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Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

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Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#741

Post by inafewwords »

rezashirazian wrote: post #644
patrickk wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotal, I was like you, extremely skeptical of meditation. Seriously, try it, it's free! Immediate benefits: * Clear, focused mind. I stop hopping from topic to topic in my mind "oh should I tidy the apartment, work on my website, etc etc" to a far more focused state. What you should do next is there with extreme clarity. You stop reading random junk on the internet too, and get down to it * Much better sleep (thi…

From your description, it seems like I've been meditating in the shower for most of my life.

Running water has own relaxing sound to it for humans I think.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#742

Post by baccheion »

I've never had one of these moments. It's just been shit my entire life, then when it seemed as though things were about to get better, the sea of idiots descended again and shit even more, leaving me here 6+ years later constantly getting harassed, as I'm living with my mother, while being unemployed and low functioning, because the harassment and torture makes it impossible for me to think, progress, or move on.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#743

Post by NeutronBoy »

allenu wrote: post #544
kamaal wrote: post #463

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>My "hobby" is writing a science fiction novel. >>There is a very profound satisfaction in being able to do that. For you its writing, for other its music, collecting stamps, playing games or whatever. Why do you assume writing > everything else?

I'm not the poster you're responding to, but the difference between something like writing vs. stamp collecting or gaming is the act of creation. You're making something that others can enjoy and that you can look at and appreciate. It can live on when you've passed. When you play a game, you do enjoy the experience, but at the end of it all, you've not created anything of value.

> You're making something that others can enjoy and that you can look at and appreciate. It can live on when you've passed. When you play a game, you do enjoy the experience, but at the end of it all, you've not created anything of value.

So you spend your time creating something for other people to consume, then note that the act of consuming it is useless?

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#744

Post by firebones »

rrecuero wrote: post #611
keyboardhitter wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For those who are not familiar, or new to, meditation - I want to offer an alternative to "try not to have any thoughts". The reason why I never started meditating for a long time was because I felt it was too hard, and nearly impossible. Well... because it is very difficult. After years and years of meditating and practicing mindfulness, perhaps this is possible, but IMO not a good starting goal. I prefer to just be…

That's the same way I see it. I would sum it up as becoming aware of the Proprioception of thought. The same way we are aware of moving our arm when we are doing so, becoming aware of your thoughts while we are thinking. We tend to take are thoughts for granted, giving them automatic truth status

What an apt analogy...

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#746

Post by geff82 »

asenna wrote: post #710
geff82 wrote: post #507

For me, it was getting into IT when I was 30 (4 years ago) and for the first time in my life, I loved my work. I did not do it when I was 20, when was deeply into programming. Instead, I feared math in computer science studies, which led me to work as a car salesman (one that read HN all the time). When I was really broke and unhappy, I met a guy who introduced me into IT contracting for big companies. I just did wha…

> I met a guy who introduced me into IT contracting for big companies. I just did what he said and instantly landed a long term gig that quadrupled my income. Would you mind sharing some of the tips the guy gave you? I'd be really interested. I'm doing small-time IT contracting but looking to grow the business.

He told me: for your first gig, fake or optimize your CV as much as needed(I know this was not ethical but it was better than robbing a bank or being broke). Then, go to Xing (the German Linkedin, which is a gold mine if you know where the Freelancer group is). Then if someone picks you, learn and study as if the devil was behind you. So I did, applied for a lot of Linux administrator jobs, had interviews and it took me about 7 days to get hired by the first company for a long term admin-contract (I already knew my way around Linux, but had no enterprise experience). After a few months, this guy started his own contracting company and instantly got me a job. Nowadays, I am best friends with the guy who introduced me and even the poor guy who recruited me for the first job (I told him my lies later, which did not change his opinion that I had been a good pick for the customer). Nowadays, I keep it all real. My experience and field of work is good enough to be able to tell I had been a car salesman before. But to get good jobs in Germany or Switzerland, use Xing, freelancermap or to a lesser extend, use Linkedin. And know exactly what you want to offer.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#747

Post by danm07 »

Having a much needed conversation with my cofounder. There wasn't a fit, and this was in the back of my mind very early on, but didn't bring it up. When circumstance brought pressure on the company, I had to ask his resignation and take over his job when I wasn't ready.

He was a very good friend of mine, but my negligence definitely took its toll.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#748

Post by swah »

patrickk wrote: post #280
andrepd wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a hippie, but you do meditation and fasts... Okay, that came out a bit incisive. Do you have any scientific backing to support those claims? I'm especially interested in fasting. Not eating for 3 days a month does not seem especially healthy. Then I see the claim that it cures cancer and forgive me if all my alarm bells go off.

Anecdotal, I was like you, extremely skeptical of meditation. Seriously, try it, it's free! Immediate benefits: * Clear, focused mind. I stop hopping from topic to topic in my mind "oh should I tidy the apartment, work on my website, etc etc" to a far more focused state. What you should do next is there with extreme clarity. You stop reading random junk on the internet too, and get down to it * Much better sleep (thi…

Does everyone tend to focus on the details of a specific method versus actually doing it?

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#749

Post by 5350-uiop-1130 »

1) Stopped reading and watching the news.

I found myself growing angrier, frustrated and confused by world events and world events as they are portrayed by the media.

I realised so much of it simply did not concern me or was just outside my sphere of influence. So I tuned out completely. I have no idea what is happening around the world.

I know that wilful ignorance has it's drawbacks but I have never had as much peace of mind.

2) Setting several alarms every night.

I usually have 3-4 alarms that go off between 1h 30m - 2h intervals every night.

By breaking up my awareness of sleep into segments I find it so much easier to get up in the morning feeling that I've slept for a long time.

I hated that feeling of waking up after 7hrs sleep feeling as if I've been sleeping for no more than 10 minutes.

3) Brush my teeth whilst taking a 5 minute power walk in my bedroom.

Nice burst of exercise before going to bed and my teeth have never been whiter :)

This falls under a host of other habit stacking things I do to combine tedious everyday activities.

Re: Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?

#750

Post by hitokx »

patrickk wrote: post #280
andrepd wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a hippie, but you do meditation and fasts... Okay, that came out a bit incisive. Do you have any scientific backing to support those claims? I'm especially interested in fasting. Not eating for 3 days a month does not seem especially healthy. Then I see the claim that it cures cancer and forgive me if all my alarm bells go off.

Anecdotal, I was like you, extremely skeptical of meditation. Seriously, try it, it's free! Immediate benefits: * Clear, focused mind. I stop hopping from topic to topic in my mind "oh should I tidy the apartment, work on my website, etc etc" to a far more focused state. What you should do next is there with extreme clarity. You stop reading random junk on the internet too, and get down to it * Much better sleep (thi…

What is the best time of the day to meditate? I used to do it right after I wake up, but I want to listen to other people's opinion on it.
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