Not necessarily recommending this, but I had kids.
Ask HN: Those who were broke and lost in life in 20s. How'd you find way again?
31–40 of 56 posts
Re: Ask HN: Those who were broke and lost in life in 20s. How'd you find way again?
#32"Kiiind of making a lot of assumptions right now..."
Re: Ask HN: Those who were broke and lost in life in 20s. How'd you find way again?
#33My advice is aimed at previous me, so take it with a grain of salt.
I was not lost in my 20's. I am now lost in my 40's though, and I'm not looking to get back on the path.
Travel if you can. Find a job that takes you somewhere you wouldn't normally go. Life is about experiences, be open to them and get out of your bubble as much as you can stand.
Don't take it too seriously. Laugh and enjoy life as much as possible. Fake the enjoyment till it becomes real if you have to.
Stay lost, see where you end up.
Re: Ask HN: Those who were broke and lost in life in 20s. How'd you find way again?
#34Quite different from the other posts, I got a stable job I didn’t totally hate.
Did it pay well, no.
But it got me in a stable cadence, where I could take my time with things, slowly being able to build up other things.
Second, therapy. Not for everyone but helped me immensely.
Re: Ask HN: Those who were broke and lost in life in 20s. How'd you find way again?
#35[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Those who were broke and lost in life in 20s. How'd you find way again?
#36I did a co-op as a part of a 2 year program, stayed on as hire afterward. The job gave me an opportunity to have stability and grow my confidence over time.
Re: Ask HN: Those who were broke and lost in life in 20s. How'd you find way again?
#37My advice is aimed at previous me, so take it with a grain of salt. I was not lost in my 20's. I am now lost in my 40's though, and I'm not looking to get back on the path. Travel if you can. Find a job that takes you somewhere you wouldn't normally go. Life is about experiences, be open to them and get out of your bubble as much as you can stand. Don't take it too seriously. Laugh and enjoy life as much as possible.…
I would agree, but this is also very dependent on the level of brokeness. This is good advise to most 20-somethings but if OP is really broke, it’s not really actionable.
Re: Ask HN: Those who were broke and lost in life in 20s. How'd you find way again?
#38I've been through pretty tough times before and by several strokes of luck + hard work I'm kinda getting back to the path I want to follow in life. The below is what I would tell my teenage/early 20s self:
- Realize that some events are outside your control. If you were screwed over or unlucky in any way you need to move on from whatever happened and focus on what you can change
- Consistency is key. Just show up everyday and work towards your goal, over time you will see some positive results.
- Desire is suffering, if you're chasing a house, car or lifestyle realize that when you get it you'll just want something better. Try to be happy with what you have first.
- Positive reframing, your situation may not be that bad. It probably could've been alot worse right? Maybe your situation will force you to take action and be a better person
- Don't compare yourself to others, no one had the exact same path in life
- Success = working hard and being ready to take advantage when luck strikes
- Workout atleast 3 times a week, even if it's doing a home routine without any equipment
- Just be nice to people you work with, your network is your networth
Re: Ask HN: Those who were broke and lost in life in 20s. How'd you find way again?
#39I spent a large portion of my late 20s/early 30s in a pretty bad state, but found my way out in my late 30s. The biggest difference was to try to only deal with one dumpster fire in my life at a time, if possible. I was dealing with several, and wasn't able to handle any of them adequately. Unstable relationship, unstable health, unstable employment/money; any of those I could manage individually. Taking that seriously may mean choosing lower pay/more stable employment, ending a _possibly_ salvageable relationship, etc. None of those are easy, but in retrospect it would've been easier than trying to manage all of them simultaneously, badly.
Re: Ask HN: Those who were broke and lost in life in 20s. How'd you find way again?
#40This question is for me!
In my late 20s I started having many weird symptoms and essentially was unable to continue my physical job. I was on food stamps.
I always thought I wasn’t very smart, but I just gave up too easily. Without any other options education was my only option. I graduated with high honors with a CS degree.
Met a VP in school he offered me an internship and I have been working for him for a few years now.
I ended up finding that programming is really my passion.
I’m planning to go back for my masters as my workload is pretty low.
When I think back I remember how I was losing hope. I grew up poor so I had no parents to really fall back on. I’m glad I pushed through. Now, I’m on vacation enjoying the sun.