I have faced several instances where I wished I knew something before I started Competitive Programming.
Here's a thread compiling the things I wish I knew before starting CP.
1/6
I started CP with Python and Java. It was only sometime later I realized C++ should be the go to language for my CP journey, as the TLEs thrashed my submissions.
Though one can do wonders with Python and Java too, I just didn't want the hassle of unnecessary TLEs, at all.
2/6
When I started CP in 2019, I had no clue about CP communities run by high rated CPers. I realized their importance when I joined one, and my daily productivity boosted by a huge factor.
I ended up creating my own community after becoming CM, which now houses 14000 members.
3/6
My first 5 contests, all had negative deltas. Did that mean I was putting less effort? Maybe. Was I on the wrong track? Definitely not.
One needs to know that when they start something new, they might not have positive gains at all, as it's just the beginning.
4/6
The most common mistake people make is that they learn stuff topic-wise to implement in problem solving. The real case should be the exact opposite - Solving problems to learn stuff.
5/6
