3 ms·

The single most important skill I have ever learned is how to take care of myself. When you feel like shit, you won't want to do anything. When you lose your

by edw519 14y ago

The single most important skill I have ever learned is how to take care of myself. When you feel like shit, you won't want to do anything. When you lose your health, you won't be able to do anything. (I've been a professional programmer out of college for over 30 years and I feel like I'm still 25, doing my best work ever.) I remember the exact moment in college I was made aware of the critical need to do this. I was eating a PB&J on white bread in our kitchen when one of my fraternity brothers (a jock and a health nut) saw me and yelled, "Save your life! Save your life!" "What the hell are you talking about?" I asked him. "Don't eat white bread. Read 'The Save Your Life Diet'" So I read the book and have never looked back. I have read many other health related books since then, but it's not their contents that made the difference, it's the mindset I developed that has. College is the time when this appears to make the least sense. You can eat or drink almost anything, go without exercise, and develop bad habits and still feel fine. But it really is the best time to lay the framework for a lifetime of good health. It's the time when you'll be able to experiment and learn the most about yourself and what works and what doesn't. And make no mistake about it: this is stuff you must learn and practice; it does not come naturally. I have and I'm so glad that I did. I have watched so many of my contemporaries gain hundreds of pounds and accept a lifetime of ailments as inevitable, while gradually retiring to the sofa. It doesn't have to be this way! Learn how to take care of yourself now or all the "skills" in the world won't matter when you most need them in the future. Specifically: - Learn how to eat. - Establish your best lifetime exercise habits. - Learn what to avoid (or accept in small doses). - Adopt a healthy mindset. - Learn to embrace fresh air & water & good sleep - Most of all, do all of the above no matter what anyone else says or does. I'm so glad I ate that PB&J on white bread at that moment in that place. Who knows what sofa I'd be sitting on with my TV & junk food & prescription meds instead of doing great work and hanging out with you guys here.

theorique 14y ago
Probably not what OP was asking, but some of the most important advice a person can get!
hnriot 14y ago
While it's pretty obvious you should live a healthy life, sadly, life will also throw things your way that no amount of lifestyle can protect you from. Taking care of yourself is 50% lifestyle and 50% luck, and unfortunately that split shifts unfavorably with every passing year. Ailments are inevitable, no matter what you eat, or how much exercise you do.
- enraged_camel 14y ago
  >>Taking care of yourself is 50% lifestyle and 50% luck, and unfortunately that split shifts unfavorably with every passing year. Ailments are inevitable, no matter what you eat, or how much exercise you do. While some things are definitely out of your control - you may get hit by a drunk driver tomorrow and be incapacitated, for example - your lifestyle can protect you from a lot of the randomness out there. I would say the percentage in the Western world is more like 95% to 5% [1]. You mention ailments, but ever since I started exercising and eating right several years ago, I haven't gotten sick at all beyond some headaches here and there, and one instance of food poisoning. Before that happened, I would catch cold on a regular basis because my immune system was weak. [1]Now, this would probably be different if we were living in, say, Congo, where the environment is a lot more chaotic and individuals have a lot less control over their own well-being.
burningion 14y ago
I think this advice can be extrapolated out too. Get to know yourself, and understand what motivates you, what makes you happy. Read the Happiness Hypothesis to get an idea for what contributes to a persons actual happiness. The most successful, happy people are those who can manage themselves properly. And as for the basics of happiness, it's very simple: - have some autonomy over what you work on - have a social group of friends you spend time with - exercise - eat well - meditate or do cognitive therapy - spend time in nature I try to do something from every piece every day. Finding a balance and forcing myself to do a piece from each has helped me prevent burnout for over 9 months now, and has made me happier than ever.

by edw519 14y ago

theorique 14y ago

Probably not what OP was asking, but some of the most important advice a person can get!

hnriot 14y ago

While it's pretty obvious you should live a healthy life, sadly, life will also throw things your way that no amount of lifestyle can protect you from. Taking care of yourself is 50% lifestyle and 50% luck, and unfortunately that split shifts unfavorably with every passing year. Ailments are inevitable, no matter what you eat, or how much exercise you do.

enraged_camel 14y ago
>>Taking care of yourself is 50% lifestyle and 50% luck, and unfortunately that split shifts unfavorably with every passing year. Ailments are inevitable, no matter what you eat, or how much exercise you do. While some things are definitely out of your control - you may get hit by a drunk driver tomorrow and be incapacitated, for example - your lifestyle can protect you from a lot of the randomness out there. I would say the percentage in the Western world is more like 95% to 5% [1]. You mention ailments, but ever since I started exercising and eating right several years ago, I haven't gotten sick at all beyond some headaches here and there, and one instance of food poisoning. Before that happened, I would catch cold on a regular basis because my immune system was weak. [1]Now, this would probably be different if we were living in, say, Congo, where the environment is a lot more chaotic and individuals have a lot less control over their own well-being.

burningion 14y ago

I think this advice can be extrapolated out too. Get to know yourself, and understand what motivates you, what makes you happy. Read the Happiness Hypothesis to get an idea for what contributes to a persons actual happiness. The most successful, happy people are those who can manage themselves properly. And as for the basics of happiness, it's very simple: - have some autonomy over what you work on - have a social group of friends you spend time with - exercise - eat well - meditate or do cognitive therapy - spend time in nature I try to do something from every piece every day. Finding a balance and forcing myself to do a piece from each has helped me prevent burnout for over 9 months now, and has made me happier than ever.