Ask HN: What is something important I should start doing in my 20s?
Something I should do in my 20's which will have good impact on my future.
Also things I should NOT to do in my 20's.
I am looking for all types of stuff - personal, professional, etc.
Thanks
159 comments
[ 4.6 ms ] story [ 254 ms ] threadBody weight is determined by calories in vs calories out. Eat less calories than you burn, body weight goes down, eat more, body weight goes up.
Body composition is determined by exercise and diet. Lift weights and get enough protein, muscle mass increases. Run marathons and don't get enough protein, muscle mass decreases.
In general, compound movements like squats, deadlifts, pullups, presses etc should be preferred over isolation movements like crunches. Crunches are kind of a pointless exercise, even for working out your abs.
Your current weight is a functional aggregate of the surplus calories which consists of many factors that can't immediately be measured (yet). The "Calories in, Calories out" belief which is based on very sketchy evidence (i.e. try tracking down where that came from some time) breaks down for anyone suffering from chronic obesity.
Body Composition - (i.e. Body Fat percentage), is determined by exercise, diet, and overall health which may include factors like inflammation (allergies), liver function, vitamin levels, thyroid levels, whether they have been poisoned (lead, mercury) etc).
Most people have one or more of these issues and metabolism is dynamic. It can speed up or slow down based on gene expression which is often influenced in part by exercise but mostly food (diet).
The assumptions you make about exercising aren't necessarily true when you have a health factor and that may not be immediately determinable, or even diagnose-able in some cases. I've known quite a few people that were picture perfect health medically (according to tests) except for uncontrollable weight gain, and had to go through multiple strict elimination diets to identify the culprits.
Some people will simply gain weight regardless of the calorie count if they are sensitive to a type food (or additive like canola/soy oil). There are tons of additives in commercial food these day that aren't even necessarily listed.
As an example, commercial pork doesn't brown correctly when cooked compared to meat you spice and grind yourself and its not MSG. Pork you grind and cook yourself looks almost like the light brown of a breaded chicken steak, compare that with the dark browning you get from commercial pork breakfast sausage.
Body conditioning is important, but exercise plays a very small role compared to overall diet. I know people that have gone on 800-1000 calorie/day diets (medically supervised) for half a year and consistently maintained or even gained weight so the whole idea of calories in calories out is just ludicrous.
Get a working holiday visa in Canada, australia, Japan or UK. Go live.
don't spend 4 or more years in college unless you need it for immigration reasons. if you do end up doing this sort of thing, use it as a time to cultivate lifelong friendships with worthwhile people.
a lot of the time this advice is given to people who are paying higher rates on debt, which also seems troubling.
Speaking of debt (to more directly answer OP's question), pay off your credit card, in full, every month. If you can't do that, you need to adjust your lifestyle downward until you can.
What do you mean?
Just having the energy and stamina to keep up with your kids is hard, gets harder as your body slows down, and gets really hard when your parents get older and have their own health problems. My mother-in-law went from being able watch the kids when we needed to, to no longer being able to drive because of a stroke and needing to be taken to therapy three times a week.
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind
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.
The key is knowing that you're using a tool. It seems to me that many people just start borrowing, the same way they suddenly start being attracted to the opposite sex. "Oh, it's just a mortgage, and house prices go up." "It's just my second credit card, of course I can pay it off in three weeks."
Good debt is a conscious decision, made when there's a strategy, not as a default path. Overall, it seems prudent to ask people in general to not go into debt, so they are more willing to think it through. Rather than just going with the flow because the store clerk said "you can walk out of here with both the jewelry and a credit card with a $20k limit!"
It can obviously be a bit hard on the body and you should avoid getting addicted to alcohol or other substances, but I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with it..
This is basically what I'm referring to. I had a lot of fun partying and I think it was a great way to network and to mature socially, However, I admit that I did have a couple scary moments in that I almost died from doing too much, or I realized I was addicted and had to go through a period of withdrawals.
I was a hardcore party type in my 20'. Some say that I overdid it but I have no regrets. I am now in my 40' and still party.
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. You will look good (you won't look like a meathead), feel good, and your bones and heart will stay strong into middle age as your peers get fat and unhealthy.
If I did cardio instead of weightlifting I would waste away. I do also ride bikes for fun so I do get some cardio.
For many, cardio is also boring as hell, and weightlifting is a better long term solution as you are more engaged and motivated.
It is pretty thorough in suggesting why weightlifting (or rather; resistance training) is more important than endurance/cardio. In summary: they train different muscle types, and the anaerobic types age worse than e.g. the heart, so it's better to focus on that. They do suggest that you complement it with some cardio exercise, but it's a side gig rather than focus.
[1] https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/34823846-the-barbell-...
Going to 24hour Fitness, and getting training sessions from those folks...not worth.
Finding a strength coach at a powerlifting/weightlifting gym...probably worth.
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.
You don't need to hire someone to explain good nutrition, sleep, etc. Does it help? Absolutely. But necessary? No. There's so much amazing content on the internet. Especially when you see how little training the average personal trainer is required to undergo. Someone truly competent will run you close a $100 an hour.
When I started training I couldn't afford a gym membership so primarily did bodyweight training at home, so a trainer was just completely off the radar as an option.
Sure, once I could afford the gym I could train a lot better, and the may have neen true if I could afford a trainer on top, but I couldn't.
There are many beginner friendly lifting resources online, and communities who will help you review videos of your lifts without needing a specific trainer.
Exercise - helps you think better, helps you feel better, helps you emotionally. Find something you like doing - I do power lifting and yoga - and get in the habit of doing it daily.
Explore - odds are your career isn’t really going to take off until your late 20s at the earliest, because frankly until then you’re just not going to be very good. Spend the time to learn everything you can from everyone you can and try anything you can - experience now pays dividends later. Accept that you’re young and inexperienced, be humble, don’t pretend you know what you’re doing when you don’t, and you’ll come out of this decade miles ahead of where you start.
Oh, and - you’ve got 60 years ahead of you, statistically speaking. Probably no more, probably no less. Plan accordingly.
This is probably the last two kinds of sports I would combine. Especially if you are serious about any of them. You could really hurt your back down the line.
Generally powerlifters shouldn't do yoga [1]. Because in powerlifting you really want to stiffen your back so it can handle heavy weights. In yoga you are trying to "unstiffen" your spine so you can get into those flexible positions.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFoYpaHJXMo&t=740s
It's also worth doing the same for things at work. Having a few stories written down about features you've implemented or bugs you've fixed may help you get through a few interviews.
[1] https://jake.museum
Learn as much as you can.
Be curious.
Start investing early.
Read. This will get you an edge against most people today.
Enjoy life.
Be kind.
cringe
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.
And don't forget to enjoy the results of the above. :)
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.
I agree with what you are saying, it's essential to do non-screen stuff to remind ourselves we are still human.
Chase your passions at the moment you have them. One day you will wake up and your heart has moved on.
Here are some things that may help your quality of life several decades from now.
Financial health:
* Start saving a large chunk of your income and invest it wisely in assets that will provide value over the long term. Avoid get rich quick schemes.
Physical health:
* Exercise everyday, preferably for a minimum of 30 minutes (it doesn't have to be a single session).
* Eat well, meaning, you can eat in tasty and highly indulgent foods, but develop the habit to eat more of whole and unprocessed/minimally processed foods.
* Related to the previous point, cooking is a life skill that will help manage your budget and health better. Learn to cook and try to cook at least one meal a day, if not all meals for the day.
* Sleep well and rest well during your waking hours.
Mental health:
* Related to the point about sleep and rest, try to regularly review your interactions online and offline, and cut off those that are not productive or those that make you feel worse, increase stress, etc. Good relationships can uplift you a lot, and bad relationships can make every other achievement pointless.
* Try out meditation, and if you're sure about your mental health, try a meditation retreat (even once is enough for a different perspective).
* It's natural to get extremely angry and upset about many things in this world. Practice some detachment if possible (this depends on your background and situation).
Odds and ends:
* Measure and track what you value. Without measurement, you won't realize how far you've reached or how far you've deviated from your desired states.
* Enjoy life through whatever provides you joy. Don't get guilt tripped by others on this front.
* Though related to health, I'm keeping this for the last since it may be very controversial. Avoid or drastically minimize the consumption of alcohol, smoking, and also caffeine if you can. The accumulated damage from these over decades cannot be reversed (well, if you have good genes, then it's a different matter).
-- SJ
- Start seeing a dentist every ~6 months. You won't have any issues for many years, so you may think that it's wasted time/money, but one day things will start going downhill and you will be prepared. Note that many tooth or gum issues cannot be reversed.
- As someone else mentioned, don't be afraid to experiment. You will mostly regret the things you haven't done, not the other way around.
- Take care of yourself, try to stay fit, but don't worry about the things you do wrong too much.
This used to be great advice.
I 1000% agree with you on avoiding unnecessary expenses. Until you get a few million in the bank your greatest wealth building tool is your income so be wise in how you deploy it.
Best advise I have is have a budget, try and save 20% of your GROSS, 10% to retirement the rest non retirement accounts.
Beware of what you put into your mouth. Too much chocolate/sugar? To much acid/citrus? Take care. Take things in moderation.