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Ask HN: What were your naivetés in your twenties?

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Re: Ask HN: What were your naivetés in your twenties?

#261

Post by ljlolel »

ivankirigin wrote: post #174

Everything was really easy for me, all through undergrad. I think it hurt my diligence in studying. Because I remembered everything in lectures, I aced tests without reading a lot of the content. I feel like that hurt my depth of knowledge in areas. I wish I had been told that skill is entirely learned and nothing innate. I thought I was naturally talented, but now I attribute it mainly to the curiosity parents insti…

+1, same thing happened to me. Only this past semester when I took 8 classes did I realize the value of diligence.

By the way, hope Facebook is going well Ivan!

Re: Ask HN: What were your naivetés in your twenties?

#262

Post by [deleted] »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #89

- Shiny things are nowhere as much fun after you get them as before, even if they have some value. So yes, that Kindle or iPad or whatever will have a real use, and you will be marginally happier with it than without, but not as much as you think - You can talk yourself into (or out of) anything. The only difference between smart people and other people is that smart people do this with bigger words and more complex…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What were your naivetés in your twenties?

#263

Post by uast23 »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #89

- Shiny things are nowhere as much fun after you get them as before, even if they have some value. So yes, that Kindle or iPad or whatever will have a real use, and you will be marginally happier with it than without, but not as much as you think - You can talk yourself into (or out of) anything. The only difference between smart people and other people is that smart people do this with bigger words and more complex…

"Shiny things are nowhere as much fun after you get them as before".... I dropped my macbook plans

Re: Ask HN: What were your naivetés in your twenties?

#264

Post by Natural2190 »

username3 wrote: post #165
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #89

- Shiny things are nowhere as much fun after you get them as before, even if they have some value. So yes, that Kindle or iPad or whatever will have a real use, and you will be marginally happier with it than without, but not as much as you think - You can talk yourself into (or out of) anything. The only difference between smart people and other people is that smart people do this with bigger words and more complex…

"Forget philosophy and meaning-of-life shit. You're too young. For now, you are what you do. Go do something worthwhile" You aren't too young. This is his philosophy which he's telling you to forget: forget every philosophy except his.

Most of this post I found myself nodding in agreement, but this part seriously disturbed me. Without thinking about things like yourself, who you are, and what you want to do in life, you're basically a directionless tool. Spiritual soundness is the basis for all success, I would argue, and philosophical reflection and introspection is an avenue to being satisfied in life, and will prepare you for your future. This part seriously disgusts me, and in my mind, thoroughly discredits the rest of your post, which I otherwise find to contain good and sound advice.

Re: Ask HN: What were your naivetés in your twenties?

#265

Post by tdubhro1 »

Natural2190 wrote: post #264
username3 wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Forget philosophy and meaning-of-life shit. You're too young. For now, you are what you do. Go do something worthwhile" You aren't too young. This is his philosophy which he's telling you to forget: forget every philosophy except his.

Most of this post I found myself nodding in agreement, but this part seriously disturbed me. Without thinking about things like yourself, who you are, and what you want to do in life, you're basically a directionless tool. Spiritual soundness is the basis for all success, I would argue, and philosophical reflection and introspection is an avenue to being satisfied in life, and will prepare you for your future. This p…

I can see both sides on this one, you should certainly be self-aware enough that you periodically reflect deeply; I think the danger is that far too many guys in their 20s get into a rut, paralysed into inaction through over-analysis; your 20s and 30s are the time you should be vigorous, active, taking risks, exploring, having experiences, and doing so will result in more self-knowledge than sitting in your room contemplating the universe. In general, it's better to err on the side of action - when in doubt, build something.

Re: Ask HN: What were your naivetés in your twenties?

#266

Post by Setsuna »

lsc wrote: post #134
DanielBMarkham wrote: post #89

- Shiny things are nowhere as much fun after you get them as before, even if they have some value. So yes, that Kindle or iPad or whatever will have a real use, and you will be marginally happier with it than without, but not as much as you think - You can talk yourself into (or out of) anything. The only difference between smart people and other people is that smart people do this with bigger words and more complex…

> - Concentrate on your weaknesses. Make them stronger. When you get to your 30s you can work from your strengths, but there has to be some time in your life to work on shit you suck at, and for me it was when I had the most motivation, my 20s. I don't think I could disagree more. If I focused on my weaknesses, I'd still be working on my handwriting. I spent years in school trying to learn how to write legibly, and a…

> If I focused on my weaknesses, I'd still be working on my handwriting.

He wasn't asking you concentrate on all your weaknesses. Prioritize your weakness based on their importance and then eliminate them.

for example: If you don't know how to drive a car- that is a weakness, and driving is a very important skill, so you try to eliminate it.

(This is just an example. You can always argue by saying that you can hire a person to drive the car for you, but think about other high-priority weakness you have)

Re: Ask HN: What were your naivetés in your twenties?

#267

Post by skotzko »

Love this thread, esp. as I'm in my 20s and directly benefit from it.

Biggest lessons that I've learned so far and would offer up are the importance of VISION, FOCUS, and PERSEVERANCE. I offer these as someone who is directly engaged in the struggle of walking my own path. I am by no means perfect or even close to achieving all 3 of these points 100% of the time, but these are the 3 that help me keep going. I hope this is helpful to you.

1) VISION: You must figure out who you really are and what you want to be, and then be it with everything you've got. Most people you meet will have a set notion of you that may not align with your vision of yourself. Don't follow their vision. Find and follow your own.

Further, a lot of our 20s peers are doing "what they're supposed to do" because they haven't put in the emotional labor to figure out "what they want to do" and "who they want to be." As a result, they spend money and time on things that don't matter and have no meaning. Don't be that guy. Figure out who you want to be and what you really care about. Then act accordingly.

I'd suggest literally writing out your vision. You will need it clearly articulated and stored somewhere so that you can revisit it when you feel like shit later on. There will be stretches of time where you think "why the hell am I doing this, again?" You need to be able to revisit your vision and re-inspire yourself with your own answer. More on this in #3.

2) FOCUS: Ignore the haters and avoid the losers. Be ruthless about how you spend your time.

-Haters: Once you figure out #1, a lot of your acquaintances who are doing "what they're supposed to be doing" and were nice, become trolls. Your inner security, vision, and that you have the balls to go for it will highlight their lack thereof. Don't listen, don't react, just get back to work on your vision.

-Losers: the people you spend time around affect your thoughts, decisions, and actions. Don't hang out with people who are negative, unsupportive, or are just plain losers. They will bring you down and eventually, you will end up resenting them for doing so and yourself for letting it happen.

-Time: Time is the most valuable asset we have in our 20s, along with energy. Consciously choose what you spend time on, and who you spend time with. Don't spend time doing shit that doesn't matter or that you hate. Don't spend time around haters/losers.

Whatever it takes, cultivate and maintain a personal network of supportive, positive, happy people. Doing so will make it orders of magnitude more likely you will be supportive, supported, positive, and happy. We are deeply affected by the people we spend time with.

3) PERSEVERANCE: No one said it would be easy to follow through on your vision. Once you've got it (#1), and are able to start focusing in on it (#2), JUST. KEEP. GOING. You will get knocked down. You will fail at times along the way. You will feel like shit sometimes. When this happens, go revisit your vision, your "why" (from #1), and put fuel back in your tank. Then... Just. Keep. Going.

Again, I'm not "there" yet but these 3 things are what help me keep going and give me confidence that I will make it. Best of luck to you on the journey -- and please, enjoy the ride!

Re: Ask HN: What were your naivetés in your twenties?

#268

Post by skotzko »

skotzko wrote: post #267

Love this thread, esp. as I'm in my 20s and directly benefit from it. Biggest lessons that I've learned so far and would offer up are the importance of VISION, FOCUS, and PERSEVERANCE. I offer these as someone who is directly engaged in the struggle of walking my own path. I am by no means perfect or even close to achieving all 3 of these points 100% of the time, but these are the 3 that help me keep going. I hope th…

Some inspiration: I would sum this up visually by borrowing from Hugh MacLeod. I imagine the combination of "the white pebble" and "three keys."

-White pebble: http://gapingvoid.com/2009/04/09/the-white-pebble/

-Three keys: http://gapingvoid.com/2010/02/14/three-keys/

Re: Ask HN: What were your naivetés in your twenties?

#269

Post by MikeCapone »

heatdeath wrote: post #107
DTrejo wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too bad we're not rational

Speak for yourself.

Unless your brain isn't the product of evolution by natural selection, it's not optional:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases

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