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Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2025?

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Re: Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2025?

#181

Post by jezzabeel »

rramadass wrote: post #177
rubicon33 wrote: post #35

Mental fortitude and strength. As I enter mid life I’m finding a lot of things (mentally) challenging. I’m hoping to find peace and mental strength to stay the course and enjoy the life I have built. Worry less, appreciate more, and generally just be happy. How to skill up in this area? I’m honestly not sure, but starting with reading.

Nice! This is the most important life skill to develop and maintain as you get older; Needs daily practice and struggle. Subjects to study are General Philosophy(Hinduism/Buddhism/Stoics/Cynics etc.) and Martial Arts Philosophy (all works translated by William Scott Wilson).

Agreed.

Also, I found The Courage to be Disliked an interesting paradigm shifter.

Re: Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2025?

#183

Post by ornornor »

delichon wrote: post #52

I spend so much time rushing past moments, trying almost frantically to get through them by applying rules of thumb and not wasting attention. Of course if you do that too little you get stuck in the mud. But too much of it is a form of self-defeating panic. In survival mode you have to rush, eat things you normally wouldn't, put aside any non critical detail. But those details pile up when you stay in that mode for…

About shoe laces and if they always come undone, try tying them the other way.

What I mean is if once they’re tied they’re standing “up”/lying along your shoe instead of straight, then you’re doing it wrong and they’re slowly untying themselves.

Instead, make the loop with the other hand. The knot will lie perpendicular to your foot and this one stays tied.

Here is a random link with a video: https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/how-to-tie-your-shoes-righ...

I didn’t learn this until I was 32, and Im telling everyone since!

Re: Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2025?

#184

Post by audiometry »

jerrygoyal wrote: post #180
geocrasher wrote: post #33

I want to learn how to properly build a habit/routine that isn't dopamine driven. I have ADHD and I recently realized, even as I'm pushing 50 years old, that all of my hobbies, habits, and "likes" have been dopamine driven. I need to learn how to exclude the reward of a dopamine hit as the reason for doing something. Resources welcome.

I am also diagnosed with ADHD. I can't change my brain chemistry so I've come to the conclusion that if dopamine driven activities is what keeps me going then so be it. Instead of fighting it, I welcome it. ymmv.

Yeah this was exactly my conclusion too. And it enabled me to give up things that I wasn’t good at, couldn’t consistently practice, and felt as tremendous burdens. (Namely music and foreign languages). They just don’t stimulate me enough to be able to consistently practice as much as is required for mastery. Unlike jumping a bike which I can do for hours on end. Wish I could play music better and speak Japanese, but I can’t and I finally realized I never would for fundamental chemistry reasons

All these suggestions about different or better planning programs or habit forming things etc…. They have an efficacy that last six weeks, then wears off, and they themselves become another shameful burden.

And yes methylphenidate helps.

Re: Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2025?

#186

Post by [deleted] »

331c8c71 wrote: post #111
hypertexthero wrote: post #26

In the beginning of the day, don’t look at phone or computer. Avoid news especially, and instead write thoughts, draw something, work on a song, make something, anything. Don’t let day get sucked away with things that can’t be controlled. Excercise every day with “scientific 7 minute workout”. Also 20–40 minute walks or 100 basketball jump-shots. Draw daily, even a 5 minute drawing. Write daily, even for 5 minutes. P…

> Don't look at the phone or computer in the morning Avoiding wasting time is okayish but it pales in comparison to the state where you are naturally drawn to doing things that you consider to be more important.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2025?

#187

Post by nthingtohide »

randcraw wrote: post #112

As someone about to retire, I'm looking to develop passions that involve more physical activity than computerdom allows, like: - Fix up a 30 year old motorcycle that's been just sitting far too long. Maybe resurrect a classic bike or two thereafter. - Tour by bicycle and motorbike and write about the journey, both physical and mental. - Hike and backpack, day hikes and longer. - Develop musically, maybe even play the…

> Tour by bicycle and motorbike and write about the journey, both physical and mental.

I have two perfect videos for this topic.

TWO YEARS ON A BIKE (four part video series)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0i2wUmIak&list=PL32DhVYS_c...

One Year on a Bike

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/oneyearonabike

One Year on a Bike "A thousand hellos"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtF92Rq36GI

Re: Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2025?

#188

Post by lizzas »

alihm wrote: post #132

This year I got pretty consistent at strength training twice a week, a lot of times I'm dead and tired but I make sure I get to the gym and at least get one set of my workout done to (a) keep the routine going and (b) not be as sore the next time. I only train my whole body once a week, but I'm happy for now with that since I just don't have the stamina to push more without neglecting my life and hating the workout s…

Try rotating 4 weeks: easy medium hard hardest. It is great for keeping motivated as you are not slogging it out every week and consistency > bravado. Lifting weights that are now easy but were harder is great feeling too.

Re: Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2025?

#189

Post by rramadass »

jawns wrote: post #23

One of the skills I already have is the ability to work with difficult people or take on projects that need to be rescued and turn them around. That has been a valuable skill and has allowed me to develop a brand around it. However, that doesn't mean that I enjoy working with difficult people or cleaning up other people's messes. I find those people just as off-putting as everyone else; I just happen to be better at…

> One of the skills I already have is the ability to work with difficult people or take on projects that need to be rescued and turn them around.

That is one damn good Superpower! Develop it further and charge/ask more for the job. Advertise it in big bold letters to management/clients/everybody. As you say, that is your "brand".

> And if anyone has tips for how to make use of this skill set in a way that's genuinely fulfilling rather than draining, I'm all ears!

Do not let the above take over your life. Practice detachment via "Self-Distancing" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distancing_(psychology)) and drop it from your mind/consciousness when not working. Also see;

Self-Distancing: What It Is and How You Can Use It to Make Better Decisions - https://effectiviology.com/self-distancing-rational-decision...

Re: Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2025?

#190

Post by rramadass »

temeya wrote: post #128

1) Learn AWK deeply, in which I will meticulously go through a copy of the original 1988 book. 2) Get better at Git. 3) Study and pass the RHCSA. 4) Get better at troubleshooting Linux servers. I can actually feel my skills improving when I can find the actual root cause of an issue, and not just a symptom that is irrelevant. (Thanks, sadservers!)

You might also want to check out the various books on Unix by Sumitabha Das.
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