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Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?

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41–50 of 160 posts

Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?

#41

Don't be afraid to experiment, but "partying" should be kept to a minimum and only for socializing. Also, avoid debt as much as you realistically can. If you're taking out loans for school, don't be afraid to pick up a flexible part time job doing retail or waiting tables (this helped me keep my student loans much lower than they could have been). Source: personal experience

Warning: focusing on your retail job during school to reduce loans is a local optimization, not a global one. Minimum wage is low and a high salary can make very short work of loans. Study hard and work even harder on your internships. Career relevant experience is king.

Debt is a tool and nothing to fear if you know how to use it. Many fortunes have been made with debt. Many lost as well.

And the drugs, yeah that's pretty spot on. Careful with those.

Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?

#43
post #12

Hire 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 agree with the weightlifting but honestly most trainers are garbage and most reasonably smart people would do equally well just finding good resources on youtube and making an effort not to be a dumbass.

Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?

#44
post #12

Hire 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 always avoided exercise and sports...a lot of the reason was I never played sports when I was younger, and by the time I got to HS I was literally a decade behind my peers in basic skills (passing, dribbling, shooting, etc.)

When I finally started strength training seriously, it was eye opening. I wasn't far behind, and it was easy to see progress. Putting 5lbs on the bar, every time you squat, 3x a week, for 10 weeks, is pretty encouraging, and pretty obvious.

Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?

#45
post #12

Hire 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.

Both are important. My elderly father's doctor recommended he start lifting weights. My father already gets a reasonable amount of aerobic exercise, but they do different things for the body.

Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?

#46
Get your first business experience done. E.g. start some sort of online business, set up the company, do your taxes, deal with customers, lawyers, etc etc. It might not be successful but its a good set of skills to learn early if that's something you plan on doing throughout life. This is optional advice. Other things are more important.

Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?

#47
Because folks in their 20s are usually in a process of self-discovery / growth / change, try to develop the habit of making sure you are investing in friendships that matter and are aligned with your goals. This sounds cold and calculating, but learning to step away from toxic/misaligned friendships and double down on friendships / connections / mentorships that dovetail with and proactively (and symbiotically) support your goals is one of the most difficult-to-measure super powers. It doesn't pay immediate dividends, but if you look at most successful / accomplished people, you realize they're skilled at doing this (implicitly or not).

Also, yes, therapy, although this can be expensive. The difficulty in explaining therapy is that until you've committed to it, the benefits / aspect of it as a tool aren't super grokable. You may need to try out many therapists. They're essentially a pair-programming decompiler. You and this technician work to make sense of the machine code of your mind. Incidentally, therapy also helps realign friendships since you can use therapy to deconstruct personal / social / work issues, and use time with friends to build / elevate one another. Many folks misconstrue a friend who "listens" as a form of therapy; it's very much not. A good therapist will be a master pattern matcher, and will help you build habits to extract yourself from negative loops.

Speaking of negative loops: personally, I found removing alcohol from my diet to be one of the simplest and most profound overall quality-of-life upgrades. I wish I had done it sooner. (I did it around ~29.)

And don't worry too much about investing. Open a Schwab / Etrade account and put $100 in it. Just break the "investing seal." Treat it like a little savings account to start with. And then slowly add to your portfolio. The critical step is making the account. This will allow future decisions to flow more easily.

Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?

#48
I would say finish university (if you haven't), it should give you good theoretical knowledge in the field you want. Also learn other languages. These are things that are more difficult to learn later.

In general, in those years, you should take biggest risks and try to do/learn the most difficult stuff you can find and you are interested in. Do not prematurely tie yourself to a job that doesn't provide a sufficient challenge. (You can always make more money later.)

The life is a negotiation with reality about what you can accomplish. Do not set your initial offer too low.

Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?

#49

Exercise! Can’t emphasize this enough! Makes you happier and healthier. Also a harder habit to adapt later in life. Don’t do drugs, gamble, drink, or watch tons of porn. Do read. Books. Not kindles. Books. Be part of a regular community. That could be church, a sports team, chorus, etc. Invest. Put money in an SP500 index fund. Especially if retirement accounts available. Don’t be an asshole. If you need therapy, get…

This is advice for your 30s and 40s, not your 20s.

Re: Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?

#50
post #12

Hire 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 agree with the weightlifting but honestly most trainers are garbage and most reasonably smart people would do equally well just finding good resources on youtube and making an effort not to be a dumbass.

I think you can distinguish between "trainer" and "strength coach", and should prefer the latter.

Going to 24hour Fitness, and getting training sessions from those folks...not worth.

Finding a strength coach at a powerlifting/weightlifting gym...probably worth.

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