People dream about retirement to be able to relax and have financial independence. To lounge in a beach, spoil their grandchildren, work for their passion or travel the world. People dream of retirement to be able to do what brings them unbridled joy and happiness.
But as of right now, we got to get back to our daily life. Our daily life which consists of commute, work politics, micro-managers, work stress, work de-stress, and deadlines.
Our managers expect us to be happy to arrive at work when we have to wake up 2-3 hours earlier from our shift schedule. We wake up early so we can be stuck at rush hour and be on time for work. We have to listen to their ramblings and pretend to care. Then we get to be micro-managed to do the same job that we’ve been doing for 3+ years. Like for some miraculous reason, something changed. After work, we get to experience another rush hour on our commute home. Then when we get home, we watch T.V. and buy food to de-stress from our stressful work life. We throw our stress to the T.V., games, spouse, children, or ourselves. Unfortunately, we can only do that until 10 pm because we have to get up early in an upbeat mood for our bosses the next day!
Why you should Retire Early:
We trade our time for money so we can be able to “live”. The sad part is most of us will continue to do it for 40 more years; some will never stop until they die. Most people will never truly “live”. Retire early because Retirement isn’t an age, it’s a financial status.
Are you enjoying your life now? If you don’t feel passion towards your job, you should aim to retire early. Stop trading your time for money. Live a life you want. Retire to stop working for money and start living for yourself.
1. Our time is limited and too precious to exchange for money
Would you be happy to sit in a box for 10 hours/day in a year for $100,000/year before tax? If you would, you’re basically a whore. Selling your time for money.
Budget your time wisely because it’s the only limited resource we have. It’s more expensive than money or any prestige. It’s the only thing people can’t get more of. Use your time for your beliefs and things that make you happy. Use your money to make money. Retirement isn’t an age, it’s a financial status.
2. It’s our human instinct to travel the world
We humans have a deeply curious nature. We want to explore and still be safe from the environment. With the help of technology, we can travel mostly everywhere in Earth. We can fly, sail, drive, and bike anywhere. To enjoy whale watching, or hiking the Appalachian Trail or Climbing Mt. Everest. The thrill of experiencing new stuff is always a blast.
3. Discover your principles and values but keep an open mind
Don’t self-identify with anything because once you believe we are and are not, we cannot overcome our avoidance and anxiety. We cannot change ourselves.
Don’t find yourself. I say never know who you are. Because that’s what keeps you striving and discovering. And it forces you to remain humble in your judgments and accepting of the difference in others.
4. Enjoy our community; meaning our family and friends
We spend too much time at work that we tend to forget about to give time to our family. Retiring early means that we get to spend more time with our spouse, kids, family and parents. We get to have more moments together that will become memories later.
“No amount of money or success can take the place of time spent with your family.”
5. Find value in life
Man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to go avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life. The greatest task for any person is to find meaning in his or her life. There are three possible sources for meaning: in work (doing something significant), in love (caring for another person), and in courage during difficult times.
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. If you’re doing work that inspires people and gets noticed, you will definitely find people that want to be a part of your team. Often the right person to hire is already within your friend or business network, or community. Reach out and ask for referrals or for people who are interested in the role you have on offer. You’ll often find you hire people who are your biggest advocates and already understand why you do what you do and your business ethos.
Conclusion
Personally, I don’t enjoy most of the social interactions at my job. People will bash other people like they are perfect and pretend they are best friends the next day. The boss may not be perfect but who is… they are just trying their best. I don’t care much about my current job other than the money because I don’t share the values of my coworkers and work politics. I’ll happily penny-pinch my retirement at 30-40s, to be able to enjoy my time in the world more. Creating and defining my life. Our time is exchanged for money so that we can use money to buy something else. In my case, I want to use my money to buy more money so I don’t have to waste my time to exchange for money.
To retire at 60s, is better than most but are you happy to exchange your time for money? You’d notice that some of your co-workers didn’t even hit retirement age. Your body is becoming frail and weaker. You have less time to travel. Your kids have grandkids now and you don’t want to be away from them. There’s a time for everything, you just have to decide when. Retirement isn’t an age, it’s a financial status.
