Resolve
Every obstacle yields to stern resolve."
- Leonardo da Vinci
There has been a confluence of events in my life this summer, some large and some small. Together, they have created a quiet resolve to make early retirement really happen.
Assuming that a goal is realistically obtainable, the biggest determinant of success is usually motivation. For a lengthy project, a high level of resolve is at the same time both very easy and very hard. For example, you may decide you are going to exercise 30 minutes today, and assuming you don't have a medical condition preventing you from doing so, this should be quite easy to accomplish. However, suppose you decide you are going to exercise 30 minutes every day for the next year. Everyone knows that is not easy! Each new day presents you with the same small step that is easy to accomplish, but taken together as a whole year, the steps become hard.
Can I stick to a budget again for 5 more years? Can I endure my current employment for 5 more years? Can I resist tapping into my savings and blowing it on something for 5 more years? Can I remain absolutely disciplined in investing my savings for 5 more years?
Each day I can easily do those things, but as a whole, they sometimes look very hard. That tells me that in the end, if I fail, it will likely be that I simply didn't want it bad enough, and that is a sobering thought. Will I look back and see that I didn't want early retirement as much as I wanted a new car, a remodeled bathroom, or the thrill of a penny stock?
A few days ago, CNN/Money published an interview with a Nobel Prize winning psychologist who researches how and why people make investment decisions. When asked about money and happiness, he responded: "Happiness is determined by factors like your health, your family relationships and friendships, and above all by feeling that you are in control of how you spend your time." [emphasis added]
That is a very good description of what I am pursuing with my early retirement goals.
4 comments:
A thought provoking post!
I have exercised at least three times a week and more recently every day since I was about 20 years old. I achieved this by making it a priority. Its mainly will power. When exercising today seems impossible and the last thing you want to do, try just doing a little...more often than not you will have one of your best exercise sessions because you have just taken the pressure off. Vary your routine. Don't count on others. Staying fit is a loner's game.
I retired at 55, partly by dumb luck, and partly due to routines and habits that led me down that path. Create the opportunity and decide at that time.
When things get difficult think in terms of just today or just this week rather than the next 5 years. Live in the moment whenever possible.
We all have a certain amount of freedom in how we spend our time, even during the busiest of work days. Take time for yourself, even if just a minor thing like taking a 3 minute break when others insist on driving themselves crazy. Take time for yourself.
CM
Like most things, budgeting, controlling impulse spending and exercise are all behaviours that need to be practised until they become habit. Generally if you stick to your planned behaviour for at least 2-3 weeks you will become habituated, and it will be reasonably easy to maintain the desired behaviour.
One thing to bear in mind -you'll be budgeting and avoiding impulse for more than just the 5 years until retirement. You'll need to maintain this behaviour DURING you retirement. Otherwise you could end up looking for part-time work when you turn 50!
Regards
http://enoughwealth.com
Regarding exercise, I seem to suffer from inertia -- once I get into a routine, it just keeps going every day, often for several months. (An object in motion tends to stay in motion.) Then some event happens, like a brief illness or a vacation or something where I stop for a couple of days. Then the object at rest tends to stay at rest -- again, often for several months. I need to deal with the interruptions without completely losing momentum.
EW, your point is well taken on post-retirement budgeting. No matter how much you've saved, you always have the "opportunity" to blow it all. Sometimes I think impulse urges will be less after retirement, but that may be delusional thinking. It may just as well be the case that with additional time on your hands, the urge becomes stronger.
I have been retired 3 years and if anything it is harder to spend money now. Old habits are hard to break. If your careful with your money for many years before retirement I expect you will remain that way.
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