Start working out. Seriously. A little cardio and a little strength training will go a long long way to improving your quality of life, even if you're not getting jacked.

Split from my abusive wife.

Make stuff. With your hands,stuff that will last when you walk away from it. I spent a lot of time doing admin/office work, and you can be productive as hell but have nothing to physically look at for your time. I took up woodwork, started doing more building work on my property, and every time I look at what I’ve made, it makes me feel more connected to my home, and more capable of dealing with these weird times we find ourselves in. Learn skills, try different things, round out your experience in life. Make stuff you think is beautiful, or that makes your life better in some way, it’s a great feeling

Gotten top surgery. I knew my quality of life was going to improve by virtue of not having boobs that gave me dysphoria, but I thought I would have to wait until I was fully healed to feel it. My mood and outlook changed pretty much day after my surgery. It feels great :)

Sailing the high seas again.

In no particular order :

• Made water my primary beverage. Turned out that chronic dehydration was causing several physical maladies that went away almost overnight once I started drinking more water.
• Stop caring so much about what others think about me. Especially strangers. Once I realized that the stranger in the grocery store does not continue to think about me once I am out of sight and if they do, I'll never know it so it doesn't matter. Living life based on what I think of me has been so much better for my mental health than living based on what I think others might think about me.
• Spend time alone with my thoughts. This allowed me to deal with issues and behaviors that I didn't like about myself and / or identify stressors that may have been manifesting in misdirected ways. I did this way more when I was younger and angrier and it took a couple of years, but I slowly worked through so many aspects of myself that I didn't like. Some I was able to change and others I learned to come to terms with and work around.
• When people ask "How's it going" or similar such greetings, I tell them the truth. This is a bit of an extension of the last 2 points, but I found that sharing and verbalizing the good and the bad worked better for me than internalizing everything.

Started exercising every day. All I do is 10 pushups, 60 seconds of planking, and 30 sit-ups. It takes less than 10 minutes and I've done it for about a year and a half and I've got a nicely toned stomach and better core strength from it. I'm pretty happy about it and it definitely makes me more confident. I also watch what I eat. I've lost about 40lbs in that time

Made an effort to say "yes" when people invite me or are making plans. It's meant I get more invites, and have done and seen many things that I would've have otherwise. Picked up some new fun hobbies along the way too!

Stop drinking alcohol

Gave up alcohol & went vegetarian.

Biking to work

In the past year:

• switched to minimalist footwear (so many physical ailments eased/disappeared)

• downloaded an app that reminds me to stand up & walk for 5 minutes every half hour

• got rid of all social media except the Fediverse

• got FL-41 glasses to help me function with migraines

• got an RSS feed app to let me keep up with all media & creators I want to keep up with, without the mental health strain of endless scrolling, algorithms, & toxic comments

Instructions unclear

Deactivated Facebook about 6 years ago. That shit is toxic and anyone that still has an account supports it.

Installed a bidet. What a beautiful thing to always have a clean bum.

Bought a house in a quieter neighborhood. Apartment / condo life was destroying my mental health.

Switched to Linux and set up a Jellyfin server.

Laser eye surgery. No more glasses or contacts.

Went absolutely ham with cycling in January, down 30kg as of today, still 5 to go. Trying to reach that 4W/kg FTP eventually 😅

Mental healthcare provider hopping. You don't really know what a good one is like until you've had one. A lot of people try one, work really hard and get nowhere, either because their therapist is a crank, or maybe they're a competent professional that just doesn't work for them for whatever reason, so they conclude that therapy is a sham and they stop pursuing it.

I think it's good practice to evaluate whether what you're doing in therapy is helping at regular intervals. If it ain't, talk about it with your provider and if y'all can't fix it, hit the bricks and find someone who can. If your therapist is worth their salt they'll be happy to provide you with a reference if you ask. If they aren't, all the more reason to find someone better.

Laser eye surgery and sterilisation.

I still use sunglasses and condoms for protection, but can gladly go without on overcast days and in steady relationships, and I panic way less if they break when I need them the most.

Rewired, replumbed, insulated, and reroofed the house. Installed an Enphase System Controller 3 along with an IQ Combiner 5, and a pair of IQ5P batteries, have three IQ8A microinverters hooked to 400w bifacial panels so far. Have a total of 18 panels to install as I'm working on the racking. Also need replace the windows and a few other things but there is a lot of stuff in progress. Been a huge benefit and QOL boost overall.

Learning to Scuba dive helped my mental health a ton after becoming a widower. Diving in general had been great for me, I just wish I could go more often.

stopped trying to discuss things with idiot fundamentalists on lemmy

it's a waste of time, these people are stupid

I bought a sit stand desk. After my back was broken, games and work became difficult. Now I can do both while standing. One of the best purchases of my adult life.

I kept buying scissors until i can always find a pair of scissors

Stop drinking alcohol.

basically stopped trying to make other folks happy with me. and focusing on doing things that make me happy, even if other folks hate me for it.

Don't be cheap with footwear or beds.

More drugs

Blocking name callers on Lemmy. It's a very small community and it makes a huge difference. Anyone that is hateful enough to type out useless mean things instead of just a simple downvote is someone to avoid. Charged criticism that clearly denotes an opinion, contrasting view, attempts to provide education, or offers an opportunity to educate is all good. I'm not trying to live in an echo chamber. But, if it's a simple mean spirited slur or jab even at someone else's comment - block! It really cleans up the feed fast. Most people here are pretty on edge, but there's only a handful of total assholes and they can be avoided.

1. Getting a Dumbphone. I've never regretted it, though there are some changes I wish mine did & didn't have, I've never thought about switching back, let alone happily, It has what I want & need it to do without me having distractions I have to look at to use my phone, Calls, Texts, Photos, Music, Alarms & the snake is decent,

2. Getting up really really early. weirdly, as a night owl I love getting up super early, it's hard to get into, & you can mess it up quite easily, but wonderful when you do get into the groove of it, there's a lot of guilt when staying up late but when up early you get all the benefits of being up late without the guilt, you can often catch the night before the sun is up, let alone the rest of the world, great stuff.

These aren't for everyone ofc, this is just my experience.

SELF REFLECTION AND LOSING WEIGHT DURING COVID!

Retrospectively i was real scum and an asshole befor. Ye ye i was a teenager with lots of issues that made me fall this was, and growing up in a toxic, unhealthy (food and behaviour wise) parents home, did anything but help. But the confidence of lots of cycling, being out so much, having now a body you actually like, is not overrated. Reflecting, turning to better philosophie, questioning my own behaviour and beliefs. Amazing. While i still am working on unlearning trauma-endused behaviour, i wouldnt be here if i didnt start this journy in the first place. Covid isolation truely was the best thing to happen in my life.

ITT: Do / don't have kids / do drugs

Started lifting weights.

Label everything. Even stuff that's obvious. Idk why but it's easier for me to process that the thing of leftovers has Mac and cheese if I write it instead of just rely on seeing it. I leave myself post it notes for chores I intend to do later.

Coffee.