r/AskReddit • u/Worried-Cod-6360 • 20h ago
What's the one thing that shifted your perspective and made you see life in a whole new way?
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u/majormarvy 20h ago edited 14h ago
You’ve not existed for way longer than you have existed. You know what non-existence is. I find it makes the inevitability of nonexistence way less scary.
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u/MirrorNo4297 19h ago
Psilocybin
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u/Thrilling1031 13h ago
Really helped me realize I'm the problem in a lot of my problems. In particular the way I responded to things or expected others to respond. Turns out not everyone thinks about things the same way before doing things, and being sensitive to all these perceived slights was only harming myself.
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u/MirrorNo4297 12h ago
I had a similar experience, mine made me grow up mentally alot and see that I wad being walked on and taken advantage of by so many people in my life and needed to love and respect myself more.
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u/SteadfastEnd 8h ago
This is what I've wished for years I could use. Alas, I have a bipolar sister so I cannot safely use it.
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u/MirrorNo4297 6h ago
Well it's very good that you're taking that into consideration and not doing it because of that.
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u/RhoenyBear 18h ago
Traveling alone for the first time. It forced me out of my comfort zone, made me more independent, and opened my eyes to how vast and varied the world is. It's incredible how much your perspective broadens when you step into a place where you don't know anyone and have to navigate everything by yourself. Life isn't just what's around you; it's global.
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u/Adriano6668910 20h ago
realizing that the "adults" I looked up to were just as clueless and lost as I was, just better at hiding it.
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u/Wash_Manblast 19h ago
Working in Healthcare. There are some dumb ass doctors that are allowed to do things they really shouldn't be.
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u/noo-facee 19h ago
That in fact no one owes me anything and I don't owe anyone anything either! I don't expect exactly anything in return for the things I do. This is very liberating
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u/juicy_juice7 18h ago
My dad passing away. All of the sudden I was “the man of the family” and felt the harshness of world without my dad’s financial, and emotional protection.
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u/wideeyed_em 18h ago
idk if it was bc i was anorexic or dabbled in mixing the wrong things but i had a seizure at a youngish age and went into cardiac arrest a few times. i now have a pacemaker at 22 and its hard to not be grateful for the life i can live again. but it also radicalized me.
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u/juicy_juice7 18h ago
The fact that EVERYONE you love will die. The older you are the more likely you are to bury your best friends, lovers, family members.
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u/Prestigious-Ask9532 15h ago
Crippling depression. I didn't know what it felt like until I experienced wanting to kill myself. I didn't understand it.
I had a handgun on the table and my work badge on my coffee table for about 4 months. Every day I just said 'make a choice' Life is still not good, but it's not even close to that. No one had a clue what I was dealing with.
It creates an entirely new perspective on how you can help people and how you treat them. I still make mistakes, but I'm a hell of a lot understanding and empathetic.
If you are struggling, please DM me. If you need someone to listen, care, etc. I will sit with you in the flames.
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u/Wandering_Werew0lf 18h ago
My ex breaking up with me due to being unable to handle my mental health.
My life has changed so much since he left. I’m finally getting the help needed for my mental health due to a misdiagnosis before and couldn’t figure out why the same patterns were repeating if I was “getting help”.
Now I look back and go, “Damn I’m starting to not even recognize my old self.” That, that right there has shifted my perspective on my life and helped guide me in the direction I need to go to be a better person.
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u/SalaryNo3916 18h ago
Sobriety.
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u/millvalleygirl 11h ago
Same. I stopped drinking in my early 20s and had to learn some actual coping skills for life. Ultimately it's influenced my whole life in a really big and positive way
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u/Maryasdj 19h ago
Going through a tough period of failure completely changed how I view life. I used to see setbacks as the end of the road, but that experience taught me that they’re actually stepping stones. It’s not about avoiding failure; it’s about learning, adapting, and moving forward. It made me appreciate growth over perfection.
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u/whoatethebeans 18h ago
Watching the Matrix. Everything could be completely different than how you've been perceiving it.
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u/fastcat13 18h ago
Living with a Covert Narcissist for 30 years.
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u/VictoriyaClub2008 12h ago
You've been hiding the fact that you figured him out for 30 years
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u/fastcat13 11h ago
🤔 tell me more.
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u/VictoriyaClub2008 1h ago
I mean you know very well who you live with) He couldn't hide his narcissism from you
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u/lorddragonstrike 18h ago
Two foreign combat deployments, first to kosovo then to iraq. I literally do not stress about anything anymore. Nothing even remotely bothers me when it comes to employment, bosses, money, or other things. Just kinda shrug it away.
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u/PeacefulAnt3202 19h ago
Watching the genocide in Palestine live on social media.
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u/Next_moveAN 18h ago
I was here to say that
This has changed my entire perspective on life
This world is sick and we are finding it
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u/GREEN-Errow 19h ago
Still waiting
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u/alkeyhol 19h ago
Knee surgery. Not being able to bare weight on my right leg for 6 weeks and living upstairs throughout it all.
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u/MoldyChickenNuggie 18h ago
Being on the verge of dying during several instances of my younger life.
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u/ExtremeTemporary1258 17h ago
After watching someone get cremated made me think about life and how after going through everything we will all end up as bone powder.
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u/SkinsPunksDrunks 13h ago
When I was 21 the police beat me up really bad, concussions and kept choking me out.
I’ve never respected the police.
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u/DPlantagenet 9h ago
I can’t stress therapy enough. I don’t have one specific thing, but privately discussing anything bothering you in a real way is very cathartic.
You can do it from the comfort of your home these days and luckily we live in a time where mental health is actually deemed important.
You need to get out of the echo chamber in your head and verbalize what you’re feeling.
Best decision.
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u/Dangerous-Key-9510 18h ago
When i made my first $100,000 i realized its not that difficult. For context i did not grow up with money at all. When i was 23 i was fed up with my career and finances were in the toilet. I started meeting people that were financially successful & the biggest shift for me was they really dont think like the 99% of people. My life changed when i stopped complaining & throwing pity parties. Accept your struggles as challenges to better yourself & do your best to overcome so you can come out better on the other side.
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u/ResidentSheeper 18h ago
When I learned that competitive gooning championships exist and they are streamed.
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u/Lanky_Structure415 16h ago
Life is short so love the best you can and try to be a better human being as much as possible
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u/TennisAppropriate747 16h ago
Realizing that just because you have a high paying job doesn’t mean it’ll bring you happiness. It’s better to do something you truly love and wake up looking forward to doing then wake up and loathe it even if the pay isn’t as good, everyone should have a right to be happy when they work, and to those who work at jobs to provide for their families, make their lives easier not harder and treat them with kindness and fairness, a subtle act of kindness goes a long way.
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u/Anywhere_Objective 14h ago
My best friend chose to no longer know me. Cut me like a knife, wildest pain I've ever experienced. I've come out a different person, stronger and more capable alone. Never forget that person, but grateful for the gift their leaving gave me.
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u/amboandy 13h ago
The world doesn't owe me anything, I can be the smartest guy in the room and still have to try hard. (Paraphrased)
I had an internal job interview that went badly because I was an arrogant dick and didn't realise that those that hold the power need to feel respected. Now if I want something and they ask me to jump through hoops I'll jump.
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u/YounomsayinMawfk 12h ago
Not one specific event but whenever I hear about young people dying, it makes living seem not as bad. Whenever I feel sad about getting older, I remember childhood friends who died young and I switch from thinking life is a burden to life is a gift.
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u/Johnyman1753 11h ago
My great grandma dying after I prayed to god everyday since she fell (3 weeks) to keep her alive long enough so I could see her. I never did. She died. Now I don’t believe in a god, because right after? Dog of 13 years died. We get another, it does of a seizure. I was only 9.
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u/amarhoecats 10h ago
after a bad breakup, i was telling my mom that i hated how mean i was being to myself and her words legit changed me. she said “you’re being hard on yourself because its easy. treating yourself with kindness requires conscious effort and practice. it’s up to you to make the choice to be gentle and understanding with yourself, even when things aren't going perfectly.” that really made me rethink how i was approaching things and processing the breakup, but this can be applied to pretty much all aspects of life!
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u/scarlettrosev 9h ago
Two sentences from my years of therapy.
The first being after me telling a story of how if I just did all these things and immensely overextended myself I could make every person in my life happy and thus making myself miserable. I then said “then everyone is happy”. And she replied “have you ever considered you’re part of everyone too?” As a constant people pleaser and big one back then this broke my brain. I had not considered that I was supposed to be making myself happy too.
The second sentence I heard from two therapists. I was talking about an abusive ex I was still in a relationship with back then. My therapist said to me “when is it going to be enough for you to leave?” She left the practice soon after that and I got a new therapist. This therapist and I made way more progress and yet I still stayed with my ex. After around six months of therapy I heard it again. “When is it going to be enough for you to leave?” The first time it didn’t hit but the second time it struck me so hard. The fact that two people had said the exact same thing to me about this situation months apart made me realize I was not taking it as seriously as I should be. I didn’t leave then but I finally recognized I was in an abusive situation, which was a huge deal for me. I left over a year ago and I’ve never been happier.
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u/SteadfastEnd 8h ago
Unfortunately, for me, it was just the sheer cynicism of seeing all the wealth greed in the world.
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u/ProductRelevant116 7h ago
Birth of my son, entire life reoriented around him as soon as I held him for the first time.
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u/Showdown5618 5h ago
Moving out and living away from my parents. Life is sure different after that.
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u/IPutTheArtNFart 19h ago
Living pasivele, things will happen to you,l. Just not the things you want.
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u/Due-Employer-9555 19h ago
Being stressed out over a shit job. Its not worth the sleepless nights or dreading getting up to go in so I jus left without having another job to go to, but I didn’t regret my decision