Day 1 of the rest of my life....

[Hnicols]

Hard to believe but finally here! so much planning to get here, will need a few years to figure out what comes next. find myself between anticlimactic and anxious.

So today I took the polar bear plunge in lake George. So far I find ER cold.

 

[REWahoo]

So today I took the polar bear plunge in lake George. So far I find ER cold.

Don't worry, you'll warm to it in no time.

 

[Hnicols]

Don't worry, you'll warm to it in no time.

Hope I have 3 or 4 decades to try! Feels odd though after 30 years of running flat out and traveling non-stop to have no tomorrow "I've go to...."

 

[WB52]

Whoohoo! Congratulations.
So glad for you. What do you look forward to now that you are finally RE? Any short term goals or long term?
What was your "trigger" to declare FIRE?
I'm still not FIRE, so I really appreciate the encouragement of seeing others meet their goals and take the plunge. (Not necessarily into Lake George).

 

[eytonxav]

Congrats. Now you'll have more time to spend in or on Lake George. I went to school a little south of there, beautiful country, enjoy!

 

[Dawg52]

Come on, reward yourself. Congrats!

 

[Helen]

Congratulations! I am truly happy for you as that is quite an accomplishment. Enjoy!

 

[Chuckanut]

Congratulations! You are an inspiration to me. If in doubt, then just follow this advice....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up_G3lxdyP0

 

[Hnicols]

Whoohoo! Congratulations.
So glad for you. What do you look forward to now that you are finally RE? Any short term goals or long term?
What was your "trigger" to declare FIRE?
I'm still not FIRE, so I really appreciate the encouragement of seeing others meet their goals and take the plunge. (Not necessarily into Lake George).

I think you eventually have to decide to just do it and not get to caught up in forever planning. I really liked my job, was the boss, and got paid lots. But as the years slipped by I realized that this could be it and i could do it forever. Not that that would be terrible, but I believe we only get one ride in life and I want "something" more. So I started to plan an exit only to find it almost impossible to settle on "what next," with the result that I rode this career a few years longer. I finally decided that I needed to stop plotting all of the future and instead just set a date to start living in the future.

Not a lot of logic to that but I was taught that when Cortez came to conquer the new world he had no plan. Instead, he borrowed from the lore of the Greeks, and when his boats landed on the strange shore his first order to his troops was "burn the boats." Knowing that there was no way back, the landing party had to find a way forward. A historic application of making necessity in order to mother invention.

My translation of that lesson ( which is likely historically inaccurate) was that if I waited for a plan to form I would never act. So I spent the last few months burning the boats. Now we will plan because necessity leaves me no choice. But at least initially i plan to plan only 5 or 6 months at a time. So on to new adventures!

 

[Moemg]

Congratulations ! I found when I retired a new life took awhile to form with only a little planning . I live in Florida so my idea of a Polar bear plunge would be the Atlantic in august !

 

[kz]

Congrats. Hope you have a wild ride!

 

[mystang52]

Congrtas - I am jealous. I just got back from a Caribbean cruise and kept thinking how I wish I didn't have to go back to work. Enjoy your new life stage!

 

[MichaelB]

Hope I have 3 or 4 decades to try! Feels odd though after 30 years of running flat out and traveling non-stop to have no tomorrow "I've go to...."

It does feel kind of funny, but pretty soon you find out "I've got to ..." gets replaced by "I don't have to..." and then "I want to...", and "let me think about this some more". "What's the rush?" as well.
My favorite response, though, is when someone asks "do you know what time it is?" "uhhh, no."

 

[Dreamer]

Congrats! Hope that you enjoy your new life.

 

[bruce1]

Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened! Breathe life as if it were your last breath.

Four and a half years in and I am having a great ride! Nothing like I would have planned. Way Better.

YES!!

Edit: Activity, exercise and interacting with people are your friends. TV and stagnation are not. Moderation in all things. YMMV

 

[Midpack]

It does feel kind of funny, but pretty soon you find out "I've got to ..." gets replaced by "I don't have to..." and then "I want to...", and "let me think about this some more". "What's the rush?" as well.
My favorite response, though, is when someone asks "do you know what time it is?" "uhhh, no."

Funny. So far I am not having trouble answering what day it is, but I hear I may lose track of time and day eventually...

 

[Marathoner]

Congratulations! I am nowhere near FIRE, but I love reading this board for the inspirational stories.

 

[Koolau]

Funny. So far I am not having trouble answering what day it is, but I hear I may lose track of time and day eventually...

I have less problem with what time it is - I still wear a watch out of habit and because we do orient our daily lives to a certain extent (lots of Dr. visits unfortunately). But, oddly, I do occasionally forget the date (not the day). YMMV

 

[Retch The Grate]

congrats

 

[Moscyn]

Congrats! What a good start to a new year!

 

[Hnicols]

Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened! Breathe life as if it were your last breath.

Four and a half years in and I am having a great ride! Nothing like I would have planned. Way Better.

YES!!

Edit: Activity, exercise and interacting with people are your friends. TV and stagnation are not. Moderation in all things. YMMV

Sounds good, but you are talking to someone that so far has lived and survived by the code of "everything to excess". So at least for a while I am going to adopt the philosophy of "you rode hard, now play hard"!

 

[bruce1]

Sounds good, but you are talking to someone that so far has lived and survived by the code of "everything to excess". So at least for a while I am going to adopt the philosophy of "you rode hard, now play hard"!

You will know what is right for you. Everyone is different.

 

[ohyes]

Earlier this week, our state newspaper listed New Year's resolutions of sundry individuals. A judge's included, To set a new world record for having fun.


Sounds like a great retirement resolution.

 

[flyfishnevada]

I think you eventually have to decide to just do it and not get to caught up in forever planning. I really liked my job, was the boss, and got paid lots. But as the years slipped by I realized that this could be it and i could do it forever. Not that that would be terrible, but I believe we only get one ride in life and I want "something" more. So I started to plan an exit only to find it almost impossible to settle on "what next," with the result that I rode this career a few years longer. I finally decided that I needed to stop plotting all of the future and instead just set a date to start living in the future.

Good advice! How long can you do anything. Don't say retirement. That is a state in which anything is possible. Jobs get old. At some point, good situation or bad, it's time to move on.

Congrats!