Too Much Time on My Hands
A while back, I came across an article entitled “These are the bad things about early retirement that no one talks about” (sic).
Although I haven’t (to my knowledge) retired, I have some firsthand experience, having successfully avoided working for 11 of the past 18 years. And I don’t think the article contains any significant revelations.
Let’s look at the author’s five main points about early retirement, before I tell you the meaningful lessons I’ve learned from taking time off.
You will suffer an identity crisis for an unknown period.
I think this only applies if you largely derive your identity from your employer. In a time when corporations offer zero loyalty to employees, identifying with an ephemeral job is a dangerous, outdated delusion.
Since I’ve always had a strong sense of personality outside the workplace, time off didn’t erode my identity. Instead, it gave me the opportunity and time to fully indulge in activities that I valued, which has been extremely rewarding.
You will be stuck in your head.
This problem will only arise if you cannot fill your free time with meaningful activities.
And even if you can’t, a little time for introspection is probably good for you. But free time usually amplifies our existing inclinations: if you are by nature content, in retirement you’ll find lots of contentment; whereas if you’re a doubtful or insecure type, you'll probably be plagued by lots of doubts and insecurities.
People will treat you like a weird misfit.
If you've lived a full life, you’re probably already used to stepping outside other people’s narrow-minded expectations of you.
But if you stayed comfortably “inside the box” that society expects, then don’t you think it’s high time you stepped out and tried life as a weird misfit? It’s a lot more interesting!
You’ll be disappointed that you aren’t much happier.
If you’re financially able to retire early, you've probably already discovered the importance of having rational expectations. But if not, let me clarify for you:
When you retire, you will have lots of free time and the ability to choose how you spend it. Unless you spend that time doing things that make you happy, you won’t be any happier in retirement than you were before.
You constantly wonder whether this is all there is to life.
Yes this is, in fact, all there is to life. And it’s a miracle! You have all the time in the world, financial security, complete freedom, and lots of resources to find how to make that time meaningful and rewarding. If you do nothing but sit on the couch waiting for the world to entertain you, you’re clearly doing it wrong!
So that’s my response to the author’s absurd early retirement handwringing. Let’s dismiss this amateur’s fear-mongering and talk about the real issues surrounding early retirement.
The inertia of rest is insidious.
To be fair, the article’s author kinda dances around this vital life lesson that everyone should bear in mind. Rest, comfort, and sticking with the familiar can be important elements of stability, and can help you break your enslavement to compulsive productivity. But rarely will they provide a sense of achievement, satisfaction, or lasting happiness. A rewarding life requires initiative and effort, not lethargy and passivity.
Manage your fear of running out of money.
There are probably a few people who don’t have to worry about money during their retirement, but for most of us managing our shrinking nest egg will be our single biggest preoccupation.
It’s important to spend time on financial planning, but it’s just as important to develop the emotional skill of setting those worries aside. Don’t fill all that hard-earned free time with worry, fretting, and panic.
Plan for medical expenses.
The biggest threat to our nest egg is healthcare. Unfortunately, our health-and the amount of money we need for it-are completely unknowable.
However, that doesn’t mean they’re unmanageable. As a reasonable person, you can soberly address the risks up front, become an informed consumer, obtain professional advice, stick to a plan, and cultivate the trust that you will be able to manage through whatever circumstances arise.
Find the right balance between thrift and indulgence.
Again with money! Though to be honest, these issues aren’t really about money itself, but about how you relate to it.
My point here is to find a way to relate to money that allows you to plan and feel secure about your future, while also putting your savings to use in service of your own happiness, whatever that looks like.
It might be travel; it might be charity; it might be assistance for your grandkids. But the important part is relating to your nest egg in a way that’s mature but not obsessive, and fulfilling but not shortsighted.
So there you have it. In a nutshell: take responsibility for how healthily you relate to your most precious resources: time, money, energy, and health.