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Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

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Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#161

Post by nonameiguess »

lnalx wrote: post #12

"Take care of your body in your 20s" It's easier to build muscle mass before the age of 30 and the muscle you gain during that time will never go away (with a minimum of training). The earlier you start exercising, the less difficult it will be to maintain your body as you get older. Someone who has never exercised but wants to lose weight by their 40s will have a much harder time than someone who started exercising…

This needs to include not getting injured as well. I worked out plenty in my 20s, but was also reckless as hell, and lost most of my 30s to severe spinal degeneration. It's not too late in your 40s, though. It took about six years, but even after spending most of a decade unable to consistently put my own shoes on and ending up with ten screws in my spine, I'm still lifting just about everyday and putting up lifetime PRs. To be clear, I'm not saying those are huge numbers, since I was more of an endurance athlete in my 20s and only lifted to have a solid strength base for longer-duration activity, but even so.

Granting here, I'm sure it's definitely easier to resume old habits after injury recovery than to start completely fresh, so yeah, still start young if you're young. But if you're not, it's never too late until you're in the ground.

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#162

Post by typingmonkey »

jemmyw wrote: post #125

After you've been lying or sitting and you get up and go for a wee, once done press up just behind your balls. Oftentimes that pushes out a big drip that was otherwise going to come out later once you had your pants done up. The best abstract advice I've been given is to say "I don't know" when I don't know. No waffle, no bullshit, no trying to save face. Saves a lot of time.

In germany it is called the holy-johannes-grasp.

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#163

Post by Kye »

Don't sit on creative ideas waiting for the skills to apply them. The ideas you come up with developing those skills will be so much better, and you'll have a lot of noob stuff to look on fondly. Applying the noob ideas is how you get there. I see too many writers, musicians, etc holding on to some idea they've always wanted to work on until they somehow develop the skills with ideas they don't, so they never do anything.

And then they finally get to it, work through it, look back years later, and realize the idea they sat on was far below what they were capable of once they finally worked through it.

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#164

Post by ahwvd37js »

I’m in my 30s and I could fill up hundreds of pages with all the crappy advice I’ve been given over my life by well-meaning people. Yes, some advice is helpful, and it is helpful to know when you’re stuck and need some new ideas, but I think in most cases advice is overrated. Try things out yourself, make your own mistakes, figure out what works for you, and what doesn’t. You will learn more from the struggle, and the lessons will be cemented much deeper. Don’t be afraid to fail.

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#165

Post by edmcnulty101 »

javajosh wrote: post #124

My mother told me to not care what other people thought. She also told me that words can't really hurt people ("sticks and stones..."). She also believed its "mean" to have any preference about people, calling it a version of "keeping score". In fact, "keeping score" was one of the worst things you could be accused of in my household. Her advice fails to accept the reality of social and emotional needs. It also fails…

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Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#166

Post by IgorPartola »

Always take sides. By not taking a side you are automatically wrong. This doesn’t mean you should engage in identity politics, etc. but when faced with a choice take the time to make an informed decision.

If you say something “should be a thing” you are automatically now in charge of creating it or convincing someone to create it. Do not tell people who are working on things that they should realize your idea if you are not willing to put down what you are doing and work on it yourself. This advice prevents you from being the annoying ideas person.

Don’t get married. Tax benefits are minor, divorce headache is major. Separate public declaration of love and commitment from your government and financial affairs. You can still have a commitment ceremony and a big party.

Learn how to properly ask for consent. You are likely very bad at this.

The most important thing about a job is not what you work on but who you work with. Pick people, not projects.

Plumbing is easier than you think. Learn to do it yourself.

Related to the above, read Heinlein’s quote on specialization. It is for insects. Learn to do everything.

Stress kills. Get sleep.

Don’t take advice from strangers on the internet :)

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#168

Post by jawns »

"It's easier to move from IC track to management than vice versa."

This advice came from a coworker who encouraged me to continue down a technical track, rather than switch to management too early.

I am now a manager and love it, but that advice led me to accumulate additional hands-on experience that has been tremendously valuable.

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#169

Post by thorio »

One thing I read on HN a couple of month back and really clicked with me is:

"If you really struggle to decide between two options and you begin to waste time by postponing the decision, this often indicates, that both options are very similar in expectable outcome"

At least in situations, where you can't access more info about path A or B, indecisiveness may indicate "go flip a coin"

Sounds simple, but made me aware and helped in a few situations not wasting time already.

Re: Ask HN: Advice that changed your life?

#170

Post by tsol »

sgt101 wrote: post #79

"Don't beat yourself up about your failures and failings. There are loads of people out there who will do that for you." "Get over yourself." "Don't choose to make enemies" My big one for anyone reading is that life can be short and difficult. You must balance enjoying your time now with investing in yourself and your future. I have had several friends who died young without living their lives while they could. All o…

To play a devils advocate for a second

>I have had several friends who died young without living their lives while they could.

What does it matter though? To the secular, when you're gone you're gone. What does it matter what you did or didn't do in the end anyways. To the religious, well the fun you had while living doesn't matter because this life is temporary anyways-- the only consideration is that you could have done more good in the world before going to one much longer.

The natural philosophical extension of this is to say it doesn't really matter whether or not you 'lived life'. Wanting the perception of 'a live well lived' is just another desire that creates unhappiness in you when it's not fulfilled. What if it's enough to spend your whole life working? You'd have still spent a whole life as a unique being with unique experiences and perspectives.

I mean what does the past matter at all really? All we have is what we experience now. Ok I see now I might be getting a little too esoterical for 8am lol

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