up play date business cards that their children can hand out with a parent's phone number on them—seriously. The children may not arrange the play dates themselves but they can hand out cards to new friends they meet and have some control over their own social lives. Other parents encourage agency by asking their kids questions instead of telling them what to do, or practicing active listening techniques.

And then, of course, some kids take agency into their own hands with secret, hilarious plans that their parents know nothing about. If nothing else, this kid displayed an entrepreneurial spirit that will take him far one day.

For the parents out there, though, Bree warns to make sure birthday invitations are parent-approved before showing up anywhere. Unless you want to exercise your adventurous side, that is.

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