From inspirational role models like Lisa Simpson to refreshingly frank curmudgeons like Larry David, some TV characters are so profound that they’ll change your life. For years, television has been considered frivolous, disposable entertainment. But it’s a writer’s medium, and some of the best storytellers in the world have gone to television to build their empire. From The Good Place to The Leftovers, some TV shows have the ability to change your life.

In some cases, an individual character from a TV show has that life-changing ability. Cosmo Kramer might just be Seinfeld’s nosy neighbor, but he’s so chill, laid-back, and stress-free that he can inspire a healthier outlook on life. Leslie Knope might just be Parks and Recreation’s scrapbooking, pancake-eating “straight man,” but she’s also a shining example of what a public servant should be. These TV characters will inspire a whole new worldview.

10 Cosmo Kramer

Jerry Seinfeld’s neighbor Cosmo Kramer is wildly eccentric, but he’s also chill and laid-back, even in the most extreme circumstances. Kramer doesn’t worry about anything. He doesn’t let the failures of his many get-rich-quick schemes get him down; he just moves onto the next one. Kramer is always unabashedly himself. He assumes everything will work out, and it usually does. We could all take a leaf out of Kramer’s book and learn to let go of stress and not get worked up about things. Kramer might not seem like a good role model, but his outlook is refreshingly easy-going.

9 Amy Jellicoe

Mike White’s criminally underrated, sadly short-lived dramedy Enlightened stars Laura Dern as Amy Jellicoe, a self-destructive 40-year-old executive who has a very public nervous breakdown at work, undergoes a philosophical reawakening in rehab, and tries to get her life back together on the other side of it. It’s really inspiring to watch Amy go back into the belly of the beast, surrounded by judging eyes, with her head held high. Her story teaches us that no matter how badly we fail, or how publicly we’re embarrassed, it’s never too late to turn it all around.

8 SpongeBob SquarePants

It might’ve been the wacky characters, surreal humor, and curiously weird undersea world that made SpongeBob SquarePants so popular among young viewers, but its titular fry cook is also a great role model for kids. He’s a loyal friend to his bestie, Patrick Star. He’s a hard worker, both at the Krusty Krab and at boating school, but he also takes plenty of personal time to enjoy hobbies like jellyfishing and watching Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. And his relentlessly positive attitude could lift anyone’s spirits — he even successfully cheers up his cynical next-door neighbor Squidward sometimes.

7 Captain Raymond Holt

When Captain Raymond Holt first took over the 99th Precinct in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, he was introduced as a no-nonsense deadpan foil for Jake Peralta. Peralta is a hotshot detective who cracks jokes at the office, clutters up his desk, and bends the rules, and Holt is the complete opposite: humorless, by-the-book, and hypercompetent. But as the series went on and Holt became a much-needed father figure to Peralta, the series added a lot of depth to the character. He overcame prejudice and professional sabotage to build a career and climb the ranks of the N.Y.P.D.

6 Larry David

The fictionalized version of himself that Larry David plays in Curb Your Enthusiasm might not be a particularly positive role model, but he will change the way you view mundane everyday interactions. Larry’s protest of every ridiculous social norm points out their absurdity and inspires a totally different worldview. Larry shows you how silly and pointless the unwritten rules of society are. No one on-screen is on Larry’s side, but we, as the audience, love him. We shouldn’t copy everything Larry does on the show, but he says whatever’s on his mind and doesn’t care what people think of him.

5 Bubbles

Most of the characters in The Wire are either criminals or cops who commit crimes, so there aren’t many lovable, inspirational people in the ensemble. But everybody loves Bubbles. We first meet Bubbles as a homeless drug addict who burned all the bridges in his personal life to fuel his addiction. Bubbles reaches his rock bottom when he inadvertently poisons his young ward. But this tragedy motivates Bubbles to finally get his life together. He gets clean, picks up steady work, and reconciles with his sister. He’s one of the only characters in the show who gets a happy ending.

4 Leslie Knope

In the first couple of seasons of Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope was characterized more like Michael Scott. But as the series went on, she became a shining example of what a public servant should be. Leslie is tirelessly devoted to improving her community and the lives of her fellow townspeople. She’s always trying to make the world a better place, even when she’s faced with insurmountable odds. She won’t let crooked politicians push her around and she won’t let bureaucratic nonsense get in her way. We could all stand to be a bit more like Leslie.

3 BoJack Horseman

The title character in BoJack Horseman isn’t a good role model, but he’s such a frank and self-flagellating depiction of a bad role model that there’s a lot to learn from his story. BoJack Horseman might be a cartoon about a talking horse set in a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals live side-by-side, but it’s darker, grittier, and more real than most prestige dramas. BoJack is a walking bundle of character flaws, but he recognizes those flaws and tries (mostly unsuccessfully) to overcome his childhood trauma and become a better person.

2 Ted Lasso

Initially, Ted Lasso is set up as a classic fish-out-of-water comedy about an American football coach coming to London to coach an English football team. But it quickly becomes clear that Ted’s biggest difference from the people around him isn’t that he’s familiar with a different kind of football, but that he’s an unwavering optimist. Even though he’s going through a tough divorce, he’s on the other side of the world from his son, and he’s constantly mocked and belittled at his new job, Ted remains cheery and hopeful, and eventually inspires everyone around him to follow suit.

1 Lisa Simpson

Arguably the most inspirational character on television — the one whose example we should all strive to follow — is The Simpsons’ eight-year-old genius Lisa Simpson. She’s smarter than most of the adults around her (not just her dim-witted dad, but people with wealth and power, like Mr. Burns and Mayor Quimby), and she’s not afraid to exercise those smarts to say her piece and fight for righteous causes. She’s in touch with her emotions and finds healthy ways to deal with the negative ones; when she suffers from depression, she finds playing the saxophone to be a good creative outlet.

Lisa always seeks the truth, whether it’s the truth she wanted to find or not, and she’s only ever concerned with what’s right, not what would benefit her the most. She cares about the environment, she fights for feminist causes, and she doesn’t unethically consume animal products. Above all, Lisa is always true to herself. Even when she’s trying to fit in, like when she affects her “Like, y’know, whatever...” summer personality, she’s still herself at heart. Lisa is a TV character we can all look up to, and watching her storylines in The Simpsons closely will change your life.