Everyone loves a good comeback story––perhaps that's why seeing people having a rough go at life troubles us so much. We keep thinking of who they could be if only things turned around.
After Redditor ipeeontoiletseats (what a name) asked the online community, "How did you turn it around?" people shared their stories... and brought a smile to our faces.
"A friend called on my way..."
I got injured in a car accident (rear ended). Lost my business and my wife of 19 years eventually left for another man, leaving behind a 17 year old daughter and 2 year old son.
No job, No car, No money. 2 kids and $2k a month in rent coming due.
Two days after she left I took my real estate license test. I PASSED! I had planned to surprise her but had hid that I was studying in case I failed. Either way it wasn't enough and I ended up taking a job at Amazon. I worked a graveyard shift while my daughter stayed home with my son. I also did open houses on the weekend in hopes someone would walk in unrepresented...
It still wasn't enough so I signed up to drive Uber and lift. I had been able to pick up a decent vehicle from a family member for cheap and I was in business. I switched my graveyard shift to a day shift and started driving through the nights. The money was alright but I realized I could make a little more if I switched from Amazon to another large company in the area, so I did. I did that for about a year
Things were ok, I was making good money and then Coldwell Banker fired me. I didn't think Coldwell fired anyone as long as they were paying their dues. I had never sold a house so all it meant was I needed to switch to another broker. Turns out that was a blessing in disguise.
A friend called on my way to sign with Keller Williams and convinced me to sign with a temp agency. I was skeptical but what did I have to lose? The first and second day I was placed with Toll Brothers. It was alright and I could see myself doing that. On the third day I was sent to a local developer and my world was changed.
The broker of record and the local developer took me under their wing. After a few months they hired me away from my temp broker, gave me a salary and commissions and provided me with an opportunity to change my kids' lives forever. I was able to go from working 4 jobs to just one and I have learned more about myself than I could have ever imagined possible.
It's been three and a half long years but I wouldn't change a thing if I could.
"After four months..."
When I was a teenager I was homeless. A lot of places wouldn't hire me because I had no experience or interview clothes. I went to the board of education and begged the HR lady to give me a chance at any job. I told her I'd scrub the school with a toothbrush if they paid me. She took pity.
They made me a general sub for clerical. I took a call for one of the "bad neighborhood" schools that some others turned down. Walked across town to get there every day do I had to start walking at 4:30 am to be on time. I wore dress clothes from a church mission that were way too big but I did my best.
After four months they gave me a long-term position. Then a permanent one with benefits. I saved up enough for an apartment (finding a landlord okay with renting to an 18 year old homeless girl was hard) and started college.
I haven't been homeless a day since in the last 15 years. I even have a house now.
"I'm almost at the point..."
Reading more and using social media less. I'm almost at the point where I can just delete reddit. Almost.
"I decided to stop comparing myself..."
I decided to stop comparing myself to my brother and try to focus on the improvable.
"Paid off my debts..."
Paid off my debts slowly but surely and worked my @ss off to buy a house. Took years but it was worth it.
Moving out of my parents house.
I was living with my parents (which is very common thing in India) until end of my med school. I've been in my comfort zone all my life and had everything I need. That led to depression and I wanted to live by myself and to get out of my bubble. Now I can't say I figured it all but I definitely feel better.
"I heavily reduced..."
I heavily reduced sugar when I was 21 and started resistance training . 2 years later and I am feeling the best I have ever felt, have so much energy and self confidence because I actually like the way I look now. Clothes fit so much better as well.
"Realizing..."
Realizing I dont have to act like someone Im not just to be liked by everyone. Changed my life choices and it made me a much happier man. I wish Ive done it sooner and not on my late 20s. So much wasted time.
"It helped me break out of OCD..."
Went to the gym.
It helped me break out of OCD induced psychosis and brought me back to reality and have been going everyday since - Had to replace it with exercising in the park during the peak of COVID though.
"I used to hate myself."
I used to hate myself. I had a lot of anxiety throughout middle school and high school. I didn't know how to describe how I was feeling and it cost me my relationships with friends and a girl I dated for a short time. It nearly destroyed my relationship with my parents and my family because I would always say I was fine when I and they knew I wasn't, some part of me wished I never existed.
When I graduated high school in 2017 and I didn't talk to most of the friends I had left and didn't really know what to do. And In mid 2018 I was talking to a friend who was visiting from out of state who said that he had dealt with the same thing and said that if I tried to thinking positively and try to stay relaxed when I'm starting to feel anxious, it might help. And over the last two years I've been doing that.
It wasn't easy at first, but it's getting easier. I've started talking to friends and my relationship with my family is getting better, I even have a great relationship with my extended family too. I'm still working on expressing how I feel and socializing.
If anyone reading this takes anything away from this post, I hope it's that you know that you'll find you way eventually, don't rush, you'll get it, I know I am.
"Now I'm happy..."
Delaware Valley Job Corps. And moving away from every bad element of my life. Now I'm happy, healthy and looking forward to getting married in a few years. This all happened over the course of 10+ years.
"Paired wih an antipsychotic..."
Magic mushrooms every 10 days has radically transformed my life in every way. Paired with an antipsychotic, I've been able to pretty thoroughly undo the phenomena that results from my bipolar disorder and become a lot less miserable.
"I got married..."
I got married and became more responsible, actually showed up to work and paid my bills. Unfortunately, we divorced a few years ago. But we get along great and have two wonderful children.
"This was the best thing to ever happen to me..."
I experienced a horrible falling out with the person I lived with so I moved out. This was the best thing to ever happen to me because I realized I surrounded myself with people that didnt think highly of me and that colored how I thought of myself and what I was capable of. It also taught me a lesson in letting go when a situation is no longer worth pursuing.
A month after moving out, I was offered a job in another state making 25% more. I took it and traveled to 11 different states. Had a lot of memorable experiences that I would not have had otherwise: went to disney world during halloween, kayaked in bioluminescent waters, hiked grandfather mountain, sailed, etc.
I also started dating people that thought the world of me. I didnt know what that felt like until I left my old life behind. Even breaking up and moving on in a mature manner was another new experience for me.
I really feel like I came a long way. I am loved, I am financially secure and I surround myself with good people that I want to emulate in my day to day life. Don't let anyone else tell you what your worth is. Their limited experiences cannot fathom anything great that happens to you.
"I met a guy in 2017..."
I met a guy in 2017 and we decided to move to a small town in Arizona after just 3 months of knowing each other. I realized 6 months after that he was an abusive control freak and I was in a bad spot. I was in a pretty bad situation. I had been lower that before ( abusive childhood, attempts to kill myself, self harm), but this time I was in a strange place with no family close. I felt trapped. Then, kinda suddenly, I started to realize how much control I had over the situation. I made a lot of money as a waitress and was the breadwinner. So I started saving my money and not mentioning anything to my SO. The final straw for me was his threats to my life. He pointed a knife at me and himself, at one point throwing the knife at me.
So I took the car one day to the laundromat claiming to wash some stuff. I called my father ( he lives 4 hours away) and told him everything. I was so afraid for my life as I drove to the police station ( in my SO's car that we shared). I was in that police station for almost 8 hours. I had no where else to go. I sat there and waited for my dad to get the chance to drive up and help me decide what to do.
My life changed so drastically in the matter of days. With the money I had saved and my dad by my side, i was able to get the majority of my stuff for my old house, including many houseplants and my cat, and start my new life.
I bought a house on my own, a pretty new car, and still be able feed myself and my cat. I had so many people who were willing to help me with some of the little things and I made some amazing friendships through it all.
Now almost a whole year later, I feel like a different person. I am in a healthy relationship for probably the first time ever and I am completely independent. I also have my dream job and the perfect schedule for me. I believe the true way I turned my life around was realizing I couldn't control everything in life, but one thing I could control was who I gave my time to and how I spend my time. I also decided to be confident in myself and honest to others about what I want. I started to go after what I had only dreamed about before. I feel so lucky and thankful for everything I have and the people that helped me. I feel like me for the first time ever. I will never again apologize for being who I wanna be.
"It forced me..."
I moved away from my hometown to get away from friends and family. It forced me to become independent and focus on a career and myself.
I made a mess of my life in my 20s. It started with not knowing how to handle the stress I was under in college, in combination with social crap and years of undiagnosed anxiety and depression coming to a head. I got through college via a series of band aids and short term fixes, and after college wound up in an abusive relationship with a compulsive liar with control issues and an obsession with his public image. I allowed him to put me in debt so deep that I had to file for bankruptcy. And then I continued to support him for over a year.
This is all kept vague because I've got a million stories about how I messed up the first half of my life and alienated all of my friends. Then, I got a very loud wake up call after I broke up with the abusive boyfriend, and this is how I turned it around.
I changed my environment. I moved to be away from the toxic ex and the people who weren't there for me when I was neck deep in trouble, and to be closer to my sister.
I went to a doctor and got the medication I needed to keep my mood stable. This had additional ups and downs, but in the end I have the meds I need to have a stable mood.
Therapy.
I made a decision that I needed to be happy with myself before I could be happy with another person, and that I deserved to be picky about who I dated. Because of that decision I passed on a guy who turned out to only be nice on the surface, and wound up with the wonderful person I'm with now - and we'll have been together ten years in December.
I figured out what I need to be satisfied in life and set my goals around that.
And I learned to be better with my money, and to put myself and my own well being first.
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