Life on My Terms

It is said that money can’t buy happiness. What I can truthfully tell you is having just enough money can buy financial independence. Having financial independence allows me to live a life on my terms. The freedom to live life on my terms certainly adds enormously to my happiness.

So money doesn’t buy happiness on its own. But if you have the financial discipline to use it wisely you do end up with happiness, or at least I do. I believe it buys us time to do as we really want to do. Being able to follow our passions and avoid the stuff that distracts us from happiness. That is life on our terms. Getting ahead of our finances where our essential needs are met. Having just enough money allows us to correct our mindset. Valuing our time over money is the secret to happiness.

I wasn’t one of the lucky few in this country who worked in their dream job while on the road to financial independence. That would have been awesome. Nope, I had to reach FI and then retire to start on my passion-driven path.

Talk of Another Recession or Bad Market

Lately there is all this talk about the Fed raising interest rates. The subsequent volatility that the market will be in for both stocks and bonds, and etc., etc. Thinking about how living my life on my terms is a major contributor to my happiness this morning I wondered as I was on my morning hike. What if another manufactured recession occurred like it did 2008 through 2009. Resulting in my losing half, two-thirds, or more of my hard-earned savings. What would I do?

Would I start looking to restart my old career with its endless responsibilities in a 24X7 environment so that I could earn as much money as possible? Would money be my main driver?

Or

Would I stay living life on my terms and with a passion-driven mindset? If deciding to go back to a paying job, would I go back to something I was passionate about doing regardless of the pay?

As I walked I thought about my “retire early and often” lifestyle-adventure. I thought about how much I have learned. I have not only learned a lot of new skills, some I wouldn’t mind doing again, and others not so much. But I have also learned a lot about myself. I learned what really makes me happy. I learned what I am passionate about. There are even aspects of my old career that I really do enjoy which shouldn’t have been a surprise since we create our passions based on all of our life experiences. I just needed to strip those enjoyable and fulfilling aspects away from all the crap that left me drained and unfulfilled.

Life on my terms is the way to live.

Sometimes when thinking about the past we only remember the good things and try to suppress the bad but I haven’t forgotten about how miserable I was in the final years of my primary career before my first retirement and the feeling of being stuck in a trap every day that I went into work. It was only tolerable because I didn’t know what it was like to live life on my terms. I only had this concept, this belief and faith of what early retirement and financial independence was going to be like. For anyone working towards this worthy goal let me tell you that whatever you have to do to get there it is all worth it.

I have just answered my question.

There is no going back to a career-driven mindset for me where my brain dictates my lifestyle to be money oriented only because it’s the logical thing to do from a numbers perspective. I can’t imagine going back to a life feeling like a slave to the demands of a system I don’t want to be in. You can have all the misery they can dish out for a few more dollars. No thanks. I have tasted the fruit of freedom and I like it. I have experienced firsthand what it feels like to start each day knowing I am doing exactly what I am passionate about and want to do. Which brings up another question.

Does that mean I am now a self-centered selfish jerk?

Who do I think I am? Thinking I can just pick and choose what I do for pay when so many can’t even get a crappy job. Before I retired the first time I would have actually answered yes, you are a self-centered jerk to think you can do this. Not now. The answer is NO.

My New Passion Driven Mindset

I now understand why a starving artist stays at creating their art through thick and thin. Why an entrepreneur can work 20 hours a day starting their business without pay. No one dares call them self-centered jerks. I can’t think of a reason I would choose to just go through the motions ever again. If I am not sold on believing in what I am doing and passionate about doing it then I am out.

If I start something that I am passionate about and it twists into something else undesirable, which often happens, then I am out. Life is too short to fall back into that trap again.

If you are living your life on your terms then you are a very fortunate person. I know I am very fortunate to have this chance to live life on my terms now.

Let me know what you think. Do you see yourself living life on your terms now or will be able to soon?

6 thoughts on “Life on My Terms

  1. Yes, I can see my life living on my own terms. I love what I’m doing now and I know for sure even if I have already reached my financial independence, I would still continue to work online or maybe I would like to build my own online business or a blog.

    1. Thanks for the comment Teffany. Doing something you love is the ultimate passion-driven life to live even if you have reached FI and don’t have to do it. That is exactly how I want to live the rest of my life. I am happy to hear you are living it.
      Tommy

  2. Good for you, Tommy. I can’t say I’m living on my terms yet, but I’m moving in that direction and don’t see any alternative at the moment.

    1. After everything I have read on your site I think you are definitely on the path to live life on your own terms and getting closer everyday. I appreciate the comment. Great to hear from you.
      Tommy

  3. I feel like I am mostly living life on my terms since I quit my job in 2013 to work from home. No, it isn’t perfect, but I don’t have to deal with all the crap I used to deal with.

    1. Hi Holly, thanks for your comment. I admit even though I feel I am living my life on my own terms that it doesn’t eliminate all frustrations. Its just that its easier to not sweat the small stuff when you are doing what you want to be doing. The imperfections certainly allows for perspective when looking at the whole and makes me grateful to be able to live life this way now. As you said, there is a lot less crap to put up with.

Comments are closed.