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Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

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Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#261

Post by kirso »

Generally whenever I feel this way (and it happened a lot) it was coming from a situation when I tried to press myself to choose. The more I pressed the worse it got, the more anxious I got and the more stuck I felt.

There is a recent article on min-maxing and optimising life as much as we can: https://ofdollarsanddata.com/why-you-shouldnt-optimize-your-...

But life is a not a math equations. There is also a concept of wu-wei called effortless action. Something that we do that doesn't feel like work and we just pursue our energy or flow without even realising it.

That is essentially the magic.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#262

Post by raspberry1337 »

decaffjoe wrote: post #162
ex-leper wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Deadlifts will hit most of the posterior chain, but to really grow thickness in the upper and mid back you'd need to add in heavy rows and/or pull-ups as OP mentioned.

Might as well chime in with the basic back-of-a-napkin strength program -> One movement for: (1) vertical push, (2) vertical pull, (3) horizontal push, (4) horizontal pull, (5) glutes/"back of your legs", (6) quadriceps/"front of your legs". To beat the dead horse, deadlifts definitely involve pulling but it's primarily a glutes exercise. Adding in dedicated pulls like pullups and rows will give you a lot of bang for…

This programme lacks core! You should have atleast (7) horizontal push (situps) (8) horizontal pull (back extensions)

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#264

Post by RHSman2 »

whoooooo123 wrote: post #255
RHSman2 wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did I? I have impulsive ADHD. It’s been a great tool but also got me into a lot of trouble. I never thought I could change who I am. I am right but I could become aware of what I am an try to engage my bigger brain rather than the impulsive part. Once I started investing in knowing me better rather than just allowing me to be on a seemingly uncontrollable train I could see how certain behaviors could be toxic to…

Can you be more specific about what you did?

Therapy. Identifying behaviors and which are coping mechanisms and those that add fuel to the fire.

Then becoming my own therapist and taking time to retrospectively view my actions and behaviors.

Taking action on those epiphanies and acts of vulnerable faith.

Example: with my new boss ‘I have ADHD and I can be brilliant and shit. When you feel me being shit just remind me of this email’

The old reaction would be I might get defensive or try and explain things away.

New reaction or treatment is like a new data point to help me retrain my framework.

Don’t take it as I’m a robot but I catch myself more often than I ever did and if I don’t I have a way of addressing it.

Meditation and understanding the principles of what this is trying to achieve.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#265

Post by alfnor »

Jensson wrote: post #168
bradlys wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first two sound like ADHD but the third doesn’t at all. That sounds like most people in the world. Everyone complains of the mundane, the same things, day in day out. We don’t hear “I love how nothing has ever changed in my life”. I’ve yet to hear someone describe ADHD in the third way and this thread is the only time I’ve seen folks ever mention it.

ADHD makes it more painful to try to focus on boring things, so even if everyone finds work boring after a while it is worse for those with ADHD.

ADHD-PI here! I've changed majors two times these last three years.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#267

Post by triggercut »

GameOfFrowns wrote: post #254
t0bia_s wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think ADHD could be related to overconsumption of sugar.

The question would be: Which one would be the cause and which one is the effect? I am diagnosed with ADHD and I consume unhealthy amounts of sugar in form of chocolate, gummy bears and ice cream. I wonder if... A) all that sugar creates a gut microbiome that facilitate ADHD symptoms or if B) the general impulsiveness and higher-than-usual glucose demand from the brain create the sugar cravings, or if C) it's some kin…

Sugar helps fuel a nervous system that is lacking energy from constant stress and overwhelm.

Chocolate will release serotonin but you need to binge quite a lot of it.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#268

Post by grepLeigh »

bradlys wrote: post #159
grepLeigh wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD is the inability to regulate attention. There are a couple ways this presents: 1) Hyperfocus for hours at a time, often forgetting about physical needs like food/drink/bathroom. 2) Extreme trouble getting started on a task (inability to overcome inertia) and constant distraction once started. 3) Switching hobbies, jobs, roles, spouses, etc because the initial stimulation of something new is more rewarding than o…

The first two sound like ADHD but the third doesn’t at all. That sounds like most people in the world. Everyone complains of the mundane, the same things, day in day out. We don’t hear “I love how nothing has ever changed in my life”. I’ve yet to hear someone describe ADHD in the third way and this thread is the only time I’ve seen folks ever mention it.

Some aspects of the ADHD experience might sound universal, but the key difference is the impact on your life.

Someone with a more neuro-typical brain might not be thrilled about mundane experiences, but can still tolerate the situation.

In an ADHD brain, mundane experiences over-engage areas of the brain associated with physical/emotional distress (amygdala). ADHD brains are also impacted by abnormal dopamine regulation, which affects the reward cycle for accomplishing mundane things.

Here are some comics to help contextualize: https://twitter.com/adhd_alien/status/1182670794633207813

I think one of the reasons so many people showed up to post about ADHD here is this, from the OP:

> Although, it seems quite trivial, for me this is a huge live hurdle

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#269

Post by grepLeigh »

conception wrote: post #118
thenaturalist wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. What you describe in an ADHD context might be called "hyperfocus": It's a period of intense focus which you are able to maintain and enjoy cause it stimulates your brain. But, critically, you are not able to maintain this hyperfocus for longer periods on a single topic as the stimulus of novelty flattens out and you become bored and understimulated and this quickly leads to procastination or switching to somethi…

What it’s the period when it becomes a disease as what you describe is basically how humans generally work?

At this point (2022), we know ADHD has a genetic component. The "Hunter versus farmer hypothesis" is the most prevalent anthropological hypothesis (non-medical) about the historical positive/negative selection pressures for ADHD traits. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_versus_farmer_hypothesi...

The tl;dr is that we think ADHD traits had positive selection pressure for 90% of human history, which is why ADHD is so common. ADHD is actually believed to be dramatically under-diagnosed in certain population slices, like adult women, because the diagnostic criteria was developed based on predominantly male/child subjects.

In the context of scouting for a nomadic hunter-gatherer tribe, ADHD traits seem like a gift.

In the context of modern American society, ADHD traits can lead to strong negative experiences spanning education, career, and relationships. In some contexts (like entrepreneurship), ADHD traits can still be a gift - but I'd hazard a guess that percentage-wise, a larger % of the ADHD population winds up in prison vs. becoming an entrepreneur.

Similar to autism, ADHD is a spectrum neurological disorder. "Disease" is the wrong term to use; "disorder" is the correct medical term. ADHD traits become a disorder they have a negative impact on development (childhood) or negative impact on well-being as an adult.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#270

Post by grepLeigh »

photochemsyn wrote: post #151
thenaturalist wrote: post #93

Hi there, This might be an off beat chance, but have you had a history of or ever looked into the topic of adult ADHD? Changing several jobs, jumping between hobbies or projects is textbook ADHD, especially if you don't feel like you can get out of it and describe it as a "huge live hurdle". That is the same for me. Got diagnosed at 30 two months ago. If you have a suspicion you might have it, I highly recommend doin…

ADHD is at best greatly overdiagnosed, and the business of providing ADHD diagnoses is quite analagous to the opiate pain pill clinic debacle, in which 'physicians' got kickbacks from the industry for providing opiate prescriptions. With ADHD, it's 'the medication' that is being sold. Often, the doctor's client is actually the amphetamine derivative supplier, and the product being sold (on a commission basis) is the…

I'm curious what has led you to believe ADHD is over-diagnosed. I can point to a few papers that indicate ADHD is under-diagnosed in certain population slices, like adult women.

I'm also wondering why you believe doctors are writing scripts for ADHD medications willy-nilly, then sending patients on their merry way. In my experience, the opposite is true:

When someone with ADHD moves across state lines in the US, their new general practitioner doctor typically needs confirmation from an in-state psychiatrist (MD) before they'll write a prescription - even if you've been taking the same medication at the same dosage for years prior. GPs sometimes require that the patient be undergoing therapy too, which is a lot to coordinate on top of a cross-state move. Therapists are also licensed at the state level.

This isn't because GPs are trying to be hard-asses, but because there are strict federal regulations on prescribing ADHD medications in the US.

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