I could pick from several subsets in this topic. But there is one that hugely impacted my life and all the decisions and events that followed

My health fell apart 16 years ago. It forced me to make hard evaluations about how I was living and spending my time. I had been at a low point. Suddenly there was a strong impetus to take my problems apart and work out sustainable solutions. It felt like my life might be over. So my wife and I made a sort of pact to weight all our decisions (within reason) in favor of health.

The result was a collective loss of 170 lbs (115 for me, 55 for her). We've maintained that now for over 14 years. Also, a resolution of obesity related health issues for me including diabetes, hypertension and nafld.

This required major overhauls of lifestyle, changes in self-definition, ongoing trial and error and lots of research.

Prior to that, we had many abortive attempts at weight loss that were never sustainable until we were properly motivated to imagine what it would take to put that kind of emphasis on our health indefinitely.

In addition to matters of health, it was an opportunity to see clearly the most important things to us and reorder our priorities accordingly. We chucked the mortgage we had applied for and opted for a much simpler lifestyle, avoiding debt and living in the boondocks where the cost of living is lower.

It continues to require a good chunk of time and attention, but it has been entirely worth it. Our quality of life has been improved at almost every level.