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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?

#161

Post by Test0129 »

I jump from hobbies all the time. I've started and stopped more hobbies than I can count. There are a few I return to time and again though. I like math and programming. I think this is a good measure to find things you're "good at". Or at least have the potential to be "good at". Maybe it's not true for everyone but it is certainly true for a lot of people - something you always return to, even after an extended break, is probably what you should be doing. You can have a wide breadth of experience (and that's a good thing) but in general you'll probably find you return to a few things always. If you don't - that's great! Keep paying attention. If you do then you have a direction to head in. A book can't teach you this, neither can some self-help guru. Maybe you aren't keen to be "really good" at programming. Maybe your hobby that you constantly return to is something you haven't even tried yet.

Then again I also have some form of ADHD (diagnosed). I can generally hyperfocus on things like programming, but for other things (like outdoor hobbies) I become obsessive, then burned out, and then I just always return to programming. My entire life is biased through this lens so take it with a grain of salt.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#162

Post by decaffjoe »

ex-leper wrote: post #121
spit2wind wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about the deadlifts they mention? (Or maybe that wasn't present in their response at the time you wrote yours)

Deadlifts will hit most of the posterior chain, but to really grow thickness in the upper and mid back you'd need to add in heavy rows and/or pull-ups as OP mentioned.

Might as well chime in with the basic back-of-a-napkin strength program -> One movement for: (1) vertical push, (2) vertical pull, (3) horizontal push, (4) horizontal pull, (5) glutes/"back of your legs", (6) quadriceps/"front of your legs".

To beat the dead horse, deadlifts definitely involve pulling but it's primarily a glutes exercise. Adding in dedicated pulls like pullups and rows will give you a lot of bang for your buck.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#163

Post by hirvi74 »

xhrpost wrote: post #135
bmitc wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just as a point of balance: adult onset ADHD, while possible, is quite rare. Many other more common disorders, such as anxiety and depression, will share the same symptoms as ADHD.

Yes most everyone says the symptoms need to be present in childhood as well. But apparently the structure of school and just being a little smart can mask the performance symptoms in childhood. Then once the structure is gone in adulthood and life becomes much harder and more complex, the big symptoms start to show up.

Not to be pedantic, but just because symptoms are masked does not mean they are/were not present. I think the differentiator is whether one had symptoms to mask or not in the first place.

I masked some of my symptoms as a child, was diagnosed as an adult, etc., but the symptoms were always there despite my prior ability to function around them.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#164

Post by hirvi74 »

gcr wrote: post #140
thenaturalist wrote: post #93

Hi there, This might be an off beat chance, but have you had a history of or ever looked into the topic of adult ADHD? Changing several jobs, jumping between hobbies or projects is textbook ADHD, especially if you don't feel like you can get out of it and describe it as a "huge live hurdle". That is the same for me. Got diagnosed at 30 two months ago. If you have a suspicion you might have it, I highly recommend doin…

when you have a diagnosis, then what? where do you actually go from there? are there doors that an ADHD diagnosis opens that have a better ROI than, say, graymarket modafinil?

> are there doors that an ADHD diagnosis opens that have a better ROI than, say, graymarket modafinil?

I suppose it depends where you live.

Here is what I can think of off the top of my head:

1. Potential legal protections and academic/workplace accommodations if necessary (US has ADA as an example).

2. Access to potentially more medications (modafinil is not commonly prescribed in the US for ADHD -- even off label)

3. Perhaps less trouble than having to use the Graymarket? Less risk of getting caught? I'm kind of grasping for straws at this moment.

If what you have works, then I guess keep going? Just please be careful. Unregulated areas of markets, healthcare, etc. make me nervous, personally.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#165

Post by SoftTalker »

Sakos wrote: post #76
antasvara wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It feels like you're defining "fun" or "enjoyable" differently than most people would. Most people don't find their "fun" activities enjoyable all the time. Running can be fun, but it also is tiring and sucks sometimes. Practicing a musical instrument isn't the most enjoyable, but playing in a band and nailing songs is. Lifting isn't "fun," but excelling at a sport is. Point being that not liking the boring parts of…

You're not really disagreeing with me, but you're arguing with me. Maybe I'm not being clear enough. What we "enjoy" (however you might define it), or even what we're good at, is extremely malleable. Yet people try to find that one activity that magically clicks and that needs to then be their career. I learned to enjoy running, because it incorporates elements that appeal to me (incremental improvement, for example)…

It can be the opposite as well. I liked programming when I started doing it, over 30 years ago now. I don't like doing it anymore, although I am "good at" doing it, and it's really the only skill I have that will earn me the income I want to have. I will happily abandon it the day I retire and at least right now I my first priority is going to be reducing the amount of computer technology in my life to the absolute minimum.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#166

Post by electrondood »

The following questions helped me: what do you spend most of your free time doing voluntarily? Where do you have a backlog of material that you are afraid of showing to the world? What things do you take for granted because they come easy to you, that others have expressed appreciation or amazement at/offered to pay for?

Also, question your assumption that you need to find 1 thing and devote most of your time to it. Why? What's your goal?

If it's enjoyment, why 1 thing? If it's money, you only need to choose the highest paying profession that you can tolerate.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#167

Post by zenbryo »

bradlys wrote: post #159
grepLeigh wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD is the inability to regulate attention. There are a couple ways this presents: 1) Hyperfocus for hours at a time, often forgetting about physical needs like food/drink/bathroom. 2) Extreme trouble getting started on a task (inability to overcome inertia) and constant distraction once started. 3) Switching hobbies, jobs, roles, spouses, etc because the initial stimulation of something new is more rewarding than o…

The first two sound like ADHD but the third doesn’t at all. That sounds like most people in the world. Everyone complains of the mundane, the same things, day in day out. We don’t hear “I love how nothing has ever changed in my life”. I’ve yet to hear someone describe ADHD in the third way and this thread is the only time I’ve seen folks ever mention it.

The first to points are the physiological symptoms, and the third described is one of the effects for most people with ADD/ADHD. Unfinished projects and a chaotic worklife that also can result in criminal activities, drug abuse etc. But it can also lead to succesful entrepreneurship and other positive effects in the long haul.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#168

Post by Jensson »

bradlys wrote: post #159
grepLeigh wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD is the inability to regulate attention. There are a couple ways this presents: 1) Hyperfocus for hours at a time, often forgetting about physical needs like food/drink/bathroom. 2) Extreme trouble getting started on a task (inability to overcome inertia) and constant distraction once started. 3) Switching hobbies, jobs, roles, spouses, etc because the initial stimulation of something new is more rewarding than o…

The first two sound like ADHD but the third doesn’t at all. That sounds like most people in the world. Everyone complains of the mundane, the same things, day in day out. We don’t hear “I love how nothing has ever changed in my life”. I’ve yet to hear someone describe ADHD in the third way and this thread is the only time I’ve seen folks ever mention it.

ADHD makes it more painful to try to focus on boring things, so even if everyone finds work boring after a while it is worse for those with ADHD.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#169

Post by r56 »

pietschy wrote: post #18

I found the gallup strength finder test very helpful when trying to find a role that was a good fit for me. https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/ Edit: It's a paid service the product links are here: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253868/popular-cl... I've bought both, but 99% of the value for me was in the top 5.

This.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#170

Post by RHSman2 »

Bakary wrote: post #150
RHSman2 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD isn’t a sickness. It’s a thing that an awful lot of people have.

Disorder is the better word, but it's still a condition defined in relation to how it affects your capacity to function in the target society

I have it for reference. Both my children have it.

What is the difference between someone who has it and somebody who doesn’t? Where is the line? There is no biological line because we all have these traits.

It is only a disorder of it interferes with how you interact with modern life/society.

Being human is a condition and for some a disorder. Here, have a drug (anything that triggers dopamine)

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