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Updated: Oct 31, 2022 80 Comments · by

The Best Things You’ve Done for Yourself That Have Made You Happier

Happiness· Lifestyle | · · ·

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smiley face painted on gravel, woman in white sneakers standing over them

Readers had a great comment thread earlier this year about the best things you've done for yourself that have made you happier, and we thought it deserved its own post!

So, what things have you done — big or small — that have improved your life and made you happier? What changes did you make? What did you stop or start doing? We'd love to know!

We've rounded up many readers' answers below — and we've linked to past posts with related info and advice.

The Best Things Readers Have Done for Themselves That Made Them Happier

Improving Physical Health

{related: little things that make us happy}

Improving Mental Health

Of course, a lot of the things listed above boost your mental health, too!

{related: how to cope with an emotional hangover}

Improving Your Appearance

  • Going to a dermatologist for acne treatment
  • Getting microneedling for acne scars

{related: what are your best habits? which are habits you're trying to break?}

Miscellaneous

Readers, if you didn't chime in on that comment thread (or if you did and have more to say!), do tell: What are the best things you've done for yourself that have made you happier?

Stock photo via Stencil.

About Kate Antoniades

Editor of Corporette since 2014, Kate Antoniades lives in her hometown of Rochester, NY. A cat person and Oxford comma loyalist, she loves thrift shopping and has too many craft supplies.

Comments

  1. Senior Attorney

    Okay, this is kind of a funny one: Last week I went to the dentist and got Botox in my jaw muscles to hopefully stop me grinding my teeth all night. The jury is still out on whether that’s going to work (doc said it would be 7-10 days to get the effect and today is Day 7), but I LOOK AMAZING! It tightened my jaw line and got rid of my little jowls. Who knew? So bruxism or no bruxism, I’m calling it a win.

    Hilarious.

    • Thistle

      The UK beauty journalist Aluce Hart Davis does a lot to testing and research on beauty treatments and tweakments. About a month ago she did a piece on Instagram about both and a practitioner explained about how to get it in your neck to help teeth grinding and neck muscle clenching/sagging.

      She literally posted an update video last night on Instagram, showing her getting a top up to balance out her jaw and spoke about her jaw line getting clearer and cleaner now her neck muscles aren’t pulling at the flesh.

      She does all her procedures on camera and gets interviews with the top UK practitioners who talk through how and when they do different things. Her posts are really informative.

      • Anon

        I am trying to find this specific tweakment but cannot locate it on the site, so if nyone locates it, please share.

        • Thistle

          On Alice Hart Davis’s Instagram, the first wrinkle relaxing demo was on the 28th Sept and then the top up was yesterday (second thing on her grid just now). She just calls it wrinkle relaxers (because botox is a brand name) and the doc talks about various uses of them.

    • Anon

      You sold me, SA, I’m making the appointment today to go get this done. My TMJ specialist recommended it some time ago and I haven’t pulled the trigger, but I will now.

      • Senior Attorney

        Haha, good luck!! I thought it would be painful but I literally did not feel a thing.

    • pugsnbourbon

      Love it! I got novocaine for a filling on one of my front teeth, and the temporary numbness and swelling made my upper lip look incredible. Was a pretty good argument for fillers.

    • H

      Could you recommend where you got it done? I’m in LA and have been wanting to get this done. Thanks!

      • Senior Attorney

        I got it at Green Street Dental in Pasadena but googling around after the fact, it seems like pretty much any place that does Botox will do “jaw slimming” or “jowls” or similar, which seems to be the same thing.

        • Anon

          Was it covered by dental or medical insurance? I’m trying to my TMJ treated, and the only oral surgeon supposedly in my medical plan is in Beverly Hills with dubious up-charging reviews.

    • Kara

      I’ve been considering asking about this. Long time clencher and would love to feel some muscle relief in my jaw. I may ask my dentist about this now. Thanks!

  2. Cat

    Left Biglaw- the additional time to myself has vastly improved all relationships

    Cut way back on social media – I was never a daily poster but for example keeping 100% of our recent vacation pictures just for us (or sharing a few via text to people who asked) meant I spent 0 time on vacation thinking “this will look so cute on Insta” or “oh this would have such a funny caption.”

    • Anon

      Big +1 to both of these! I stopped posting vacation albums on FB around 2017-ish and definitely noticed myself soaking up the trips more (even though I still spend a lot of time taking pictures and put them in albums afterwards). I also imagine other people find me less insufferable now (we have a lot of disposable income and take a lot of luxury vacations) so it’s a win-win. :) Now if I could just get my parents to stop posting cringey pics on social media…

    • Anon

      I nearly completely eliminated social media. I have linked in but I don’t check it. I just post job openings occasionally. It makes my whole life better!

  3. Ses

    Dropped off social media, worked less, took a long weekend at a health spa, buying all the art supplies I want. (It turned out that when I just decided to allocate a good fund for art stuff, there were only a few hundred $$ of things I wanted – I had just been holding off on buying them for years so it seemed like a lot more!)

    • Anon

      That’s a good one about the art supplies. Maybe I need to re-tweak my budget. I always want new brushes, but only have a “general” category to spend from.

  4. Anonymous

    I bought the gear and other clothing I needed to actually enjoy Winter. Getting outside almost daily makes such a difference to my mood, and with a bunch of snowshoeing, and more urban walking, I didn’t have to fight the winter bulges.

    • Anonymous

      I love updates like this. Enjoying winter is a choice and you made a good one!

  5. Anonymous

    Laser eye surgery! For some reason I had it in my head that it was ‘selfish’ to spend that much money on myself but wow being able to see is life-changing and I’m so glad I did it. It makes me happy every single day.

    • Anon

      +1, LASIK is life changing. I was scared of it for way too long and my biggest regret is not doing it sooner.

    • pugsnbourbon

      I felt this way about seeing a dermatologist – I thought that was just something for rich people, and I’m not rich. But I finally started seeing someone a few years ago for my adult acne and I would have paid double what I did for the results.

  6. No Face

    I wake up early and go to the gym before dealing with kids/work. Going to bed early. Being proactive about health issues.

    Accepting lower productivity when kids are out of school for COVID-19 testing.

  7. Hollis

    Stopped curling my eyelashes (I would accidentally pinch it too close to an eyelid and that hurt so much), stopped weighing myself daily, stopped worrying about saving a couple of dollars by driving around to find free parking spots in downtown.
    Started trying different flavors of tea and taking my dog to doggy playdates at a neighbor’s house and seeing how much joy it brings her to play with her other doggy friends.

    • Anon

      Do you have tea flavor recommendations? I recently tried Queen Victoria from Murchie’s and love it so much.

  9. Anon

    Got a new bike that’s more stoutly built, has racks, and lower gears than my road bike so I can do everything I need to do without a car.

  10. SF atty

    Regular housekeeping, no question. We used to just call someone in occasionally for cleaning when we started falling behind, but recently committed to a regular schedule and it is worth every penny.

  11. Anonymous

    Cut back contact a lot with people who aren’t that nice and apparently enjoy seeing me struggle; couldn’t cut it off all the way because family but definitely happier timing visits such that we all aren’t the same place at the same time, even if it means skipping some holiday gatherings.

    • Anon

      Last 2 years not having to do family Christmas visits was life changing for me as well. No comments about my hair needing to be dyed, how much weight I had gained, how I still wasn’t married, etc. I might never do a big family Christmas again. I did a visit in September, and without the expectations and pressure of the holidays it went a lot better than usual.

    • Anon

      So much to “people who aren’t that nice and apparently enjoy seeing me struggle.” It’s really coming home how some not-nice people will just attack anything about me or pounce when I show weakness. That’s not friendship; that’s competition.

  12. Anonymous

    Started dancing and loved it and have gone all in on it as a hobby. Buying 5000 rhinestones to decorate a dress this weekend!

  13. Anonymous

    I like to say that the best thing I ever did for my marriage was put Solar on the house.

    We live in Southern California where days are hot, and electricity is massively expensive. We used to have a silent war on the thermostat – I would raise the thermostat because I didn’t want a big bill, husband would lower it because he was sweltering. With Solar, we can have the house at a reasonable temperature, and the system has completely paid for itself in 4 years.

  15. Gifting up

    Can I hijack for a moment – Is it okay to give a mentor within your company a small token gift? We both enjoy fancy chocolates so I thought a small box with a handwritten note would be a good way to say thanks. I do not report to this person but they are very senior to me.

    • lime

      This may be just me, but I never never never want workplace gifts. Just a sincere thank you is more than sufficient.

    • Anon

      Is gifting up always bad? I just went on a belated honeymoon, and my manager sent me a super thoughtful care package from Sephora beforehand with some of her favorite skincare goodies in travel size. While we were traveling I bought her a nice boutique candle (small and $25) as a thank you (and also for covering a handful of projects for me while I was out). Is it inappropriate to give this to her? I haven’t mentioned it yet since we’re both still WFH, so I could keep for myself if needed….but I just felt like it was a nice gesture.

      • Anonymous

        Do not do it. I would not feel good if I gave a thoughtful wedding/celebratory gift to a direct report and they got me a present on their honeymoon.

      • Anon

        Don’t do it. Write her a nice note about how much you enjoyed the Sephora package.

  16. Anon

    1. Marrying my lovely husband, 2. Getting a dog, 3. Going in-house, 4. spending time and money on girls trips, parties, dinner and things that keep me connected to and having fun with my friends.

  17. Lobbyist

    These are things that make me happy that I do regularly:
    Sleep enough
    bike with friends
    swim with friends
    Ride my peloton (buying it was SO worth it)
    Play with my dog

    These are things I don’t do that having other people do makes me happy
    Clean my house
    Do my taxes
    Any chores/ fix it/ pretty much if I can outsource it, I do

    What I am not doing now but should to be happier
    Eating more healthily — I am happy when I am pretty inflexible about my diet, which is what it takes for me to get and stay on the thin side

    Things that I can’t control even though they may affect my happiness
    Ex husband
    daughter
    Pretty much All other people

  18. Anonymous

    I got a dog. That means I get outside everyday for meaningful walks (60-90 minutes) and have a delightful companion. I also love taking her to new places (hiking, places around my city, etc.).

  19. Anonymous

    Strength training — This is as much a boon to my mental health as it is to my physical, and being strong in middle age has really helped me (e.g., I have avoided injuries, a chronic foot problem no longer bothers me, etc.)
    Accepting an invitation into a group of local friends, which means I have a regular and vibrant social life after a long period of near solitude (which I am actually expert at but does not really suit this extrovert).

  20. NYCnewbie

    Does anyone have a current favorite boot/bootie? I’m looking for waterproof, wider toebox, something I can walk a couple of miles in. There are so many choices! I’m eyeing La Canadienne boots, and while they don’t have wide sizes, is the toe box on the wide side? I’m not worried about price for this purchase; I’m looking for something to keep my feet happy. Also open to store recommendations in Manhattan for trying on.

  21. Anon

    I put in an inground pool against everyone’s advice. For various reasons, I can rarely travel and I spend a lot of time at home. The pool is a tremendous source of enjoyment and relaxation for me.

    • anon

      Nice! As a fellow water lover in the land-locked Midwest, I applaud this choice.

    • Anon

      This is my dream. My in-laws have a pool they rarely use (came with the house) and I use it every day when we visit.

  22. Vicky Austin

    Quitting my old job!
    Having a daily cleaning chore!
    Trying new foods I’m not 100% sure about!
    Saying yes to the people I love!
    Accomplishing goals in bits and pieces rather than waiting for the right time to do everything in one go!

  23. A Nonny Mouse

    Married my husband, had my daughter, therapy, medicating my mental illness, and giving myself the gift at 40 of being wrong – I no longer always had to be right. All life-changing.

  24. Anon

    Anxiety/depression medication, moving back to my hometown, leaving a toxic job, saying no to things I don’t want to do.

  25. Anon

    Stopping cat fostering. I am burned out. I cannot give anymore. I need a calm, quiet, clean home or else the inside of my head is a bad place to be.

  26. Anon

    Giving in to Pokemon. I can’t believe how much fun it is to play the game with my five year old.
    Buying a Tesla. We can take our dog to National parks now. He just stays in the car on “dog mode” while we hike trails we can’t take him on. The car reports internal climate continuously. Only problematic when there is bad reception but we have two different carriers and this is rarely an issue (we also don’t hike far because the five year old).
    Having two blankets on our bed per the recommendation of this board. The years of interrupted sleep trying to un-burrito my husband for my half are a faraway bad dream.

    • Anon

      I’d still be worried about someone seeing your dog in the car and trying to break a window to “save” it. I left my dog in a car once to run into a CVS for maybe 5-10 minutes in ~60 degree weather, there was literally no way she was going to die or even get uncomfortably hot. And when I got back to the car someone was trying to break in to “rescue” my dog. In some states there are laws that good Samaritans who damage your car trying to free a pet aren’t liable for any damage they cause.

      • Anonymous

        Tesla’s have a big screen in them (visible externally) that reads something along the lines of “My owner will be back shortly. The temperature inside the car is currently X degrees” when they are in dog mode. So I would hope this is unlikely.

  27. Anon

    – Deleted the LinkedIn app from my phone as well as all the email notifications (too much mindless scrolling in downtime where I’d see things that made me anxious. Now I just look at it on my computer, maybe once a week or so.

    – I deleted every account I was following on Instagram other than a few close friends and then only added back in the ones where I would go search for their account to see what was going on with them. I had brainlessly followed way too many accounts for stuff that wasn’t relevant or made me anxious.

    – Made a commitment to spend time outside each day, even if it’s only 15-30 minutes

    – Bought new hiking boots I really didn’t “need,” but they are a vast improvement over my old ones and I am motivated to go hiking more now on the trails near my house, which makes me happier and more relaxed.

  28. CPA Lady

    Finally got diagnosed and treated for adhd at age 37. Massive, massive change for the better. I can’t believe I spent so many years thinking I was lazy and useless and struggling so hard every day.

    • Anon

      I need to look into this again. I now have contraindications for the meds that actually worked for me, but boy am I struggling.

  29. Anan

    On a recent episode of Life Kit podcast, Oliver Burkeman talks about how rather than asking if something makes us happy, we should ask “Will this choice enlarge me or diminish me?” This was such a light bulb moment for me because sometimes I feel like this constant quest for happiness doesn’t give proper weight to the idea that 1) happiness is fleeting, and 2) there are so many things that are difficult and not fun, but which are ultimately very fulfilling- like many aspects of parenting.

    • Anon

      Absolutely. I come from a culture where the word for “happiness” refers to an event or a short state of mind. The chase of perpetual happiness (at least as portrayed in the news / on social media in the US) is fascinating to me.

  31. AnonNoVa

    I signed up for group and private tennis lessons, and making time to do something for myself instead of my kid or my ridiculously demanding job has been wonderful. Also, reconnecting with friends this fall (lots of outdoor restaurant meals or walks) has been a big mood lifter.

  32. Anonanonanon

    Eyebrow micro blading. It may even edge LASIK for me just because I’ve had eye issues with LASIK.

    • Mel

      oooo I have been thinking about this for a while — how bad did it hurt? Does it hurt more/less than threading? I can’t do wax because I always have an allergic reaction. The pain of microblading is what’s holding me back (plus researching where to get it).

  33. Natalie

    Changing from being a trial attorney to an appellate one, way less stress for the same $. Avoiding fair-weather friends who just seem to compete with you. Ditching caffeine and alcohol. Getting back into therapy. Resting more.

  34. Joni

    Deleting instagram, walking/hiking with my dog, stop counting calories, running, and very simple but sitting outside

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