Ask HN: How did you deal with the fact that you were growing old • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How did you deal with the fact that you were growing old

#11

Post by KozmoNau7 » Sun, Jun 17, 2018, 10:07 AM UTC

gyvastis wrote: post #8

Everyone is getting older, not just you. That's just the course of life. There are beautiful things in life and at the same time scary, unpleasant or even heart-breaking. It's just the balance we need to understand and respect. There's not something we can do about it. We need to appreciate the life to it's fullest with all its flaws and joys. Don't judge yourself or keep a grudge on things you cannot change. It will…

And remember to enjoy things while you're doing them, instead of always being in a rush to the next thing.

Re: Ask HN: How did you deal with the fact that you were growing old

#12

Post by sshine » Sun, Jun 17, 2018, 10:47 AM UTC

chomp wrote: post #5

31 here. Growing old for me was mostly about accomplishment, "am I doing everything I want/need to do while I'm still young?" I mostly am succeeding, have a nice stable career and am a father of one. I admit that this success was mostly dumb luck and I didn't have any master plan or list of goals. You're where I was when I was your age, you might benefit from introspection to see what you want to get done before you…

> 31 here.

> Growing old for me was [...]

You're not old yet.

Re: Ask HN: How did you deal with the fact that you were growing old

#13

Post by emmanuel_1234 » Sun, Jun 17, 2018, 11:11 AM UTC

35 here.

If not for the physical aspect of it (better take care of your body now, because it doesn't get easier), my experience of growing old is pretty awesome.

You get cool perks like seniority and respect just because you don't look like a kid anymore. Even though you think it's mostly the same "you" than in your 20s, people, mostly rightly, assume you're wiser and more trustworthy.

That translated, at least to me, into getting more money and less shit for roughly the same amount of work, less need to prove my worth and all in all a chiller life. Money is a lot less an issue than it was before, meaning I don't stress about that much anymore (definitely not the case for everyone, but I would gamble it is for most of the HN crowd). A lot of things that were sources of stress are now under control or in the DGAF category (money, women, career, ...) and I can focus on more interesting parts (family, the meaning of life, everything).

10/10, would grow older again.

Re: Ask HN: How did you deal with the fact that you were growing old

#14

Post by a0-prw » Sun, Jun 17, 2018, 11:20 AM UTC

51 here ;))

I'm having a lot more fun than when I was 21 ;) Stay healthy, be careful with your relationships and stop worrying.. There's only one way out and it's the same for everyone

Re: Ask HN: How did you deal with the fact that you were growing old

#15

Post by jimholcomb » Sun, Jun 17, 2018, 11:45 AM UTC

Growing old at 24? Thanks for the (grand)Father's day laugh.

I’m 63 and “old” has always seemed to be at least 10 years than I am at the time. I know people my age may say they’re feeling old but inside we (at least the men) still have a middle school mentality.

Re: Ask HN: How did you deal with the fact that you were growing old

#16

Post by JeanMarcS » Sun, Jun 17, 2018, 1:21 PM UTC

jimholcomb wrote: post #15

Growing old at 24? Thanks for the (grand)Father's day laugh. I’m 63 and “old” has always seemed to be at least 10 years than I am at the time. I know people my age may say they’re feeling old but inside we (at least the men) still have a middle school mentality.

I’m only 46 (so a bit younger) but I totally agree.

Yesterday night I was looking at my hairs going more and more gray and thought « How can that be ? I still feel like I was a student some years ago ! »

Re: Ask HN: How did you deal with the fact that you were growing old

#17

Post by 0x4f3759df » Sun, Jun 17, 2018, 1:27 PM UTC

Many of the downsides about 'being old' can be staved off with proper diet, fitness, (don't smoke, don't do drugs) moderate alcohol, and some common sense like don't destroy your knees with running. If you are fortunate by the time you are old you will have wisdom and grandchildren.

Re: Ask HN: How did you deal with the fact that you were growing old

#18

Post by yskristiawan » Sun, Jun 17, 2018, 2:49 PM UTC

I have only one rule for that: never think that you are old. Accept everything (physical changes) as it is & never compare yourself with the "old" you.

Well, maybe that's not exactly one (rule)...

Re: Ask HN: How did you deal with the fact that you were growing old

#19

Post by codewritinfool » Sun, Jun 17, 2018, 3:51 PM UTC

51 here. My mind hasn't changed. I think more before I speak. I listen more. My body hurts a bit sometimes and takes longer to heal, but basically everything is just better.

Re: Ask HN: How did you deal with the fact that you were growing old

#20

Post by chomp » Sun, Jun 17, 2018, 4:48 PM UTC

sshine wrote: post #12

chomp wrote: post #5

31 here. Growing old for me was mostly about accomplishment, "am I doing everything I want/need to do while I'm still young?" I mostly am succeeding, have a nice stable career and am a father of one. I admit that this success was mostly dumb luck and I didn't have any master plan or list of goals. You're where I was when I was your age, you might benefit from introspection to see what you want to get done before you…

> 31 here. > Growing old for me was [...] You're not old yet.

Eyeroll.

Original poster is 20 going on 30 and clearly worried about that milestone, like I was, like many 20-somethings in the industry that are taught that young=desirable. Let's not kid ourselves, there's a de facto shelf life for developers in SV and elsewhere due to current culture, and I think it's a hard thing to come to terms with. I probably could have chosen better language (and might be perpetuating the problem due to that language) but drive by comments that are like "haha you're not old" maybe be "technically right" but don't really help anyone.