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Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
21–30 of 160 posts
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#22Read biographies of great people across all walks of life. Personally I got a great deal from reading about Thomas Edison, Richard Feynman, Winston Churchill, Nikola Tesla, etc. Also basic psychology, e.g. cognitive biases, Maslow's Pyramid, physiology. Watch documentaries about various industries, manufacturing, construction, etc. Understand basic accounting and finance principles.
The reason I suggest the foregoing is that technology changes at a rapid pace, but in my experience the majority of real problems stem from people factors, communications issues, biases, lack of critical thinking, perverse incentives, factors such as ego, greed, hubris.
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#23Brazilian Jiujitsu
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#24Don't get arrested.
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#25Keep yourself fit. Get a workout program and stick with it. Eat well.
Educate yourself financially. Understand how to save, invest etc.
Build a good network of mentors, friends etc. who you can talk to in the long term.
Build a closer tribe of close friends who you interact with more frequently.
Reject fear (since piece of advice I'd give my 23 year old self). Stay aggressive.
And don't forget to enjoy the results of the above. :)
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#26Music and/or drawing. These are both long curve activities where the more you put in, the more you get out. For example, fooling around with a ukulele for a year or two really improved my guitar later (especially fingerpicking!) when I wanted to get more serious about it. Even though I'm still not very good, I'm not trying to be a rockstar or a professional musician, and I can do a lot of nice things with it. Now I'm re-learning music theory I was told about in high school, and it's feeling interesting and useful.
It's very much an enriching experience that constantly feels worthwhile, but it's been years in unfolding for me. These things build over time just as much as interest does on bank accounts.
...and I haven't actually done that much drawing, so maybe this is bubkus, but I feel very strongly that it's the same. A decade of doing it with some regularity, at any age, is worth infinitely more than a year of showing promise when you're 15.
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#27Hire a trainer and learn how to weightlift. You may have been a nerd like me that thought weight lifters were wasting time on vanity, but as you age your body will betray you. You need to learn how to stay fit or you will end up with myriad health issues and end up unhappy. A trainer is essential for a new lifter. It is easy to hurt yourself, and you need to work on good form for years before it becomes second nature…
How about cardio activities? I think those contribute more to getting rid of unhealthy fat and cholesterol, but I may be wrong.
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#28Hire a trainer and learn how to weightlift. You may have been a nerd like me that thought weight lifters were wasting time on vanity, but as you age your body will betray you. You need to learn how to stay fit or you will end up with myriad health issues and end up unhappy. A trainer is essential for a new lifter. It is easy to hurt yourself, and you need to work on good form for years before it becomes second nature…
I second this. I started weightlifting this autumn. Attended a course at the local weightlifting gym and now trying to train 3 times a week and at least once a week with a trainer. My back pains are gone, posture is better than ever and it has also improved my mental health and self esteem. It's an addicting sport, but boy it's hard in the beginning :)
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#29Go chase the things you want and experiences you wish to try as quickly as possible. These things have a habit of getting stuck in the perpetual future for years at a time. Often you reach them and realize they were a mirage, but sometimes they were gold. The only way to know the difference is to go for it. Don't get stuck.
Chase your passions at the moment you have them. One day you will wake up and your heart has moved on.
Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
#30Learn web3