18 Stories That Prove It Takes Real Courage to Choose Happiness Over a Life That Looks Fine From the Outside

• We had many art classes in school, right up to the 9th grade. I really enjoyed them. I wanted to become an artist, but our teacher constantly tried to prove that it wasn’t for me. I got a C in her subject.
  But I never really listened to her, so I just worked on my technique and my drawings. 5 years have passed since I graduated. Yesterday was my first art exhibition. Imagine my surprise when I saw my art teacher buying one of my paintings.

• My best developer leaves at 6:00 p.m. to make pottery. Not kidding. Ceramics. Hands in clay instead of on the keyboard.
  At first, I thought he had a personal crisis at 28. But then I noticed that he was the only one who hadn’t burned out in 2 years.
  Others scroll through feeds or read tech blogs after work. It’s like they’re resting, but their mind is still on the screen. This guy switches physically. And he comes in fresh in the morning.
  I bought a wood carving set for myself. I’ve been carving a spoon for a month. It’s crooked, but I sleep like a baby.

• It’s funny. I speak 2 foreign languages. I earned my PhD in Japan. I can work like no one else, and I have many hobbies including various crafts.
  But more than anything, I’m proud of the fact that out of all my rescues, some of whom were very unwell when I found them, I haven’t lost a single one. Under the guidance of vets, I nursed the sick ones back to health and raised them all.
  I’ve never left one behind when moving. In fact, I moved because of them. To make them more comfortable. More space, more room. For the dogs — fields for walking.
  And what are you most proud of?

• Once I made a right decision in life. I left a quite prestigious and well-paying job as an architect to become an illustrator. Yes, I never regretted it. The amount of freedom and joy I experienced made me wonder how I ever found time to go to the office every day.
  But that’s not the point. After I moved to another country, I constantly thank fate for this turn of events: what would I have done here as an architect? With a child, in my late forties, confirming my degree without knowing the language?
  But instead, I just showed my portfolio. And I got a job.

• Don’t believe it when they say it’s too late for something. My mom quit bad habits at 40, spent 5 years studying veterinary medicine at a top university. She graduated, became a veterinarian, got a mortgage for an apartment, found a job, and eventually left her negative work environment to join a veterinary lab, got a dog, and got married.

• At 40, a friend of mine went back to school to become a reflexologist, left her job at the store where she’d spent half her life behind the counter, moved to a new city, and got certified as a massage therapist. She bought an apartment on a mortgage, all on her own, in a foreign country!
  Now she’s over 50, and she’s back in school. Happy as can be. She’s a gem! She’s forgotten about all her health issues.

• I have a question for people in their mature years. Tell me, have you ever taken actions that your peers considered impulsive, rash, and, let’s be honest, silly?
  For instance, at almost 56 years old, I moved to China to work. Yes, in my field, but without knowing the language. At 57, I learned how to ride a bike here. And at 61, I finally learned how to swim! I am very proud of this achievement!

• I’m 60+, and I don’t think I’m too old. I bought a home exercise machine and I work out every day at 6:30 a.m., then I take a break and go to work. After work, I exercise again at home, and that’s how it always goes, no one can keep up with me.
  You know, the young ones at work envy me and ask, where do you get all that energy? That’s how I live.

• At 38, I left my office job, gave the apartment and car to my husband, and took off.
  At 40, I became a mountain guide in the Himalayas. I got married, had a child, and my husband and I opened a travel company in Nepal.
  A few days ago, I came down from Everest, and in a couple of days I’ll be leading a group to Upper Mustang. Right now, my husband is collecting wild mountain honey with a top influencer.

• I left my job at 54 years old, a year short of retirement, and shifted my business activities to the garden beds at my country house. 6 years have passed, and old acquaintances are surprised that I don’t want to work during retirement. But I really don’t.
  I’ve been working since I was 12. I’m tired of this constant need to achieve something. I’ve proven myself in various professions and roles, understood everything about myself, and now I just want to grow flowers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and can jars of squash caviar.

I did formerly make cakes for a living, and now I film them for social media! My dream would be to do a live art installation in museums where I create these in front of their respective original paintings.

Wow, I thought it was embroidery with beads! @ Rare-Fisherman6164 / Reddit

• It’s been 6 months since my relatives stopped talking to me. All because I, a self-sufficient, adult 28-year-old, grew tired of the big city, its noise, people, endless traffic jams, left everything and moved to a small town in the south of the country.
  I got a job in my field, which I love, and I’ve got a dog I’ve been dreaming of for so long. In the evenings, we stroll along the waterfront, and I feel that life is good!

• I worked in a boutique without a single day off for 3 months. The pay was low, and I didn’t even receive it for the last month. At some point, I realized that I had enough of working for someone else’s idea.
  I snapped and started my own business — custom gifts, including these kinds of bouquets. I make these roses myself from satin ribbons. I single-handedly created and promoted the store on social media. Without a team and without large investments.
  Today, I have hundreds of satisfied clients, regular orders, a good reach, and the business that I love and that brings both income and joy.

• 7 years ago, I graduated from university with a degree in law (because my parents wanted it, saying it was prestigious), and a month later, I bought a one-way ticket and flew to live in Thailand. My parents didn’t talk to me for 6 months, saying, “You’re living there to your heart’s content!”
  But eventually, they accepted my choice and the fact that I’m an adult capable of making my own decisions. I never returned home. I’m happy that 7 years ago, I didn’t give in to pressure and followed my own path. So don’t listen to anyone but yourself.