I've been kicking ass lately and want to share, in the hopes that it might inspire someone else.

Short version: After a shit couple of years, I made major changes to my life and have been totally kicking ass ever since.

Long version: About two years ago I lost my dad to cancer. My mom sank in to deep depression and I could do nothing to help her. One of my siblings coped by simply abandoning the rest of the family and moving to another country. No warning, just left a note and was not heard from again. Another sibling coped by drinking, creating all kinds of physical, legal and financial problems. I had a drinking problem of my own. I was unable to offer any support to anyone in my family and they couldn't do much for me, either.

Before all this happened I had been very unhappy in my personal life (I have social anxiety and mild depression) and of course this stuff didn't make it any better. I was single and had been for a long time and consequently had very low self-esteem. Plus the aforementioned drinking problem, which existed (to a lesser extent) before my dad died.

What got me through it was that at the time I had my dream job. I was doing what I'd dreamed of doing since before I can remember. I was pursuing my passion and making a good living doing it, which is something most people can't say. Being able to focus on that one positive aspect of my life got me through all the bad stuff.

But then about a year ago, the job started going to shit, too. I just didn't enjoy it anymore, all of the sudden, for no real reason. Partially it was depression. Partially (I realized later) it was that it just wasn't what I wanted to do anymore, which was a very strange feeling since it was something I'd dreamed of doing for a long time. I was at an all-time personal low.

So I quit my job. I quit drinking. I saw a doctor about my depression and social anxiety (something which I'd been too afraid/embarrassed to do before). I enrolled in adult education courses at the local community college and started volunteering at the local library (I fucking love the library). I completely changed my diet for the better, started taking exercise more seriously (I'd always worked out but now I sought out more fun, challenging and effective ways of doing it, and pushing myself harder). I started making an effort to meet new people, and basically just took steps to improve every aspect of my life.

My biggest fear was that I wouldn't be able to stick to so many new things/habits. But it's been about three months now and I've only made more improvements and broken more old habits. I'm happier now than I've been in probably a decade. I feel like a million goddamn dollars every day and I'm no longer afraid to go out and meet a challenge. I'm kicking ass.

PS My whole family is doing much, much better as well, and in a lot of ways we're closer than ever.