People reveal the 10 'insignificant life choices' that had changed their life

Small choices with a big impact 

Learning to make the right decisions in life is a vital aspect. Having the capacity to gauge how a decision will work out in the long run can leave a lasting impact. Many a time, however, it is the supposedly insignificant choices we make in life that amount to bigger things later on. It can be something as little as choosing to go out on a certain day at a certain time. u/Morephelus_2K asked the community, "What seemingly insignificant choice did you make that completely changed the course of your life?" Here are 10 of the most interesting answers that people had to offer. 

1. Standing up to their narcissistic father

I stood up to my narcissistic father for once. Ten days later, we're no contact. - u/_AGuyInShades. I did this in July of 2022. I was thrown out and homeless for the better part of two weeks before I somehow was lucky enough to find an apartment. Do not regret it one bit. Free of him and could go no contact any day I want to now. - u/BagofEndlessHugs. I just had no contact over the summer with my narcissist dad too. It's so freeing! It's like a weight was lifted off my chest. I feel like I can breathe again! - u/r1v4rs

2. Consulting a different neurologist 

Seeing a new neurologist. I didn't have much hope, considering three others didn't listen to me and kept throwing meds at me that didn't work for me. My new neurologist mentioned all these new meds that came out for controlling my condition. I can now work and I no longer spend a day and a half in the worst pain imaginable several times a month! Being friends with this really horrible girl in high school. I met my husband because he was her boyfriend's friend. - u/OnlyIGetToFartInHere

3. Randomly interviewing for a contract job 

I was interviewing for a contract position I thought I was completely unqualified for while fully employed (I didn't need this new job) and when they asked how much I wanted to do it, I threw out the biggest number I could say with a straight face. They said yes without blinking, and I'm sure I left 50k/yr on the table. No regrets. Led a hybrid support/QA team for a relatively small application at a major Bay Area tech firm (remotely). In retrospect, I was every bit as qualified as one could be without already having held a similar position and just lacked the confidence to believe it. - u/lookwhatimade

4. Staying an extra night at the beach 

I stayed an extra night at the beach on spring break my senior year. I met my husband on the way home. So I should have driven home on Sunday morning but decided to stay another night (without letting any of our parents know we were all 16/17) so when I drove home Monday, we lost our map quest directions, so we noticed a truck with tags for a county close to ours (we were 2 states away from home) we ended up following them into a gas station and the driver got my number. It turns out, he lived 30 minutes from me and our dads graduated from high school together. We got married 7 months later and that was 20 years ago. - u/Striking_Ad4713

5. Choosing to slow down on a motorcycle 

I had a pretty rough motorcycle accident a few years ago. And I said for years, "Thank God I had slowed down a half mile back because I saw those deer." My logic was that because I was going slower, the crash wasn't as severe, and that's why I was okay. If I hadn't slowed down, I would have been past that guy by the time he pulled out in front of me. And then I never would have thought that if I passed his driveway 3 seconds later, he would have hit me. I think about this so much now whenever anyone says, "If only X would have happened" or complains about how life could be different. If life was a split second different from a mundane detail, you could be paralyzed or dead. - u/No-Impression7115

6. Spontaneously visiting the animal shelter

One day, my wife was having a bad mental health day and I encouraged her to stay home from work. Somehow, we decided to go to an animal shelter. We wound up with a beautiful dog named Zella, who is the best thing to ever happen to us! A couple of years later, we’re married, named our bookstore after Zella and we’re doing great things in the community! - u/ZellaphantBooks2

7. Trying to make costumes for a local amusement park 

Went to a local amusement park and saw a sign where they were interviewing for "scare actors" for their Halloween event. Thought that sounded fun. I worked in my fire company's haunt years ago. That was 2008. Their costume selection wasn't great, so I started making my own. That caught the attention of some coworkers who said, "You should do Cosplay!" (I replied, "What's Cosplay?") Since then, I've fabricated 70+ costumes for myself and the park. I've sold costumes for hundreds of dollars, I've won 21 out of 24 costume contests (including 2 Best in Show), I've built most of the Characters for the park's Christmas event and I get invited to conventions to give talks. If I get moving and submit my evidence, I'll break a Guinness World Record. - u/Jef_Wheaton

8. Choosing to stop at an antique store 

Not me, but my dad. I was a kid at the time. My family and I were on our way back from my grandma's house when my dad decided to stop at an antique store for a moment. It wasn't planned, he just had a feeling to stop. As we were heading back home, there was a massive backup of cars on the highway, which was odd because this town was pretty rural. We were sitting in the backup for probably close to an hour before we started moving again. On the side of the road was a smashed-up SUV. The SUV had a head-on collision with a logging truck. 100% fatality, everyone in the SUV died. It was the exact SUV we were following right before my dad decided to pull into the antique store. Makes me wonder to this day if that could have been us had my dad not stopped. - u/GLACI3R

9. Randomly checked their phone before getting on a train 

Checked my phone one more time while I was waiting for a train. I was on the way to a job interview, running late, and decided to check the address one more time so I knew exactly where to go when my train got there. Turned out I had the address wrong (my city does quadrants and it was the same address in the SW instead of SE). Not only did I have the address wrong, but the right address was literally across the street from where I was waiting. The train pulled up right as I realized my mistake. If I hadn't checked, I would have been on a train to the other side of downtown, late for an interview in a completely different building. Instead, I crossed the street, made it to the interview on time and landed a job that changed my life completely. (Also, after that, I never let myself run late again and always triple-checked the details on everything. I feel like that was my one ‘get out of disorganization free’ card). - u/fettmf

10. Not going away from home to study 

I decided to study locally rather than travel to a new city. At the time, it seemed like the obvious choice for all kinds of reasons, mostly financial. A year later, my girlfriend at the time was pregnant. We broke up when our child was a month or so old and things got super messy. I ended up staying in my hometown even longer due to a sense of responsibility. It’s now been almost 20 years. I’m happily married (and we arguably wouldn’t have met had I not stayed in my hometown) and have more kids. I’m in a good job in a different city (that I would never have gotten had I not stayed home). However, I also have some fairly impactful mental health issues. I started therapy a year ago and have come to learn that a lot of those issues stem from the tumultuous years after my former girlfriend told me she was pregnant and before I met my wife. So, while it seemed like a nothing decision at the time, I think the choice to stay home to study probably skewed my life more heavily than any other. - u/fleastyler