FI, happiness, mid-life crisis & depression

This short film really touches on the subject. If you’re just waiting for retirement (not only FIRE) and then you’re done, then you run into the risk of falling into a trap. We all need something to look forward to and to get challenged by.

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I recommend this video on this topic

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I like this video alot. lets have the next ZH meetup on this topic :smiley: I’d be so curious on what would be on everybody’s Priority list and get inspired myself :slight_smile:
I recently quit my job because it made me miserable. And the time now without a job I intentionally spent on finding out what (job) makes me happy, so i can pursue it. Kinda temporary- FIRE :smiley:

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Awesome idea!

Get inspired is one thing, but I’d love to talk about these things to clarify what I truly want. There are so many contradictory things that I’m pursuing in my life. It’s really hard to destill it to a consistent idea of a good life.

Excellent choice. I always convince people to quit their jobs. All the good things that happened in my career are due to quitting jobs. Before I felt ashamed of it as a job hopper. Now I’m proud of it, especially after I discovered this article from Mad Fientist:

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Genuine question: Are we talking about a FI depression or is it the middle-life crysis?

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Well, I think neither me, nor @nugget are mid-life, but to seriously answer your question, I think both are relevant. I think FI is so much more than just tips about savings and investing - or at least FI is a gateway to so much more in life, and this, in my humble opinion, should be discussed. Most people I know don’t have a perfect life, a lot of people I know are not happy with their life, and few of my friends suffer from chronic depression. Discussion about meaning and happiness might be not directly related to finances, but I think FI is one of the tools that - if used properly - can help solving these existential problems.

PS. If you want, we can change the name of the thread to something else - like “FI, happiness, mid-life crisis & depression” or something like that.

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@1000000CHF interesting topic and contributions, I also think that happiness or whatever drives us towards the FI goal (everyone of us has - or has had - a different propeller) is well worth talking about and for me more interesting than the usual chat about AA, passive funds, TER etc…

In my case, I can also define myself mid-life then I think I thick most of the boxes ! :rofl:

Could even consider a daily transfer from Geneva for a specific meetup/apero if the date works (no friday) and I find a cheap ticket !

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Especially when you’re passive investor and you feel figured out the basics two years ago. The focus changes to other challenges.

I’m glad you have the courage to speak about it openly!

That’s cool! I’d love to meet and talk as well on some meetup.

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Lately I’ve listened to podcast interview with Daniel Kahneman (one of the greatest psychologists and one of my favourite authors):

He talked about interesting thing. He said people seek life satisfaction (aka success, money, prestige, etc) rather than (daily) happiness, which is more social - it’s basically spending time with people we love. It seems people want tell themselves better stories about their life in comparison to other people. People sacrifice happiness for money because money is a proxy for success (which makes us satisfied with our lives). So it seems that there’s trade-off to be made: either we want to feel more positive on day to day basis, or we went more to feel positive about our life story and in comparison to others. Thus to be more happy we have to resist our natural drive to improve our life story and to compare ourselves with others, and instead employ that time, attention and energy into socializing.

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Some of my tricks here:
We go shopping by train to Jestetten every 3 months (I have a GA), with 2 big suitcases. It takes all in all 4 hours.
We buy only dry food and hygiene products that we store for months in the cellar (2 m2 max of surface - we play Tetris :rofl:)
We do not buy much processed food
we barely waste food
We buy all fresh products in Switzerland (Migros and farms) once or twice a week (except bread on a daily basis)

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Hey @ElMago
Thanks for your recommendations! I actually went and bought Why We Sleep because of your recommendation and really enjoyed it. Just thought I’d say thanks, and I encourage everyone else to look into it too. It completely changed my perception of the importance of a good night sleep.

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Glad to hear and I wish you the grit to stick to it.

Another one that I start to appreciate more the more I read in it is James Clear and his book Atomic Habits. Key insight: Identify as a person who does what you desire. E.g. „I‘m someone who sleeps enough.“

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Isn’t the book somewhat controversial (not really backed by science)? (e.g. https://guzey.com/books/why-we-sleep/)

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I found a quote recently that was 100% in line with this topic:

Here’s a thing I’ve learned: The terrible thing about [publishing a book/getting your dream job/starting a new relationship/etc] is you wake up the next morning and you’re still you. If you’re not happy where you’re at, no external accomplishment is going to change that.

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I have a feeling that you did not face with real challenge in real life so far. You do not have a clue what does real big trouble mean because you have never been in to one. When I read your comments I can only conclude that all your problem is that you don’t have a problem. Just like in the monoplast experiment, where the monoplasts have been placed out surrounded by all the ideal living conditions and they died out because there was no challenge. This is approx… the only problem for the developed world. You do not feel happy by drinking water because it is easy access. Go and live in the desert for a week or so and you will immediately understand what makes your life complete again. Otherwise just fool yourself and keep writing silly here.

Thanks to consumer idiocy, which is a symbol of modernity, the ego-centric mindset of patients and forms of life with depressive loneliness are gaining ground. Another words: I, Myself & Me Me Me

I’m not sure who you’re responding to, but regardless I don’t think this kind of tone is appropriate on the forum.

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Maybe this is his way to express his happiness :smile:

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It is my overall feeling, responding to the comments. Reading people not being happy or not knowing how to be like happy,etc…not having any real problem either, just gave me the impression what my granny told all the time for those people with the same attidude, that “my son, you dont know what is your problem because you do not have one”
I believe if this gives you discomfort and made you question my imput then we already achieved something.

I hope My Straight Talk does not hurt but if yes I apologise