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Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?

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191–200 of 237 posts

Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?

#192

I've failed, I'm not as smart as I think and in the end, I know I'm useless.

Without giving you simple platitudes, here is some advice; First read and keep a copy of Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" always at hand - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If%E2%80%94 Root Advice: Do not compare yourself to others constantly. This is the root of all evil. You should only focus on bettering your "present/future" self over your "past" self. >I've failed, If you have failed in some, you have succeeded in others…

Thank you all so much for your wonderful replies. I have been struggling with Uni, work, my family, friends, everything. It takes a lot to get over and fix my mistakes

Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?

#193
post #77

Anyone can run, you just need to reset your expectations. Backstory. I used to not like running at all. Every time I ran, my mind would count down either time left or distance left. It always felt easy in the beginning but very soon would be unattainable. But now I can run decent distances without getting mentally or physically exhausted. So here are the lessons: 1. The first 1 mile is the hardest. 2. Second mile is…

Errrm., not everyone can run. Some people experience excruciating pain due to herniated discs when running, fortunately there’s biking :)

Yes not everyone can run. I inevitably get shin splints because I have very flat feet. Barefoot running doesn’t help.

Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?

#194

I took a seemingly dull job for good, reliable pay and long-term prospects. I thought I was sacrificing personal interests for the sake of being a responsible adult, but in fact the income and generous work-life balance has given me more freedom to pursue outside interests than ever before. And the work isn't as dull as I expected.

That's great! I'm starting to view things through your lens as I get older--that work is more about setting up the foundation for the rest of your life instead of being the central focus of your life. I think if you can make it the central focus of your life and manage to succeed--however you define it--that's a wonderful thing, but there's also nothing wrong with taking, as you said, a "seemingly dull job", performi…

Absolutely, and I'll admit I definitely had a defeatist attitude starting the job search knowing that the goal was security & stability. I'm 27 now and spent nearly two years self-employed and/or job searching in the last five. It was definitely a stressful roller coaster of an experience, but it was just the kick in the pants to reevaluate my priorities, and quickly.

Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?

#195

I took a seemingly dull job for good, reliable pay and long-term prospects. I thought I was sacrificing personal interests for the sake of being a responsible adult, but in fact the income and generous work-life balance has given me more freedom to pursue outside interests than ever before. And the work isn't as dull as I expected.

I am exactly at this juncture and struggling to make a decision. I keep interviewing and rejecting reasonable (dull) offers.

I spent 6 months applying and interviewing "sexier" jobs, but not hearing back. A recruiter approached me for a contract-to-hire opportunity and it was the first that sounded more promising than a rejection. Started making more than I ever have in the past and I enjoyed working with the team. I learned that the people you work with are far more relevant to the dullness of the position. The work isn't always enlightening, but I look forward to coming in because I learn a lot and have a good time with my team.

Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?

#196

I took a seemingly dull job for good, reliable pay and long-term prospects. I thought I was sacrificing personal interests for the sake of being a responsible adult, but in fact the income and generous work-life balance has given me more freedom to pursue outside interests than ever before. And the work isn't as dull as I expected.

This. I pole vaulted to a bigger company which was more stable where decisions have long term consequences and not short term reactions. My free time is more important as I get older. I'm happy I made the decision to pursue the new job.

The long-term vs short-term mentality was a refreshing culture shock for me. Coming from scrappy digital agency life, everything was fast-paced and reactionary. Anything long-term was nothing short of daydreams. I've been far more effective at solving complex problems when I know I have X days to whiteboard something to start implementation Y weeks later. Plus, I can be as fast-paced as I want with my side projects now

Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?

#197

I learned I do have a case of mild autism (thanks to someone here posting a relevant link) and maybe ADHD-ish. While this isn't a great news in itself, I'm grateful that I've been able to benchmark my oddness. Now that I know, it's easier for me to be more self aware and prevent my weird half to do stupid things. I still trip and fall, and probably will keep doing that forever, but I'me better at falling without hurt…

What's the link?

https://aspietests.org/raads/index.php

Here you go. Good luck, it's 80 questions. (My pet theory is that going through all those questions is already an answer in itself)

Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?

#198

- We need to apply the same principles of consumption that we do to food to information. Consume responsibly. Be aware of the sourcing. Don't binge. Know what's junk and what's nourishing. Give back to positive sources to nourish and grow them (sustainability). - Income inequality is huge. Slavery still exists but in a misdirected, slight-of-hand way. Work or the system will abandon you and it's "your fault". - Learn…

Any tips or resources on breaking out of the middle class mentality?

Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?

#199
post #51

I have a flight reflex which makes me run away when things get tough. I quit a number of jobs because of that and then rationalized it to myself by blaming it on whatever wasn't perfect at these companies. I like to feel I'm the victim of circumstances, blaming hardships on some abstract entity (like fate), subconsciously hoping that 'fate' will prove me wrong by making something good happen to me. I am using substan…

Can we get in touch, please? Sounds like my mind has worded these sentences. You find my mail in my account. Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: What have the past 12 months taught you?

#200
post #6

[flagged]

It's possible you're trolling, but it rubs me the wrong way that you're getting downvoted just because people don't agree with you. For the most part I don't agree with you, but your comment is as valid as any other in the context of this thread (unless you are in fact a troll). Edit: I accidentally a letter

surprisingly hostile. If I didn't feel comfortable with the site I wouldn't post. But yeah, lesson learned.
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