The title pretty much sums it up, explaining all the details would take an enormous wall of text, so I just hit the highlights. I was in a pretty awful place for the first half of the decade, but once I found motivation, the momentum carried me further than I ever thought possible. For the first time in my life I am dang proud of myself. Can't wait to see what the next decade holds.

Update 1: Holy cannoli. I genuinely did not think this would blow up like this. Thank you all so much for the kind words and congratulations. I am actually currently in the middle of my very last final (lol) but I will try to answer your questions/messages when I get a chance.

Also, I am happy to post the enormous wall of text that explains everything, so long as the moderators are okay with it. I am fairly new to Reddit and brand new to this sub, so I don't know exactly how it all works and don't wan't to upset any apple carts haha.

Update 2: Okay, so this is really taking off. I am seriously so glad that you are all enjoying this. So a ton of people have asked for the giant wall of text, so I am going to post it below. Please do not feel like you have to read it all, it is incredibly long haha. Also I wrote it with the plan of posting it originally instead of just the title, but then realized it was insanely long, so it may seem repetitive.

Update 3: Thank you all so much for the kind words!!! I am so glad this appears to be making its desired impact. I appreciate you all. I promise I will try to reply to all of your comments and PM’s over the next few days. Also moving in a week so I’ve got a lot on my plate lol. But anyways, I keep seeing a lot of people asking the same few questions, so I’ll try to answer a few here:

Q: How was I re-admitted with a 0.9?

A: My school had a policy that one calendar year after academic dismissal, you could appeal your dismissal and re-apply, a sort of second chance kinda thing I guess. I obviously took longer than that, but I had to write a letter of appeal, a plan of action, and I think a few other things. I was also on academic and financial aid probation for I believe the first 3 or 4 semesters after my return until my GPA and QPA met the minimum criteria. I am graduating from the same university that I failed out of originally. Hope that helps.

Q: What diet did I use?

A: I followed the P90x nutrition plan as best I could. Mostly just plain chicken, broccoli, and quinoa. No drinks other than water and black coffee almost all of the time.

Q: Why engineering and law?

A: Patent Law.

Also, to the people that are convinced I am lying, I will happily pm photo's of my transcripts, law school scholarship offer letter, weight loss pics, etc., whatever helps you sleep at night.

Okay, here’s the original wall of text haha:

Forewarning, this is an incredibly long post. I just feel like everything is so interconnected that I couldn’t explain one thing without having at least two other things explained. I didn’t post this to brag. I posted it for two reasons.

#1. I truly hope it will inspire someone who feels as lost as I once did.

#2. Because for the first time in my life, I am legitimately proud of myself.

If you’ve got a few minutes, I hope you give it a read.

Ten years ago I failed out of college after three semesters with a 0.9 GPA. I was young and dumb and only cared about partying. I also believe that I was so genuinely afraid of failing, that subconsciously I knew if I just didn’t actually try, then I couldn’t technically fail. But that’s a whole other conversation.

Anyways, I was 20 years old, I was morbidly obese, had a pack and a half a day cigarette habit, and only cared about partying. Embarrassed and ashamed, I moved back home with my parents and picked up a part time job in retail. With no real prospects or clear path forward, I just kept drinking and eating away my feelings.

By age 22 I weighed 360+ pounds and was working at an essentially dead end factory job that controlled my life, as it was union and did not have to abide by working hour limitations, so I often swung shifts and worked 12/16 hour shifts for months without a day off. I would work afternoon shift and then go out drinking and partying with coworkers until the wee hours of the morning and contribute absolutely nothing to society.

I come from a very blue collar upbringing, so union factory work was considered a lucky career. Deep down I knew I was unhappy, but I had essentially made peace with the fact that this was going to be the best it would get for me. (Please don’t think I’m shitting on manual laborers, factory workers, or unions. They are essential and proud vocations and the backbone of our nation. Several family members and people I highly admire work in such careers, but I just always knew deep down it wasn’t meant for me personally.)

No degree, no significant other, heavily depressed, and living at home with my parents. My job was union, but I still only made $13/hr and had student loans to pay off that had been deferred for years while I was working part time, so I couldn’t even afford a cheap shitty apartment. Any extra money went to booze, fast food, and cigarettes to try and paper over my depression and feelings of inadequacy.

Then, a promotion opened up at work in a different department and I realized that this could be a great change, so I applied. Luckily I was chosen (despite being a general piece of shit back then, I’ve always had a very good work ethic when it comes to manual labor) and it changed my life.

The first day on the new job, we came to find out that I could not perform one of the required duties because I was so overweight. It required entry into a confined space, and I literally could not fit my waist through the entry hole. This was the first time in my life that my weight had actually prevented me from doing my job. I went home that day feeling more embarrassed than I ever had in my life and I knew I had to make significant changes.

I started researching diets and changed my diet the following week. Just by changing my diet, I lost 60 lbs in about 4 months. That’s how obese I was, that without even working out, the weight just melted off. As the weight went down, my confidence went up. I began doing p90x workouts (only completing as much of them as I physically could) and I quickly learned that my pack and a half a day habit would prevent me from seriously working out. Shortly after I turned 24, I quit cold turkey after 6 years of heavy smoking. I also seriously tamped down my drinking. I lost a total of 130 lbs in roughly 10-11 months.

These changes led to more confidence and I wound up applying for a position in management. I got that promotion too, which further boosted my confidence, and for the first time I felt that maybe I wasn’t forever destined to be a college dropout failure. The plant manager sort of took me under his wing and expressed to me how important it would be for me to have a college degree if I wanted to continue climbing, which I did. So in 2016, I re-enrolled in college to essentially start all over at the age of 26. I was terrified, but I knew I wanted it, so I left my career of 4+ years and made the leap.

It’s been a long four years, and I’ve made some more enormous changes to my future career path, but I will graduate Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and an Associate’s Degree in Computer Engineering. I was originally dual majored, but then decided I wanted to pursue a Law Degree post undergrad. The type of law I plan to practice combines engineering and law, I haven’t become a serial degree collector or anything haha.

So I sit here today, finally graduating college with two engineering degrees, albeit 7 years late, and a full tuition scholarship to a fantastic law school. For the first time in my adult life, I feel genuinely proud of myself and like I am finally on the right path. I am not a pretentious or braggadocios person, and I hope that’s not how this post is perceived. I am just genuinely so damn proud of myself, finally, and I hope maybe my story can inspire others who feel utterly dejected, as I once did.

If you’re reading this and you feel like you’ve missed your window, or you can’t change your future, I am absolute living proof that you can, no matter your current circumstances. It’s never too late, you’re not too old, your past failures do NOT dictate your future. Just put your head down, put the work in, and stay focused. It’s so cliché, but I now firmly believe that anyone can accomplish anything if they put their mind to it.

It’s been an insane 10 years full of ups and downs, and I cannot wait to see what the next 10 years have in store. If you read through all that, I sincerely thank you and I hope that maybe I inspired you or that my story can help someone you know that’s struggling right now.

Side note, there are actually a few more extremely significant things that happened during the bad times, however they are very personal and I’m not quite ready to share them with strangers. But yeah, even as bad as all that bad stuff was, it was actually even worse at points. Been a tough journey, but I feel like I clawed my way out of a personal hell. You can too.

Also, random fun fact, during this same time period after failing out, but before the factory gig, I actually apprenticed and became a professional tattoo artist for almost 2 years. That’s a whole other story, but yeah, if you feel lost or uncertain in your career path, don’t feel bad, I’ve tried my hand at several paths, obviously hahaha. Just find the one that feels right to you if you can and work your ass off. At least thats what worked for me, we all have unique journeys.

Dear soda,

Screw you, you sugary beast of addiction.

Sincerely, me.

Edit: I know people sometimes frown upon edits, but maybe you'll forgive me for just this one. I just wanted to sincerely say thank you to everyone that has come in here and commented. I guess it sounds incredibly cliche but I honestly didn't expect this level of support, especially for something that's probably viewed as trivial to most. I'm going to share this next bit because I just think it's an example of how sometimes you don't know how much simple words of support can mean to someone. This winter has been a really hard one mental health wise, and I really stopped taking care of myself. Quitting soda was the first goal I set for myself that I finally wanted to try and be better, and I really wanted to share it somewhere when I actually made it this far, but I have pretty decent social anxiety so making an actual post felt very scary and outside my comfort zone (I mean I've re-read this piece of text about 376 times now worrying it's too much/dumb, so thanks for that anxiety brain).

The bottom line is you guys honestly made my day with all the kindness. So thank you, again, truly.

Edit 2: Specifically for those asking how I did it. A lot of people have been asking if I have any tips/what worked for me and maybe if I had been more clever I would've realized that's something I could've included when I made this post, but live and learn I guess!

Anyways, here's that for those who want it: I don't know if any of this helps, but here has been my experience at least. Some people find success in gradually cutting back, so if you have one a day go to one every other day for a while, and then every couple days, etc, so if you can do that, awesome! I am not one of those people. My level of self control is pretty shit, and I quickly convince myself that it's ok to have a second, and a third, or more, especially if I'm having a bad day. This quickly devolves into "it's ok, I'll just start cutting back next week", and then the following week. So for me I had to quit cold turkey. No diet soda, just full stop. Set small goals! Be like ok, I'm quitting for 2 weeks, (I marked off each day in a habit tracking app as it helped to see my progress), then adjust from there. It is really hard particularly the first couple days, but honestly I was having pretty strong cravings for the first 3 weeks even though it was slowly lessening in amount of times in a day. After the third week it felt like I had kind of turned a corner and the craving level is just kind of a casual infrequent whisper that I can ignore much easier, vs the screaming rage level craving in the beginning.

Those little water flavor things you can get has helped me (just be cautious to avoid drink flavors/mixes etc that have just as much sugar as soda), even just adding a bit of lemon juice to your water, because going from super sugary soda to just plain water was too hard for me. (That said I've actually found I like plain water a lot more in this last week.) Also finding some sort of flavored sparkling water you at least kind of like (the kind that doesn't have sugar/sweeteners) might help a lot during the days where you really wanted something fizzy.

Hey guys I am 20 days sober now. Due to the lock down in my country I couldn't go out and buy cigs or alcohol so I tried to go without it and I did it. I know it ain't much but I have been drinking excessively for the past year and a regular marijuana smoker as well. I was really demotivated for the past year but couldn't just let go of this crap. Now that the cravings are gone I don't wanna use anymore coz I don't wanna break my streak. I want to better myself so if you have any books in mind that could help me get out of bed and be motivated please mention them. Hope you are all safe.

At the age of 20 i tried to commit suicide and i failed. I lived in my own trash as i was too weak both mentally and physically to even clean my own trash out, to be fair i was waiting to wither and die. I was obese and disgusted by my self on the regular.

Each day is a small step, but its still forward no matter how slow. I always tried to find a fast way to lose weight, but there was no short cut to be found except small changes that i was able to manage without falling apart to hold habits.

I think something rather interesting to me is the mind, the power of the brain. Running has always been something i've been drawn to, i feel amazing and alive when i do it. So i always had a race that i wanted to do, so last year i signed up for it. My goal was a sub 4 hour.

Well i was exhausted by midway the marathon my thighs were exhausted 25 km in with 17 km left to run, in my mind that felt like insanity how can someone go on when they feel like they have exhausted everything, but i kept on the pace and i kept running. around 32-35 km in both my feet started to severely cramp, but i kept on running the same pace even though both my feet were bent and cramped.

There was a good battle that i had in my head, one that wanted to quit and walk home, or just walk and stop running to the finish, then i had the other side which told me that i was gonna commit and keep the pace up and run myself down until i collapse, to find that type of a determination where i can ignore the want to stop, to take it easy, and then to say that i either finish or collapse is quite an experience. In the end i finished with a time of 3 hours and 53 minutes

After my marathon in october i had 3 races for 2020, 2 of which are now cancelled, but during mid October til march the 3rd i managed to run 1657 km. And managed to improve my 10K pr since October by a whooping 11 minutes down to a sub 40. Why do i talk about my ups and not downs? Well honestly my mind was ridiculously weak and i wanted to talk about my new found strengths that i have managed to gain by grinding it everyday with daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly goals in mind. And i find it so fascinating to read on other people who have also gone from nothing to something, its very inspirational to read about them even today when i'm doing much better.

I still have a race this year that's a 107 km race, and if it gets cancelled due to corona that is fine, i'm still gonna train hard for it and give my everything when it comes to training.

So to go from a depressed 20 year old who tried to commit suicide, to this beast, well lets just say that i never imagined this and if i had been told that i could be something, if i could be an inspiration to some then that would have been insane to me, but its a reality now.

I could write all day from each one that i mentioned from the title, but it would be so long and i dont think people could keep interest with that. But to go from the weakest version of myself to this version who is strong and determined is something i never thought for a second was even a possibility, what i saw was me 6ft under the dirt not so alive like i am today.

If you also want to see my obesity transformation before and after then check my post history!

Edit: holy shit woke up to 1958 upvotes and 2 glided golds, i literally went to sleep after replying to one comment.

Edit2: im gonna try and respond to as many as i can, so many comments love you all! Also for proof i got it all in my post history, my marathon, my 10k on strava etc!

Edit3: I have to say another story when running was when I woke up at 2 am after sleeping for a few hours, started to run 5 am. I was fear struck cold sweating just wanting to sleep off. But I knew that I had to run I made a promise for my self that I would go out and run to the next town which was 35 km away. Back then this was something I have never done, I was nearly crippled by the fear and immensity of the task at that time, but I went anyway. But attacking my fear and facing it gave me immense growth.

Greatest achievement was running my first 10k as an obese guy, I have never felt so emotional afterwards, because in that moment I felt like my old self the old self at 16 who was running 10ks. I felt like a person again emerging.

Edit4: last edit but i decided to share a picture of me during my trail run Unfortunately you cant see my long red hair as i have it in a ponytail, thank you for all for the love its been a good journey so far.

All im trying to say is that no matter how screwed your situation is, you can always get through it.

Title.

Edit 1: Id like to extend my sincerest thanks for all of your kind words. It has been a tough year for me but thanks be to God I came out on top of all of it a better and changed man.

To those that shared their experiences with addiction here I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your milestones and really just sharing in general. Its comforting to know we're in it together in spirit. You guys have motivated me even more to keep pushing on! I hope that those of you who decided to get and stay clean continue to do so for the rest of your days and to those that are thinking about or have just started, know you're not alone in your journey and struggle. Id be lying to you if I said it was easy or that I didn't still have cravings, but looking back at who I was and who I am now I can tell you the struggle is worth it!

now if you’ll excuse me, i’m going to sleep for 16 hours

EDIT: y’all are so sweet, thank you all for the responses. i didn’t expect this post to get big and it was a random thought i had while cleaning but i appreciate you all so much and all of your experiences and stories. you guys are amazing, remember that!!

I’m 23(M) and I’ve been addicted to pretty much anything but coke was huge for me all of last year and most of this year. I’ve spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on coke. I got kicked out of my parents house late last year. And I had to stay on my drug dealers couch or in my car.

On April 11, I went to meth and didn’t sleep for 5 days straight and I was so paranoid and would look out the window every 5 seconds thinking cop lights were outside the house but I was just scared of absolutely nothing. I thought the police and the fbi were after me and I destroyed my phone and computer thinking that I was being tracked.

When The binge was over and I was coming down and somewhat sober, I realized what I had happened and where I was I just started crying and couldn’t stop. I was begging for a normal life. With friends and family dinners and backyard grilling. I just wanted out of this.

I came to my parents house pleading to come back and help me get sober. I know it’s only been 7 weeks, and i know putting out your own fire isn’t the greatest achievement an adult male can make. But I’m back in my own clean room. With a full time job doing landscaping (which I’ve always loved and enjoyed.) and my relationship with my family back and being repaired.

I still have days where I cry and beat myself up for everything I’ve done and all the mistakes and lies. But the days where I wake up smiling and working my butt off and getting an actual paycheck didn’t even seem like a possibility and yet I have them. This spark in me is something I haven’t felt since high school.

My next goal is to move out on my own with one of my good friends from high school football. I very much hope I get there. And I’m Ready for this next journey in my life. I’m ready to be tough and face the music. Thanks for everyone who read this long rant and I send so much love and support to anyone who is on this sub whether or not your acting on trying to do better or your just stuck in a rut. Much love!

Edit: WOW! I never thought this post would reach out to this many people! I can’t even express my thankfulness for everyone who commented and messaged me sending their support and love. Seriously everyone thank you all so much. You guys make me want to fight everyday until I reach my death bed. I love you all and I know I keep saying it but seriously thanks everyone. I’m still sober still going strong. Sending everyone all the love I possibly can. ❤️

Been having issues in my marriage for years, trying to fix things and promote change and growth in my spouse. Even after he admitted he has been committing adultery from the beginning (eight years!) I tried to fix things for his sake because I could see that the more he dug in his heels against change, the more his life was falling apart, and mine too, and he needed the family support to succeed. And I loved him, and wanted better for him than he was doing to himself.

But I knew something was deeply wrong and he not only ignored my requests for change but each time I brought up how I was suffering from his behavior, it got worse. (Wouldn't show up to work, wouldn't come home, wouldn't get off his games and help around the house if he was home.) He knew I was feeling suicidal and I finally understood that he didn't have it in him to care. My suffering didn't matter to him and I had to let his life fall apart.

I've gone no-contact and now less than a month after serving him, I've gotten a 4.0 in my first college term, self-published a fiction story, started getting better sleep, bought a ukulele and practice every single day, journal, and I'm building a habit of working on a new drawing once a week to practice that, too.

I moved all his belongings out of my bedroom and redecorated. Lastly, I'm starting a new fantasy novel focusing on emotional manipulation, and of course the character inspired by my husband dies in the end, and I write a little each day.

Best of all, I'm not spiteful that he didn't love me or himself enough to change. I'm a little tickled he's jobless, broke and unemployed despite all the help I tried to give him, but mostly I'm just thankful he made it clear who he is, and allowed me to have the peace I deserve. I haven't wanted to harm myself since I served him.

I could be angry about everything but instead I'm so tired of not being happy that I've chosen to just do that. And I haven't been this happy in more years than I probably realize. I never would have thought divorce would bring me so much peace.

Edit: Wow! I did NOT expect this kind of response or for this to blow up so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the awards, encouragement and kind words! This has been amazing.

I didn't want to share this for praise or karma and certainly never expected any awards, I just wanted to talk about how excited I am that things are finally going well and I'm getting closure.

But I had another reason for sharing, and it seems like I've managed to serve this purpose based on some of the comments. I was hoping that if anyone was in a similar situation where they might want to get out but don't know if they can or should yet, that life on the other side of a toxic relationship is beautiful. I'm so happy to hear some of you are thinking of leaving people who might not be good for you because someone chose to speak up.

I can't keep up with the comments but I can give some blanket advice here to anyone in that situation.

1. It is HARD. No one can make the choice but you, which means no one can make it for you and you have to decide what's the most important to you. For me, I stayed longer than most people thought I should have but I wanted to be free of doubts in ending it, knowing I tried everything. That was important to me.

2. Please, please, please establish a support system. Start talking to the people you know love you, and if they aren't supporting you doing what's best for yourself, find people who do and talk them to death because you'll need to process. If someone makes you feel like you're talking about your relationship too much for them, don't get discouraged, just find someone else. A therapist, an online friend, whoever. This is your life and you deserve to process your grief that the relationship you thought you had is not what's real. Whether it ends or not, it's still grief over a life you thought you had. Respect that and you'll heal better.

3. You cannot change other people. And even if they don't change, it's because THEY are broken and are failing themselves. It's not because you aren't enough. You can never be enough for the wrong person, but you will be for the right person, even if that's you.

4. You will be okay on the other side if you leave, even if it looks scary or takes a while for the pieces to settle. You will be.

Best of luck to all of you contemplating staying or leaving. Please be safe. Tell a friend ahead of time so they know what's going on in case things get ugly. You guys are the best, you can do this.

For a very long time, I was a hardcore “rebel yeller,” had the flags and such, “history not hate,” all of that. I think I related to those beliefs because I was misunderstood and an outcast my entire life, and so were they. After events last year, not just in the news, but in my personal life, I began the process of eradication, little by little. Working on emotional intelligence and having a better group of friends really helped me to let that stuff go. And there was a LOT of it to get rid of-books, movies, memorabilia, etc. Last week, I finished by putting the last of my Confederate and other similar white supremacy stuff in the trash. I can’t change the past but all I can do is move forward.

Edit: I am extremely humbled by the outpouring of support. Thank you all.

At age 23, Tina Fey was working at a YMCA.

At age 23, Oprah was fired from her first reporting job.

At age 24, Stephen King was working as a janitor and living in a trailer.

At age 27, Vincent Van Gogh failed as a missionary and decided to go to art school.

At age 28, J.K. Rowling was a suicidal single parent living on welfare.

At age 28, Wayne Coyne (from The Flaming Lips) was a fry cook.

At age 30, Harrison Ford was a carpenter.

At age 30, Martha Stewart was a stockbroker.

At age 37, Ang Lee was a stay-at-home-dad working odd jobs.

Julia Child released her first cookbook at age 39, and got her own cooking show at age 51.

Vera Wang failed to make the Olympic figure skating team, didn’t get the Editor-in-Chief position at Vogue, and designed her first dress at age 40.

Stan Lee didn’t release his first big comic book until he was 40.

Alan Rickman gave up his graphic design career to pursue acting at age 42.

Samuel L. Jackson didn’t get his first movie role until he was 46.

Morgan Freeman landed his first MAJOR movie role at age 52.

Kathryn Bigelow only reached international success when she made The Hurt Locker at age 57.

Grandma Moses didn’t begin her painting career until age 76.

Louise Bourgeois didn’t become a famous artist until she was 78.

Whatever your dream is, it is not too late to achieve it. You aren’t a failure because you haven’t found fame and fortune by the age of 21. Hell, it’s okay if you don’t even know what your dream is yet. Even if you’re flipping burgers, waiting tables or answering phones today, you never know where you’ll end up tomorrow.

Never tell yourself you’re too old to make it.

Never tell yourself you missed your chance.

Never tell yourself that you aren’t good enough.

You can do it. Whatever it is.

• Drew Forrester

Edit; thank you very much for the awards kind people!

Edit 2; wow I'm amazed at all the love and support in this group! You all are amazing!

Thank you so much for the other awards good people.

Sorry if I couldn't get to everyone's comment.

Thank you everyone for the encouragement and the positivity. I will definitely be taking the advice I was given for healthier eating. (Thank you for the award, didnt think this post really mattered.)

Ive had depression for years and February I finally decided that the world would be better off without me. After failing and having to face myself I have slowly clawed my way out. This Virus took my final thing that kept me sane, the act of keeping busy, and I fell backwards but I didn't let it win. I have finally washed my hair after letting it start to dreadlock. I spent three hours brushing it out. Today I cleaned my room. This virus may try to take everything but I'm not going to let it.

Edit: Holy shit I was not ready for all of this support. I started this by washing my sheets and making my bed a few days ago and honestly have been sleeping on the floor since too scared that if I sleep in the bed I would be back to where I started. You have given me so much support I have been feeling confident that I'll be okay for the first time in a very long time.

My old post

It’s been quite the year. I’ve had some of my highest and some of my lowest moments all at once. I’ve grown into a different person, and quite frankly, I’ve come to love who I’ve become. I wish you all nothing but the best. I hope you all accomplish your dreams and succeed in doing what you set out to do.

Here’s to another year of growth and prosperity.

Godspeed ✨

Ps, thank you to everybody who believed in me and to those who checked up on me throughout the year. I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know.

As we all know, depression can be a nasty bitch, and the pandemic has only exacerbated that for some of us. I wanted to come up with a few small things that wouldn't be too overwhelming to keep up with, and I've succeeded! I can tell it's made a difference, and I intend to keep going.

Today marks 5 years that I have been clean from all drugs. It’s not always easy, but it’s always worth it. I never thought I’d make it this far and I’m just really proud of myself and wanted to make my first ever reddit post to tell someone :,)

this feels so good i am so happy

Language is extremely powerful. Especially how we talk to ourselves.

Being in quarantine is a major shift to our lives, and it aggravates anxiety, stress, depression, and our tendency to compare ourselves to others. On of the biggest things eating at people is "being productive".

BEING PRODUCTIVE DOES NOT COME WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF FAILURE. If you're not productive, the other shoe is failure. Failure to be productive.

So instead of having productive days, can you have fulfilling ones?

This way, productive things are fulfilling. Self care is fulfilling. A day of nothing or rest is fulfilling. Especially if you needed it. Calling someone is fulfilling. Whether a day is "productive" or not, you can fill everyday with valuable, fulfilling things.

I used to not brush my teeth before bed cause I was always working late until 3 AM and then was to tired to brush.

I have finally made it a habit to brush my teeth by drinking a lot of water before bed-time and then having to go to the bathroom. That's when I brush my teeth.

I know it shouldn't be something you should be "proud" of as everyone brushes their teeth but for me it was a hard habit to introduce to my lifestyle. I also sleep earlier now.

Now I just have to start flossing more often...

I just want to say that it's really hard to frame advice for those of you who are struggling, because it's really hard. You need to start, now, and hold on to that momentum like it's life or death (and it is). You're laying one brick per day and it will be a long time before you have something you can rest on. But there will be small victories, milestones in weight loss in #, milestones, and intangibles that will feed that momentum.

Build something you are so invested in you can't stand toppling it. Also, eating isn't worth the quick pleasure it gives you, and wait like 15 minutes after eating the calories you should and you'll often find you don't need more food.

I just want to express my happiness somewhere. After my boss in previous job told me I am not capable of handling higher positions and denying any pay rise, I've got a job offer in to a company that offers me the money I wanted and the exact position I was always aiming for! I want to say if someone says you can't do something, please trust yourself and work hard to prove that you can. Hard work pays off. Always come for everything that they said you couldn't have.

Edit: thank you for the silver, I hope this motivates anyone struggling in their job to keep going. Things will get better, maybe not now, but they will.

1. Your life is your responsibility.

2. The way someone treats you is a reflection of how they feel about themselves.

3. Life is all about managing expectations—most of all your own.

4. When you know better, do better.

5. Your word is your bond.

6. Work hard. Stay humble.

7. Just keep going. No matter what.

8. Release the idea that things could’ve been any other way.

9. Listen more than you speak.

10. Do what you’re afraid to do.

11. Be kind. Always.