Analysis Paralysis-Is too much information giving you excuses?

[hmrambling]

I grew up with parents who believed that good enough really was good enough. If I said I was going to ride my bike 100 miles, they didn’t need to know the training plan, the average pace, or what it involved. They expected me to come back having done it. I could’ve been the slowest person out there, and they still would’ve been proud because I finished what I said I’d do.

Anytime I start dragging my feet, I remind myself: just get it done. Set a goal, stick to it, and don’t move the finish line.

My parents had a somewhat different philosophy. They encouraged us to strive for excellence and to be among the best, at least in some areas of our lives.

I was quite surprised when I came to this country and saw situations where kids were ranked in competition from 1 to 10 out of 30. It was a very different approach from what I had experienced growing up, where the emphasis was often on competing for the top 3 positions. No one was mentioned beyond that.

I’ve found that the good enough mindset actually gave me the confidence to try things without the fear of not being perfect. That freedom to start is what pushed me into some of the biggest accomplishments of my life including marathon races, century rides, and even my career and retirement planning.

I’m never going to be a Tadej Pogača or a C‑suite executive, but I’ve still done things most people never attempt. For me, that’s the whole point: finishing what I start matters more than being the absolute best at it.

One of the factors driving uncertainty: many folks reach retirement with a portfolio loaded with stocks, supplemented with a few low-yield traditional bond funds that are only there to stop them from being 100% in stocks. So they are forced to be serial sellers of assets to fund retired life. I'd be nervous too about such an uncertain future.
Regards, Dick

Guilty as charged, except that I'm not making withdrawals. How would your analysis differ with investors with such portfolios, whose annual withdrawal rate is 0% or something negligible like 0.5%?

Also guilty as charged by having a portfolio loaded with stocks, supplemented with a few low-yield traditional bond funds that are only there to stop them from being 100% in stocks. Does it matter that I have a pension and won't rely solely on my investments for retirement?

 

[reneeh63]

...

Where some of us struggle (or struggled) with early retirement, is that we lucked into jobs well beyond our station. We got over-promoted, or found an inimitable plum niche. Give that up, and there's no going back. Maybe a fellow lives in a dying town, but scored a job with the only major employer in town in the 1980s. Retire from that, and there's no possibility of a second job. None. Is our hero absolutely sure that he's done working? OMY is so much easier as the default choice.

...

Thanks for acknowledging that even smart people can still luck out and go beyond what they might have - the tendency toward hubris is always there.