The Blog of a Man Who Plans to Retire at 37

[dex]

I think the resolution only happens when there's a significant life experience-- an unexpected buyout or mass layoff, a health crisis or even death (yours or family), or a major family problem (aging parents, kid delinquency). Suddenly it's too crazy to continue the "normal" routine-- life's priorities realign themselves, you get a different routine with perhaps some reflection time, and maybe you even catch up on sleep a little. Maybe you're spending too much time in waiting rooms (or emergency rooms) with plenty to think about. However it happens, you have more time to analyze the situation and the way becomes a little clearer. Perhaps at that point there are so many more significant problems that money isn't the issue it was allowed to be.
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This is an excellent point. (Note 3rd glass of wine). It is a little like the frog and the pan anology. (For those who do not know it: Put a frog into a pan of water and put on the heat. The frog will stay there and eventually be cooked. Have a pan of hot water and put a frog into it and it will jump out i.e. live.)

In some way it is more challenging/harder to leave a job where you don't have any negative issues and life is easy. I will use myself as an example - I make $150K/year without any pressure or overtime - TV in my office and 13 people that report to me to do the work. I could do this job until I was 90 without any problem. I have enough money to retire now. I'm planning on May of this year. And yet I feel the urge/need to put my resume together, contact a head hunter and see what I can get in the marketplace.

There are many individual issues to consider in the decision. I would guess that one issue is that we all share is the belief that we will not be dying/physical issues any time soon so we put off the decision. Also, we do not notice our physical and mental heath changing.

Another way of thinking about is from the point of war. Do those who join the armed forces during times of war think they will be the person to be killed and never enjoy life again? I don't think so; it will alway be the other guy. This is human nature. That is why it is the young who do it. It is those who are older and know what is to be lost by death or injury. Never again to enjoy the bliss of life or to have your options limited by injury.

The decision on RE is swimming against the stream of the mass of humanity and your past!

 

[wstu32]

nice post...even on your 3rd glass of wine.