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30 Incredible “Butterfly Effect” Stories That Prove Every Decision We Make Matters, Shared In Online Thread
At its core, the “butterfly effect” describes a mysterious phenomenon of interconnection between people and our larger world. People say they often experience it in a way where a small seemingly unimportant action or decision leads them to a significant, unexpected outcome. Philosophers, physicists, science theorists, and even psychoanalysts have been studying the butterfly effect throughout the years, proving how it has never ceased to captivate our imagination.
It also explains why the readers seem to love our articles about it! So today, we are diving into a new batch of incredible butterfly effect stories shared by people on this Ask Reddit thread. “What small action did you take that you later realized had a 'butterfly effect' that turned into something much more important?,” asked one Redditor and mind-boggling responses flooded in. Scroll down, upvote your favorites and be sure to share our previous post with more butterfly effect experiences.
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#1
This past summer I commented on an AskReddit about a small donation that I made to a charity that supports foster children and young adults who have aged out of the foster system. Redditors from around the world saw my comment and made hundred of thousands of dollars in donations to the charity, allowing kids' wishes to be fulfilled.
Reddit visitors caused the charity's web site to crash, so Redditors with tech talent worked with the charity to make the site more resilient.
I've never been happier to witness the goodness in people.
Bored Panda reached out to one Redditor who, not so long ago, had a very wholesome butterfly effect experience and shared it in this thread. “This past summer I commented on an AskReddit thread about a small donation that I made to a charity that supports foster children and young adults who have aged out of the foster system. Redditors from around the world saw my comment and made hundred of thousands of dollars in donations to the charity, allowing kids' wishes to be fulfilled,” Dartdoug wrote. The charity was OneSimpleWish.org and it spreads love, hope and joy to children impacted by abuse and neglect by connecting the community to their simple, yet meaningful wishes online, all the time, so check them out.
When asked whether they believe in the butterfly effect, Dartdoug said they surely do. “I think that one small event can trigger larger and unexpected events. I certainly believe that the Reddit post from last summer was an example of it.”
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#2
I turned right down a hallway is never been down before in college instead of taking my usual exit. Saw a job posting. Got the job. Met a girl at said job. 30 years together this coming July. Two grown daughters living their lives. Right instead of straight out the door did that.
Mihai Mara 2 years ago
I bet he just smelled pizza and followed the scent. I would have done it too :P
#3
When I was 14 I attempted s**cide. I ended up spending two years in a mental health facility where animal therapy was common. I got to know the dog therapist well and started training dogs. Left the facility. Trained our family Aussie to be a therapy dog. Took him in for a check up at the vet and ran into the dog therapist from 6 years earlier. The vet had an abused border collie puppy that needed a home, but had no one to take her. The trainer recommended that I take her as a foster to start training. I fell in love and named her Lila, we work search and rescue together now.
My s**cide attempt ultimately made me the happiest I could possibly imagine being. And, with the best dog ever, by my side through every moment of life.
#4
Invited someone to lunch along the Maine coast, water view, my treat. Had not seen her in over 40 years. The intention was to thank her for being fun when we were kids. I had no idea at the time, but she told me later she had been contemplating suicide. That lunch saved her life
“I was floored when so many people decided to check out the charity’s website and come through for the children and young adults that the organization has been helping. The web site crashing probably prevented some folks from making a donation, but when Redditors came through offering technical resources to prevent future crashes, I hope the end result was a net positive,” they recounted.
#5
I was in a weird point in my life and suffering from agoraphobia so I never left the house. As you can imagine, I was getting pretty lonely and wanted someone to talk to. I made a random Reddit post and someone responded. After a few weeks of talking he convinced me to not only leave my house but fly out of state to hang out with him for the weekend. We had an amazing weekend and many thereafter. We’re now engaged and our son is 14 months old. I also was encouraged to seek out a career that was meaningful to me and found something I really love and have moved up significantly within my company.
So basically a Reddit post made me a mother and gave me a partner, career, and life that I never thought I would be able to leave the house to have.
#6
My grandpa was diagnosed with terminal cancer a few years ago. When he called me to tell me he only had 6 months to live I stopped at the liquor store on my way home and bought a bottle of gin. My roommate came home shortly after and we drank for hours laughing, crying and sharing deep personal stories about our lives with one another.
Drunk, confident, and armed with the knowledge that we could die at any time I went in for a kiss. I was surprised she reciprocated and after that night we began dating. My grandpa died before our wedding, but I attribute the beautiful life that I have now to him.
Shary Bobbings 2 years ago
I began to read and thought that he was going to buy a bottle for a last drink with his grandpa. By the way, nice story.
#7
I was working till 11 p.m. at a restaurant managing. The midnight shift girl called in sick, so I had to pull a double. Around 5:30 a.m., a man came in with his daughter. We talked a bit, and he told me to apply with his property management company. I did, got the job in February 2020 (got out of the restaurant business just before COVID), moved, met the love of my life, got married, [and] found a stray husky that is now mine. All because the girl called in sick.
Dartdoug believes that their post brought awareness to the kind of disadvantages that foster kids endure. “People are so wrapped up in their own challenges that they don’t think about (or don’t want to think about) folks who have it worse. Beyond the requests made by the youngsters, how is someone who has been in the foster system until age 18 supposed to know how to 'adult' when they often had bad role models, lack financial support and have no experience with stability and peace? That message resonated with those who donated and those who commented positively on the charity’s mission.”
The Redditor also told us that “so much of Reddit tends to be negative, you can say the same of social media in general. I’ve seen postings in various subreddits about people who are down and out, lost loved ones, have become homeless, suffer from depression, that kind of thing.” But according to the author, the overwhelming number of responses are very supportive and offer suggestions on resources available to help.
#8
I was taking a very important exam, and I was debating on two possible answers. I wrote down A, and at the last moment before turning in the exam I used white out and wrote down B instead. The answer was A. I was devastated.
When I got my exam back, it turned out that because the white out was so last minute it wasn't dry. The paper on top of mine rubbed it off so my answer remained A.
That question was worth 3 points. I got into my dream school with just 2 points over the line. If I had lost that question I would be going to an entirely different and lower rated school.
#9
The year was 1972 and I was being drafted into the Army. If you know anything about the Army, the very most thing you will be doing is waiting. Waiting for everything was the way it was. So I'm in this big room with maybe 200 guys and maybe 25 chairs in which to sit. Of those 25 chairs, maybe six were lounge chairs. The others were metal folding chairs. I was one of the lucky ones who somehow got a stuffed chair. So, we all sat and waited. If you left your seat, too bad. After about five hours, I had enough and needed to stretch my legs and got up to walk around. About that time, a door opened up and two sergeants began counting down guys to get on a waiting bus to be processed. The guy who got my chair was one of those chosen. After they took and loaded about 30 guys onto the bus, someone sticks his head in the door and says, "You should thank your lucky stars you're not on that bus because they are heading to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina to become processed into the Marines." The Army was bad enough but the Marines were 100% heading to Vietnam. I thank my lucky stars for giving up that seat to this day.
#10
My coworker’s family lived in Oklahoma City when she was younger. The daycare she went to was in the federal building that was bombed in 1995. That day her mom dropped her off at the daycare and headed to work. Her mom said she had a stomach ache and decided to call into work so she turned around and picked up her daughter from daycare then headed home. The bombing happened shortly after at around 9am
#11
I made an off-handed joke to a coworker who responded with his own off-handed joke. This caused me to spiral for over 24 hours thinking that nobody liked me, my career was over, and I was a detestable human being. I recognized that my state of emotions was irrational, so I accessed my work EAP to go to counseling.
My therapist gave me three sessions before she told me that my fiancé was too dependent on his drinking and it was ruining my life as well as his. I left my fiancé. Started getting promotions (one of them led to me meeting my now-husband).
#12
Told a woman on assistance I could teach her how to grocery shop cheap...At the end of the month she showed up at my door..in tears...for the 1st time ever she still had food...
#13
In a college class we got our first exam back, and I made an A. The guy in front of me turned around and ask me and girl next to me what we made. We both said A’s. He was disappointed that he made a B. When the next test came around he asked if I would study with him. I said OK. We were to meet at the library on a Sunday around noon. Cool. Well, that Sunday rolled around and I was tired and hung over from a party the night before. I thought about just not showing up to study and apologizing when I saw him in class on Monday. At the last minute I slung it together and went to the library. I looked like death warmed over. We studied. Both made A’s. And have been married for 41 years. If I had blown off that study session I probably would not have known the love of my life.
Raven DeathShade 2 years ago (edited)
"Death warmed over"? Reminds me of a short story I wrote where this guy, to stay alive, had to keep Death warm for one night. Spoiler alert: he succeeded, despite the fact that absolutely nobody has even managed to survive being NEAR Death for more than five minutes.
#14
I sent a very dear friend of mine a stupid meme and he called me a few minutes later to tell me that I unwillingly interrupted a s**cide attempt and saved his life. He's doing better now.
#15
When I was working the night shift at Elstree Film studios in summer 2005, I used to finish my shift at 8pm and had the option to get a free breakfast in the canteen. I almost never did. The only reason I had the breakfast that morning and got the later train rather than my usual was because I hadn’t eaten the night before.
I hadn’t eaten the night before because my mate said, “Fancy a pint?” and I said yes. We were in the pub all evening so we missed dinner.
My regular train that I would have been on was blown up in the London 7/7 terrorist attack that killed 56 people. Having not died, I was able to take the job in Dubai later that year, where I met the woman who would be my wife and we had a son.
---
While in Dubai, I once grabbed a small kid who was about to run out into the road and would definitely been run over, and with the speed the car was going almost 100% certainly killed. I also have a very rare blood type and was able to answer the call for donors that ultimately saved a kid’s life.
The guy in 2005 that I went out for a pint with was a mate from back home. I’d become friends with him through another friend. I’d met THAT friend though a five-a-side team that I joined with another mate.
I’d become mates with THAT guy because we were in the same year at school and collected Panini Football Stickers and we did swaps. I’d only started collecting those football stickers because the guy I sat next to in Primary school introduced me to them. And I was only friends with him because I chose to sit next to him in class when I was 5 years old.
So, the decision on where I sat when I was five, through the butterfly effect, ended up saving the lives of two children in Dubai, via a few seeming minor choices at the time choices that saved me along the way and led to me creating life with a women I’d met.
#16
My mum tagged me in a Doctor Who related post on Facebook. Some random guy who was part of the same group saw the comment and liked it. He added me and we got chatting. Became really good friends and after a year and a half of chatting, we decided to meet up.
We’ve been together for 5 years this July!
#17
When I was on my mind twenties I was in a dead end job, always tired, working off hours in customer service/retail. I grew up poor, aged out of foster care, and just felt lucky to have a job at all, I guess. One day, I was about to clock out and realized I hadn't done the bank deposit. My friend offered to do it, even though he wasn't allowed. It was on his way home. I signed off on the sign out book, and he took it. He was tired too, and in school. He threw his backpack on top of it, and just forgot it was there. When he realized, I told him not to worry. I told my boss right away. I thought since I had worked there 7 years that she would understand. She told me to get my stuff and leave. They made me do an interview with loss prevention and then fired me. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked and so sad. I worked really hard for so long, never called out, and they had thrown me out like garbage. I made up my mind to go to college and to get a job where I would be valued. I was so determined to be treated better that I forgot that I was scared that I would fail.
I went to school. I worked my ass off. I got a good job, then a better job, then a great job. I'm in my late thirties now. I live in a beautiful apartment with a killer view in San Diego. My husband is a stay at home dad. I like to go to work every day. And I am SO thankful I forgot that f**king bank deposit.
Cherries and Lace 2 years ago
I'm glad it worked out, but letting someone else mess with money they are not allowed to is certainly a firable offense and I don't blame the employers at all.
#18
I was waiting tables at a restaurant and I picked up a shift on my day off.
During that shift one of my friends who recently quit came in to get his last check, so I got talking with him and asked about his new job, then asked if they were hiring, which they were.
He set me up with an interview, I got hired and trained on how to use CAD, and after being there for four years I got hired at a bigger company making more....which is where I still am today.
#19
In early 1998 a friend of mine was working for an ISP and his boss asked him to set up an IRC server for a customer (who turned out to be Epic UK). He didn't know how to do it so he asked if I wouldn't mind doing it for him and just keeping an eye on things until the customer can take over. Took me about 15 minutes to set the thing up, made myself an Oper then I just hung out on that server for a while and just made sure the handful of people using it behaved themselves
Anyway, fast forward a couple of months and I'm dropping out of University, his boss is impressed enough by what I did for that customer that he offers me a job which was my first full time IT job - he took a chance on a University dropout and I'll never forget it. Learned a ton working there, gave me the foundation I needed to go to bigger things. I stayed on that server too, ended up getting pretty close to a few people. One day I met a girl on there and we got talking. 18 months later I jumped on a plane and moved to the USA to start a new life and marry her. It's been 22 years and we've got three kids now and are still happily married.
One quick favor for a friend changed my whole life.
#20
In 2003 I went to uni, but in my first term my dad died, and I ended up dropping out. I took a two-year break and decided to move to Bristol and try uni again. In the first week of the term I met a boy (let’s call him Dylan), we became besties and that led to romance, and now we’re married and been together for over 16 years. ... I became a teacher. I have never been happier in a job my whole life. I love it
I had a best mate called Lilly who went to school with me and she would visit me in Bristol. Dylan lived in a shared house, and Lilly met his housemate, and they became romantically involved too. They have also been together for 16 years and have 3 kids. Lily’s parents and brother, who are all from London, decided to move to Bristol to be closer to Lilly and the kids. After they moved, Lilly’s brother met a girl, and they got married and have two kids too. If my dad hadn’t died, I wouldn’t have met Dylan, and five kids wouldn’t have been born. I would be in a job I hate. It’s the only thing that brings me peace, because I was devastated when he died. He looked out for me I’m sure
Raven DeathShade 2 years ago
"No daughter of mine will have a hard life!" --this dad, probably.
#21
My mom made me go to a football game for my school when I was in the 8th grade. I didn’t want to go but I eventually caved and went. I ended up talking to a random person, and down the road he became my best friend. My friend introduced me to another friend, who introduced me to yet another friend. That friend eventually set me up on a date with my future wife. Now I’m married with kids. Who knows what would have happened if I didn’t go to that game.
#22
My grandfather ... went to school during the second World War in Estonia (pre-deportations), and once he didn't go to school because he couldn't find his hat. Apparently, the same day some kids had found a grenade in the school's attic and blew themselves up.
#23
Took piano lessons when I was ten. Was really bad at piano, stopped taking lessons. Learning piano made fingers very fast and flexible. Fast and flexible fingers means good at typing. Good at typing gets noticed by family friend. Family friend is a stenographer, a highly specialized field that pays very well. I am enrolled in school for field.
I'm six months from graduating and have three different judges asking me to come work for them. It's a six figure job, and I am very excited about it.
Thomas Biorogue 2 years ago
I hate to burst their bubble but, "The average Stenographer salary in the United States is $41,389 as of December 27, 2021, but the range typically falls between $33,902 and $51,134" those are 5 numbers, not six.
#24
In college someone asked to swap seats in psychology so he could sit next to his friends. I moved and sat next to someone I'd seen in another class but never spoke to. Well we started talking and became best friends. Then started dating. Married for 5 years now with a child. All because I swapped seats
Andrei Marentette 2 years ago
i'm seeing a lot of people meeting someone because they swapped seats
#25
I had broken up with my first serious boyfriend and was having a really difficult time back in the dating game. ... I was supposed to go to a party later that night after work, but was asked to stay late. ... Usually one of my duties is taking the garbage out, and I do it right away to get it over with, but I delayed doing it for some reason. When I finally did get to it, I was unloading it in the shared garbage disposal room (I worked in a mall), and a guy walked in (another retail worker from a different store). Normally I’m very shy, but for some reason I just had this gut feeling and instinct and started chatting. Anyway, we’ve been together for three years.
WilvanderHeijden 2 years ago
So she basically found her husband in the trash... Would make a great wedding theme.
#26
I never made this action but…
Long story short, I would not have been born if my mom hadn’t hit my dad with her car
#27
I was too nervous to be first row clarinet in high school, so I switched with a friend to be in the second row. There I met my best friend, who introduced me to a friend of his (who lived out of state, so we never would have met without him), and now we're married 14 years! All because I had anxiety about sitting front row.
Klaatu Verrata (Cough) 2 years ago (edited)
There are so many stories here about POSITIVE life changes related to meeting romantic partners. But being someone who met a partner 20 years ago and now sees how my life has spiralied downward in many ways, in the last ten years, almost entirely due to my partner's behavior, it's good to just remind people that anyone can tell an inspiring story when everything is wine and roses. But just as (or even more) often, that fateful meeting goes the entirely other direction. I can't get back the years I've wasted on a relationship incredibly toxic for me. Neither can many others. Fate is fickle. My advice is: ALWAYS go with your gut. I should have left a decade ago when I first started seeing the changes. Now I'm stuck.
#28
I was due to leave for school one morning but decided last minute that I needed the toilet, a bus crashed into the area where I would have been walking had I not turned back. My mum’s annoyance at me for stalling going to school instantly turned to relief.
Turns out the driver of the bus had a heart attack at the wheel and crashed into the buildings across the road from where I lived. From what I remember no one was seriously injured but am unsure if the driver made it.
#29
When I just turned 13, I joined the girls basketball team at school because the guy I liked played basketball. On the journey to an away game, the girl sitting next to me on the bus pointed down a road we passed and told me she attended a weekend stage school at the other end of that road.
I mentioned that I had just left my Saturday drama club and was looking for a new place. We talked about it, I mentioned it to my mum when I got home, and I was signed up within a week.
19th January 2008, I was walking into the dance studio for the first time with the girl from basketball and I saw a guy sitting on his own by the windows. I asked the girl about him and she mentioned he didn't really get involved with the group and was normally on his own.
I'm now 27 and I can count the amount of people I've approached someone first on one hand due to my anxiety. And yet, without even thinking about it, I walked over and introduced myself.
He has now been my best friend for (oh s**t, in less than a week it's 14 years! Need to drop him a message!)
Through him, I met his friend group and we are both still friends with most of them all these years later. I'm getting married in 45 days and he's my man of honour. I met him on a Saturday; the Tuesday before was the very first time I tried to end my life. When I failed, I held on the hope that there was a reason for it.
If there is such a thing as a God out there, I 100% believe they sent me my best friend after my attempt because I truly needed him at that point in my life.
I know you're reading this. You're the only one who knows my Reddit account! Once again, thank you for the friendship you have given me.
Forever for a Reason, my idiot of a best friend!
Raven DeathShade 2 years ago
I have a similar story. The day after I spent a night seriously contemplating suicide, I asked God to show me a reason to live. I then found a picture of someone I knew for a few months before moving across the country. The memories inspired by that picture reminded me that I am called to a greater future than I knew of then, and that's basically why I'm still alive today. I them founded the Dark Humor Gang, a support group for depressed teens like myself.
#30
Not me, but at college orientation 12 years ago, a boy came into my orientation group late because he had changed his major to the same as mine last minute. He copied my class schedule because he was late, and now he’s my husband.
What do you think ?
Guy MacGregor 2 years ago
This thread should be renamed "How I randomly met my Significant Other" instead.
Klaatu Verrata (Cough) 2 years ago
I was thinking the same thing. Lots of focus on relationships. Many are "good". They might be like me and cursing those same events 10-20 years later. That happens just as often.
Load More Replies...
T. D. Bostick 2 years ago
I think pretty much anyone can follow the chain of events' causes and effects backwards and realize there's a point in their lives where if they had done something differently, their entire life would be different.
Troux 2 years ago
To complement your cynicism, many of these are "Because A, I married B, and we had 3 kids." Well if not for A, you could have just married C, D, E, etc. and had 3 different kids.
Load More Replies...
Dodo 2 years ago
A few years ago I had a therapist (not a great one) who told me I should go to a group event instead of a solo meeting I'd set up. I felt awkward enough about the solo meeting since I'd never done that before so I ignored her, went to the solo meeting. I just moved in with the person I met that day (platonic), getting me away from my toxic mother and giving me the best chance to overcome my depression/anxiety.
Guy MacGregor 2 years ago
This thread should be renamed "How I randomly met my Significant Other" instead.
Klaatu Verrata (Cough) 2 years ago
I was thinking the same thing. Lots of focus on relationships. Many are "good". They might be like me and cursing those same events 10-20 years later. That happens just as often.
Load More Replies... T. D. Bostick 2 years ago
I think pretty much anyone can follow the chain of events' causes and effects backwards and realize there's a point in their lives where if they had done something differently, their entire life would be different.
Troux 2 years ago
To complement your cynicism, many of these are "Because A, I married B, and we had 3 kids." Well if not for A, you could have just married C, D, E, etc. and had 3 different kids.
Load More Replies... Dodo 2 years ago
A few years ago I had a therapist (not a great one) who told me I should go to a group event instead of a solo meeting I'd set up. I felt awkward enough about the solo meeting since I'd never done that before so I ignored her, went to the solo meeting. I just moved in with the person I met that day (platonic), getting me away from my toxic mother and giving me the best chance to overcome my depression/anxiety.
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