It’s easy to ignore the dangers of achieving financial independence (FI). Most never even consider the potential downside. And for good reason. The benefits of achieving FI overshadow any concerns.
FI liberates from many burdens. We will get old one day and be unable to work. We may hate our job and look forward to being free from the tyranny of a nine to five routine. Or, we may have a passion to pursue something that won’t support us financially.
These reasons and more are why we encourage one another to follow a formula that will get us to FI.
It’s doesn’t have to be complicated. I encourage others to invest in themselves to maximize income early, live below their means, invest in low-cost diversified index funds, manage taxes wisely and give it time to let compounding work.
My concern: we don’t do enough talking about the dangers we face once we achieve FI.
For example, I try to talk to a lot of retirees, or near retirees, to learn what troubles them most. Perhaps the biggest fear, besides money and health issues, is boredom without a job.
Steve Jobs gave one of the greatest commencement speeches ever in 2008. His final words to the Stanford graduating class were, “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.”
I think the message he gave those young graduates is also appropriate to those of us who have managed to achieve some measure of FI, or even retirement. Why should we stay hungry when our brokerage account says we can relax?
The short answer is FI does not provide purpose in life. It only supports our aspirations. To fail to grasp that point is what the Bible calls falling into the “deceitfulness of wealth.”
Living in Montana, I see some extreme forms of a tendency to turn inward once FI is achieved. Some people just don’t want to be bothered and find a remote place in the mountains. Some live off the grid. They don’t want interaction with others, or change in any way.
But for most of us, we want to stay engaged in life even if we are no longer working. How do we do that? Here are three suggestions.
First, you might be able to observe whether someone who is FI is suffering from boredom by looking at their desk. If it’s clean and well ordered, the likelihood of a bored FI person is high compared to the life that exudes from the cluttered desk full of books and papers.
Right now, I’m working on writing a book on retirement. My desk has books, articles and notes all over it. It looks like chaos to anyone who walks by it, but it represents the joy of learning and discovering to me.
I love the new insights, or the challenges to my own thinking, from the writings of others. It’s a love of learning and creativity that shouldn’t have to end with retirement from a career. In fact, with the extra time, learning and creativity can explode if we manage it.
But don’t take my word for it. Albert Einstein defended his messy desk this way, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”
Mark Twain, Steve Jobs, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien are just a few other creative names who made their world changing marks while working behind chaotic desks.
It’s not just anecdotal either. Researchers at both Northwestern University and the University of Minnesota studied the connection and reached the same conclusion. In summary, they found those they studied in messy rooms drew more creativity and were quicker at solving creativity problems.
To be clear, if you’re a clean freak, I’m not trying to pick on you to justify my messy desk. I am suggesting we should all strive to fill our minds with content that maintains the joy of learning and creating in our life before and after FI.
Second, consider Matt Ridley’s unique observation about how innovation occurs. His comment, “Innovation occurs when ideas have sex.” In other words, it’s very rare to find innovation the result of one person having a Eureka! moment. Instead, it is the sharing of ideas in community that creates the environment for innovation.
What are the take-aways for those in FI? We thrive as humans when we are in community sharing ideas and absorbing them. There is a synthesis that results from getting outside of our own castle or echo chamber. Deep conversations with others who don’t think like us are where we are most likely to continue growing.
Third, consider Tevye, the father in the musical Fiddler on the Roof. As a father, I relate to him as he struggled with his daughters going against tradition.
His first daughter broke the tradition by finding a husband without using the matchmaker. The second daughter got a husband who did not ask permission of Tevye, also breaking tradition. In both cases, Tevye consider the pros and cons of the marriages and blessed the departure from tradition.
Open minded, careful consideration of the arguments stretched him, but did not break him. He was a better man for his openness. However, Tevye had a breaking point. He would not bless his third daughter marrying outside the faith. Certainly, we need to be unbending on some issues too, but exhibit an openness to change in the nonessentials.
John Maynard Keynes, a famous British economist, was once accused by a high-profile government official of evolving in his opinions. I think his answer is instructive for those of us with FI who may get to set in our ways. His response, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”
Joe Kesler
HI Joe, great insights. I think complacency in approaching/achieving retirement is a fierce opponent. Feeling like you have finished instead of just starting a new adventure lead to complacency for me. Luckily I had family and friends who needed support both physically and mentally so I did not reside in the “finished” category very long! Staying hungry for me is continuing to learn and evolving into someone I’d rather be than who I am today. I like who I am now but I am pretty sure I can become someone who is a better person tomorrow or next year! Learning has always left me hungry for more. In retirement, my focus in learning has shifted greatly to a much wider range of topics. Thanks for keeping me thinking and learning, I appreciate your insight!
Thanks Brian. I like your vision of staying hungry to continue evolving and growing in this new chapter. Great goal for all of us to think about how we can continue that process and not stagnate. Appreciate the comment as I think I wrote this more to myself as the SMWP community. Good to hear others share the same goal.
I planned to work part time when I retired. I do work, but not where I thought I would work. The facts changed so I changed
Great points, as always, Joe! And a very sobering warning to those of us who have achieved FI. Money can’t buy happiness, but it can finance the illusion thereof. Financial independence doesn’t mean independence from what God has created and enabled us to do; we still need to be faithful in the service opportunities that he gives us. And yes, I’m preaching to myself here.