In the past years I've been quite diluted in my personal and professional life. Changed several jobs, and in my hobbies, I am jumping from one project to another. How do you stay focused? How do you find 1 thing you are really good at and stick with it? Is there a book or a blog teaching this? Although, it seems quite trivial, for me this is a huge live hurdle. Any tips are highly appreciated!
Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?
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Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?
#2You don't "find what you are good at" - that is backwards.
Instead, you do what you are interested in, and initially you are not good at it, and with enough time, effort, working at learning and practicing, you will become good at it.
Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?
#3[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?
#4Maybe context switching and exploring new things are what you are good at?
Maybe someone with discipline is different from me, but I can't "stay focused", I either "am focused" or not.
I don't think anyone is supposed to look for a single thing to stick with, that sounds sick..
If you happen upon a thing and you can't let it down, you've found it.. But maybe you never will, maybe your talent is not a single thing.
Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?
#5You don't "find what you are good at" - that is backwards. Instead, you do what you are interested in, and initially you are not good at it, and with enough time, effort, working at learning and practicing, you will become good at it.
It boils down to the same thing though - OP is struggling to focus on a thing for a long period of time because they don't find stuff interesting enough. You can rephrase it to "how do I find something interesting enough to put a lot of time and effort in".
Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?
#6You don't "find what you are good at" - that is backwards. Instead, you do what you are interested in, and initially you are not good at it, and with enough time, effort, working at learning and practicing, you will become good at it.
Seconded. "Practice makes perfect" is an aphorism as old as the ages.
I would like to add though that "being good at something" is not the path to enlightenment. Try "something you enjoy" instead, and you may be happier in the end. Given an initial epsilon of talent, the above adage posits that you will get better at it, and in my experience, motivation to do a task is central predictor of how good you will become at it.
Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?
#7You don't "find what you are good at" - that is backwards. Instead, you do what you are interested in, and initially you are not good at it, and with enough time, effort, working at learning and practicing, you will become good at it.
It boils down to the same thing though - OP is struggling to focus on a thing for a long period of time because they don't find stuff interesting enough. You can rephrase it to "how do I find something interesting enough to put a lot of time and effort in".
I would argue that these two perspectives are quite different though. "How do I become good at something" is not the same as "How do I find something that interests me".
Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?
#8Being good at something doesn't mean you want to keep doing it and yes things take time to master, you're not a natural on everything. Maybe you should take some time off, go travelling for a while, maybe your will see things that will get your interest.
Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
It boils down to the same thing though - OP is struggling to focus on a thing for a long period of time because they don't find stuff interesting enough. You can rephrase it to "how do I find something interesting enough to put a lot of time and effort in".
I would argue that these two perspectives are quite different though. "How do I become good at something" is not the same as "How do I find something that interests me".
> "How do I become good at something" is not the same as "How do I find something that interests me".
They're different but OP isn't asking the first question.
Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?
#10You could also see if there is a theme in your different projects and jobs.
That might reveal that you are actually sticking to a theme/subject - you just didn’t know it.
Also, you can try to play the long game. If you think in terms of years or decades. A theme might be so fuzzy that it requires a long time horizon.