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Word of advice: don't read a lot of HN and Reddit, especially not first thing in the morning. It can leave you feeling burned out and depressed. Do your best t

Word of advice: don't read a lot of HN and Reddit, especially not first thing in the morning. It can leave you feeling burned out and depressed. Do your best to try and apply the things you've learned to your current job, and devote only some of your free time to stay up-to-date with things. Use the rest of your free time on some hobbies. This approach should boost your confidence in your abilities a bit. When the time comes that you feel especially inspired, use this to get into something like a hobby project or explore a new language. Over time, dedication to learning will pay off, but you will also need to cross this barrier and say, "Hello, I'm Damon, and I'm actually pretty damn good at this thing.". A lot of advice on the internet says the best way to strike a good job is to be networked in the valley... as if everyone can just do that. So I feel your pain there, but it's still possible to break out if you keep your focus and don't let the circumstances get the better of you. You need to believe in yourself and build your self-esteem step by step. So, work on bettering yourself (this includes self-esteem, health), instead of trying to get into "a circle".

noir_lord 10y ago
> Word of advice: don't read a lot of HN and Reddit, especially not first thing in the morning. It can leave you feeling burned out and depressed. I found this to be incredibly true, both communities (or at least a subset) have the ability to focus on the negative of pretty much anything, someone posts "I did awesome thing in X" and you'll get a few "great, thanks for posting this, it's really useful" and an ocean of "You shouldn't use X, X is bad and you should feel bad". It can be mentally sapping if you don't have your guard up.
mclovinit 10y ago
This. Adversity makes or breaks. Even if it breaks, you can still rise from the ashes. It's best to not let unhealthy thoughts drive you forward. Small pet projects are great. Who cares if they take months to complete. Setup reminders for yourself to always keep your pet projects fun and reward yourself when you complete a small part. Making these associations is important. Otherwise, the exercise becomes pointless. I started out in my career with low self-esteem. Now even when I stand anywhere halfway between the shit and the fan, I can come out smelling like roses. This is especially true in groups which come with their own political challenges.

noir_lord 10y ago

> Word of advice: don't read a lot of HN and Reddit, especially not first thing in the morning. It can leave you feeling burned out and depressed. I found this to be incredibly true, both communities (or at least a subset) have the ability to focus on the negative of pretty much anything, someone posts "I did awesome thing in X" and you'll get a few "great, thanks for posting this, it's really useful" and an ocean of "You shouldn't use X, X is bad and you should feel bad". It can be mentally sapping if you don't have your guard up.

mclovinit 10y ago

This. Adversity makes or breaks. Even if it breaks, you can still rise from the ashes. It's best to not let unhealthy thoughts drive you forward. Small pet projects are great. Who cares if they take months to complete. Setup reminders for yourself to always keep your pet projects fun and reward yourself when you complete a small part. Making these associations is important. Otherwise, the exercise becomes pointless. I started out in my career with low self-esteem. Now even when I stand anywhere halfway between the shit and the fan, I can come out smelling like roses. This is especially true in groups which come with their own political challenges.