As you already know, life is hard and it can beat you down.

BUT, we should all try to focus on the good stuff in life, especially in these very uncertain times we’re living in. And we can take a lot of inspiration from other people out there.

So let’s see what these AskReddit users had to say about why they love their lives.

1. A drifter.

“There IS no story. That’s what I love about it.

I chose the easy way out. Avoiding responsibility (but taking it seriously when I had it). Always avoiding work, not getting hung up in material possessions or accomplishments.

Just a drifter, I guess. I’m old now, and can’t say I wasted a single minute from being at the beach when I could have been struggling for a buck to buy some temporary amusement with.”

2. A big turnaround.

“I used to weigh 550 pounds. I fully expected that the rest of my life would be spent alone and uncomfortable.

A doctor convinced me to try bariatric surgery. I lost 350+ pounds and now I’m out in the Rocky Mountains climbing for fun.

My low expectations still haven’t adjusted though, so every day is so much better than anything I could ever have hoped for.”

3. Life is good.

“Mine is pretty simple. Grew up poor and was adopted multiple times. Never felt wanted and did sh*tty in school.

Had a talk with a girl in my 10th grade year that truly changed my life. I just realized I was hurting myself by doing bad in school and not “caring” as no one else cared anyway so I wasn’t actually accomplishing anything. She said the only way to truly get back or even is to be successful and make a life for myself.

That’s exactly what I did, I make 6 figures, just got engaged, don’t have any kids yet and the last family that adopted me decided to keep me. I’m 31 now so that’s who I consider my family.

In all honesty, my childhood was so hard that I find adulthood a breeze; I didn’t have time to think about normal kid things like girlfriends or having the newest shoes so I treat adulthood like that too. I consider it a blessing because a lot of things that adults tend to deal with I just don’t see how it’s a big deal as I dealt with actually preventing myself from starving to death.

I took care of myself so the biggest thing in my adulthood has been opening up to the idea of taking care of others (wife, kids, etc). I sometimes wake up and look at my beautiful fiancè and think of how happy I am. Life is good.”

4. Words to live by.

“NBB (Never Be Bored) that’s my personal mantra and it’s been keeping healthy, happy, and (sometimes) wealthy my entire life.

There’s so much to do, so much to read, so many instruments to learn, so many trails to hike, there’s literally zero reasons to be bored. Boredom spawns complacency, and complacency leads to a sedentary life, and I’m convinced a sedentary life, is the root of a lot of modern problems.

I’m always moving, always working on a new personal project, always pushing at work. It’s hard at first, but you get out of it every ounce you put into it.

I love my job, I’m a writer for a major outdoor retailer. I would have never gotten this if it weren’t for NBB. I created my own website from the ground up and posted some stories of a few backpacking trips I’ve gone on. One thing led to another and now I’m sitting in my dream job at 26.

NBB people, it’s the trick to a fun, fulfilling life.”

5. A good run.

“I’m 32, married a great wife.

We decided to pick anywhere in the country we thought it’d be great to live and make it happen once we got married, so we did. We live in San Diego. I have an incredible one year old son and hope to have more kids.

My wife stays at home with the kid and finds fulfillment in her art. I lead a sales team for a small company and make a bunch of dough. Plan to retire in about five years and foster kids.

We travel quite a bit and are generally very free. The best thing, though, is I haven’t experienced meaningful loss yet. I’ve attended about 30 weddings and no funerals.

My great grandma died and my grandpa died when I was very young but I didn’t really understand death yet. Since then, no deaths of friends or family (knock on wood). Pretty incredible run and I expect this is as good as life could get. Love my family and have a great friend group.”

6. Things will get better.

“When I was 16, I got kicked out of the house for being transgender, gay and because of mental issues my parents had.

I lived next to the university library. Everyday I cycled by on my way to my special ed class. I made the promise to myself that I would fight for opportunity to follow higher education, for a new family, for a better self image.

And now, I am a first year university student with a rainbow pin on his bag, blue polished nails, living with my new self chosen family and good grades. This is het best time of my life and it was absolutely worth all the fighting, pain and disappointment.

It is good to work hard and good to believe that things will get better.”

7. Your own story.

“Honestly, just one day I decided that I’m living my own story and that I need to focus on things as positively as I can.

My motto is “You never know why it happened”.

Also I shape my personality every day. like to try many new things.”

8. Enjoy yourself.

“28 years old, loved my life ever since post graduation and after getting my first and current job. This was during 2016/begin 2017.

I get paid quite well for my age/work field and experience. The job has super much variation. it has enough options to let me explore and grow within the organization. It’s like I hit the jackpot on this department.

I live with my brother in a big apartment in the city center, which is just nice. Don’t really have money troubles. Have enough free time to enjoy my hobbies.

The best is that I enjoy being by myself. I’m not craving for a relationship (last few just didn’t work out), it’s extremely relaxing, that I don’t mind being by myself and that i can be happy without an SO.”

9. Gratitude.

“You’re probably going to read a lot of the stories people post here and think “d*mn, all these people won the lottery of life”, and for many of them it is true.

It is much easier to be happy and content when life deals you a fair hand, and to be bitter when life doesn’t turn out the way you planned. But even those born with silver spoons in their mouths don’t always end up happy or satisfied; humans are incredibly adept at adaption, and the downside of this is that we quickly lose perspective and become absorbed in our own experience, forgetting either where we’ve come from or where those around us are at.

Which begs the question: how do we find happiness where we are now, instead of chasing the happiness we want? There are probably a few different answers to this question, but for me the answer is…

Gratitude.

When we treat even the simplest pleasures in life as joyful experiences, they become bigger than they are and minimize the negatives that surround us. When I wake up to a warm sunny day, I revel in the beauty of the world illuminated by the cosmic force that gives us life.

When I wake up to a rainy day, I make myself a delicious cup of coffee and spend some time savoring it, while appreciating the warm apartment I am blessed to be able to afford.

Next time you do something, find something, or eat something you enjoy, just take a moment to savor it. Appreciate what it does for you, and what you love about it.

I know this sounds like hippie cr*p (because it is), but if you act like the world is out to love you instead of out to get you, you’ll start to believe it.”

10. Keeping time.

“My grandfather gave me a pocket watch when I was young and I fell in love with the combination of art and science in watchmaking.

My parents bought me books, I read online, and I learned everything I could about watches and watchmaking.

At 16 I landed an internship at a jewelry store near my hometown and started replacing batteries and sizing watch bracelets. I decided that I wanted to be a watchmaker and high school wasn’t going to help me get there, so I graduated early and went to watchmaking school.

Now I work as a watchmaker in that same jewelry store, now in my own workshop, repairing and restoring primarily Rolex. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else doing anything else.”

11. Sounds pretty good.

“I’m 40-something, unmarried, no kids, own a condo with no mortgage (I paid it off) in a decent neighborhood. No credit card debt, no school debt, no car loans (bought it with cash), no debt of any kind. No college degree though.

I have a stable job in San Diego, California. I show up to a zero-stress air conditioned office job at noon, leave at 6pm. It’s a 10 minute drive to work in almost no traffic due to time of day. I spend most of the time at work surfing reddit, watching YouTube videos, playing chess, and watching movies.

I get paid $31/hr which is not awesome for my age but considering I have very few bills, it’s great. My job is to handle problems as they arise, which is when I drop everything and get to work. Fortunately problems don’t arise often so I have oodles of time (days, sometimes weeks) to spend goofing off online before I actually have to work for a few hours.

I’m a tall healthy male and have $220k in stocks and Zillow.com says my condo is worth just over $310k.

From home it’s a 20 min drive to the beach, 10 min drive to relaxing hiking with fresh air, lakes, nature, trees, ducks, etc. People come here to southern California to vacation, I live here.

Did I mention I have zero debt and don’t pay rent?”

12. Honest with yourself.

“Dropped outta college, learned a trade (electrician, I LOVE it!!), was finally honest with myself and realized I was gay.

Met the love of my life 5 years ago then immediately went out west to work on solar power plants for a summer. Came back and thought oh word we can get more serious now, but then bam the plant I worked at in my city shut down and I got laid off.

Took another job where I had to go like 4 hours north for a few months, got trained on some machinery, came back and was part of a small crew that opened a factory. I still work there 4 years later, and it still challenges me and keeps me on my toes, but it’s mostly easy-breezy and I still love it. We just bought a house and close on Thursday!

It’s been a long road, difficult at times sure, but it’s all finally paying off now and I am so excited.”

13. Fulfillment.

“Don’t seek happiness. Seek fulfillment, and the happiness will come.

Having a job or hobby (or otherwise) that centers around helping people will help.

If you believe the purpose of life is to help others, it’s easy to enjoy life.”

14. Changed everything.

“Two actions that changed everything:

Healing my childhood trauma over the course of 5 years

Letting go of perfectionism

They go hand in hand, but my god, these two actions saved my life.”

15. Recovering.

“I fell from a balcony of first floor to the ground.

Got a brain injury and doctor said there was internal bleeding. Survived but got OCD, ADHD, anxiety, depression and low emotional stability but I am recovering and I’m doing fine.

I love my life.”

16. FUN.

“Married my high school sweetheart 8 years ago. We went to junior prom together, all of college, have two kids, just bought a house, etc.

We have challenges and sh*tty days but it’s softened by the fact that we’re together.

Lots of fun.”

17. Learning how to be happy

“I remember when I learned how to be happy.

I was a resident, working 80 hours a week at a horrible NYC hospital. I was burnt out and depressed. I wanted to escape. I felt sorry for myself. I felt like somehow, I deserved better. That’s when it hit me. . . Deserved. It’s such a strange concept.

And if you believe that you somehow deserve something “better” than you have, it will rob you of your joy. How about the janitors cleaning the rooms each day… what do they deserve? Some kid in a town in Bangladesh … what does she deserve?

None of us really deserve any more than anyone else. And yet I look at my life and realize how enviable it would be to so many, and I feel almost ashamed for having felt like I deserved something more. And in that moment, I learned how to be happy.”

18. Good Fortune

“I’ve lived an easy life so far.

We weren’t filthy rich, but I was never missing anything I truly needed. I’ve been smart about my choices, but also extremely lucky. I’m currently living with the love of my life, have healthy relationships with friends and family, working a low-stress job I enjoy that gives me enough spending money for my wants (it’s also lucky I don’t want much.)

We’re taking it one day at a time. Nothing special, but it works for us. We enjoy so much freedom. It’s not perfect. I’m not fully healthy, I’ve seen tragedy, I’ve had extremely rough times, I’m probably battling undiagnosed mental health conditions, and there are things I wish for that I don’t have.

But I am all too aware of my good fortune, it truly overwhelms me sometimes, and every single day I thank the universe for allowing me to live this life.”

19. Teaching rocks!

“I’m a high school teacher and I absolutely LOVE my job.

I never really thought it would be something I’d do. Usually I don’t like kids and only went into it initially because I got a relatively useless arts degree. Now that I’m there I know it’s what I was meant to do. I may not like children but I love my teenage students like they’re my babies. For the most part my day is endless fun.

I also bought a little cottage really close to work. It has a beautiful garden and I just live there with my dogs. I go home throughout the day (during free periods and at lunch and interval) to spend time with my dogs, work in my garden and get all my chores done.

Then all of my evenings and weekends are free to just do what I want. I live so close I can leave work at 3 and be home by 3.05. It really is a completely blissful life.”

20. Living simply.

“I had a good family growing up. I married a good man. We have three healthy babies.

We don’t have a lot of money, but we live simply so it works for us. Its kind of unfair how some people get all the luck and some people get all the hardships.”

21. Wouldn’t trade it.

“I’m a 29 year old woman from the US. I have a loving husband who I agree with 95% of the time.

We share a hobby with a bunch of people who are family or close like family. We both have stable jobs, own our own home, and have a baby on the way. Our life has its ups and downs, good days and bad. Sometimes we struggle, and sometimes we soar.

But right now, amongst all the chaos and uncertainty, I’m somehow the happiest I’ve ever been. I don’t know if it’s a mindset or what, but I wouldn’t trade what our life now is for anything.”

22. Optimistic.

“I have always been an optimistic person (to a fault) but I have lived through a lot of strife and bullsh*t, addict parents, abandonment, homelessness, poverty, depression, lots of death in the immediate family and others.

I don’t wear any of that on my sleeve but I encourage people who have been through it to be open about it. Grieve it. Grieve that you can’t get that time back but know that you have every moment in front of you to love it.

On the cusp of 30 years old, I am in the best physical and mental and emotional shape I have ever been in, have an amazing family of people I chose who I can count on, and have had so many Hallmark movie moments where you sit on the sunset/sunrise on the horizon and think ‘wow, this is it.

So many people won’t have this moment but I do.’ and I remind myself to be grateful for that sh*t every single day and trust that there will be more.

Some days you have to fight for that feeling and it comes in a lot of ways. You have to fight for other people sometimes. You have to carry other folks sometimes who don’t have the strength left in them, but you find it in yourself to be grateful that you can. That you are capable. I am friends with people now who I looked up to when I was growing up.

I have gone to see the world and have fallen in love with my own life and art and imagination over and over. I wouldn’t trade my time in this big universe for anything. I could only hope for another chance to come back and experience it again when I’m gone.”

23. A new chapter.

“I fled from an abusive marriage 10+ yrs ago, and had to sacrifice everything that was ever important to me, in order to have freedom. I went into hiding on the other side of the country, and started over again from scratch, with only $11 to my name.

Despite being homeless, jobless, and penniless, I had a lot of support from my family back home, and was able to get a new job quickly. It took until 2016 for me to realize that I had Complex PTSD from being psychologically abused for so many years. I started going to see a trauma therapist as soon as I had health insurance again.

Finally when I reached my lowest point, I told my counselor I needed more help than talking with her every week, and she referred me to someone who could help with medication management for my symptoms.

Within a week of starting medication, my entire life changed. I no longer had panic attacks, flashbacks, or nightmares. I no longer felt that I needed to avoid things that would trigger me. I was no longer afraid of going to the courthouse to legally change my name, to shake off my abuser’s surname for good.

This *sshole made me quit playing music, when I had been the kind of person who would play piano for hours – I used to be a piano teacher for crying out loud. The violence at home was so scary that I could no longer find refuge in songwriting.

Even with therapy, I thought I might never be able to sit in front of a keyboard again. I thought I had lost that forever. I was so ashamed of not being able to play, and there were so many people I met over the last ~20yrs who didn’t even know I was a musical type of person.

I met a wonderful guy just before the covid lockdown, and he is better for me than anyone I’ve ever met. He isn’t only a boyfriend – he is my partner. He has been so understanding and supportive of where I’ve been, and where I am now.

When quarantine started earlier this year, I started going stir crazy after a couple of weeks. I finally picked up the only musical thing I had – Garageband. I wrote a song! And then another. A couple of months later, I got some professional music production gear, and by now, I’ve created enough new material that I could release my very first album. I’m very excited for it!

I am so, so thankful that I gave myself another chance. I am happier than I’ve ever been, and it’s because I refuse to settle for anything less than what is in my best interests – it requires a lot of discipline, but it’s worth it. I absolutely love my life, and the person I have become.”

24. Some good advice.

“Step 1. Be born to parents who value literacy specifically and education generally (also helps to be male, white, and rich; I had the first two, but was raised in the bottom tax bracket in the USA).

Step 2. Avoid crime as an adolescent – this will slow you down. (I narrowly avoided this.)

Step 3. Get whatever education you enjoy. (I took six years to finish my undergrad, two years for the first MA several years later, and now I’m leisurely finishing a second MA.)

Step 4. Get a job you don’t hate that pays for your lifestyle.

Step 5. Invest as much as you can in your spouse if you want a spouse. If you don’t want a spouse, don’t have one. (I have a wife – she’s great.)

Step 6. Invest as much as you can in your kids if you want kids. If you don’t want kids, don’t have kids. (I have zero children.)

Step 7. Enjoy your free time (I raise meat animals, garden, work out a tiny bit and read books about medieval Europe) and spend time with people you like (this may or may not include your relatives).

It’s worked out for me so far. Ask me in thirty years when I retire.”

25. Wise beyond your years.

“I’m only 19, so I’m not gonna dish out any infinite wisdom, but I do genuinely love my life. There are two reasons: my mom and my sister.

I’m 5 years older than my sister, and I first met her the afternoon of the day she was born. I remember looking at her and thinking to myself, “that wrinkled ball of skin is the most important person in my life.”

My mom was a lawyer and she spent a lot of time traveling as far back as I can remember, and even when she wasn’t traveling she came home late. Add that to the fact that once my sister turned five my dad started drifting away from us, and starting in middle school I considered myself to be the one raising my sister.

My parents always said that your relationship with your sibling is the longest one in your entire life, and the most important. I couldn’t agree more.

My mom traveled a lot, but I always knew she loved us. The reason we still get along so well is that she was always honest with me, and the only thing she expected was for me to be honest in return.

When I was a teenager, she didn’t treat me like a kid, or like my emotions were worth less just because hormones were making everything seem terrible. She just comforted me and helped me get through it. I don’t ever think I’ll be able to thank her enough for that.

Find the people you love, the people you respect, the people who respect you, and hold on tight. With people like those by your side you can get through anything.”

Now we want to hear from you!

In the comments, tell us what you love about your life.

Please and thank you!