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One of the most important life goals should be to be stable emotionally and not constantly worry about everything. My motto is to worry if you can actually impact the outcome of an event. Otherwise, why bother? If worrying ‘fixed’ your worry, then I would worry. But it does not...
I’ve seen too many people in my life constantly waste away their lives, worrying sick about everything! This characteristic, of being even-keeled, will help you to lead a happier life in the long run.
In this post, I’d like to share my thoughts on being even-keeled in life and for FIRE (financial independence retire early).
When I was young and impressionable, I read a story that would stay with me my entire life. It would cement my belief that life will inevitably balance itself.
Here’s the story:
In ancient China, there lived a farmer, his wife, and a young son. One day, the son broke his legs while riding a horse. The mother was incredibly disheartened by this accident. The boy had become crippled due to this accident. The farmer/father, on the other hand said “Don’t be too saddened by this misfortune. Life will be tough sometimes, but it doesn’t always have to be. There will be better days ahead.”
Few years passed by, and there was an impending war. There was a draft system in place, and every male who was healthy, was to be drafted. The son who was now crippled, didn’t have to go to war because of his handicap. The mother was ecstatic that her son was going to miss the draft and live. She remembered her husband’s saying how life will balance itself somehow...
What I got out of this story is to be as even-keeled as possible. Even if life gets you down, you should take it in stride, and push forward. On the other hand, when life is seemingly too perfect, you should take that in stride and acknowledge your good fortunes, but always prepare for the inevitable downturn in life.
How can this even-keeled characteristic help in life and in the path to FIRE (financial independence retire early)?
- In life, the ability to stay calm and composed is a big thing.
Life will constantly throw tantrums at you at the least opportune time. It may make you sick, kick you out of your job, or make your relationships to fail, etc.
Each time this happens, it’s important to see the downturn as an inevitable part of living your life. Everyone goes through these! Everything breaks! Relationships, health, careers, etc. The faster you realize this fact, the easier it is to embrace the hardships that come your way. Look at the hardship as something that you can learn from, and also as something that makes you realize how important it is to enjoy your life NOW when it’s NOT difficult.
I’ve seen too many people just waiting for life to happen for the better. Unfortunately, they may wait a lifetime and not get there. Life is what YOU make of it. No one can bring you joy if you can’t find it within yourself first. Enjoy life NOW while you’re still alive, as we only get one life to work with!
Enjoy the little things: watch the rain fall, enjoy birds and animals, appreciate the trees all around you, exercise then enjoy the high afterwards, enjoy the quiet times with your loved ones, etc.
I’m a firm believer in always planning for the worst but hoping for the best. I take this statement as a way of life and has been living it to the best of my abilities. You should too...
- In investing for financial independence, being even-keeled is important as well.
When you’re just getting into investing, the hardest thing to do is to watch your money disappear when market goes down. Many people have lost their hard earned money by panicking, then selling, when this happens.
In investing for financial independence, you need to be able to stay your course and stay calm. Do not panic and sell. What usually happens when market goes down is that it’ll usually come back up (then go higher), after few months or few years.
Remember you only LOSE money when you sell your investments at a loss. If you leave it as it is, then there is no loss. If your retirement is few years away, then don’t panic. Let the market play itself out. This is actually a good time to be buying more shares as you’ll be buying at a discount!
To help mitigate the stock market downturn, I recommend having liquid asset (cash, savings account, money market account, etc.) that you can live off of for at least a year or two. This way even if you’ve retired, you won’t need to sell your investments at a loss.
- Have Plan B, Plan C, Plan D, etc.
While my wife and I were planning for early retirement, we had different plans in case Plan A (the original plan to retire early) didn’t work out. We talked about trying for few months then see how it works out. If we don’t like it, we can either settle down somewhere with jobs as optional. We also talked about buying a small condo at a ski resort that we can live in part time then rent out the rest of the year. We also talked about moving to an affordable parts of the country, then try that life for few months.
The goal of these exercises is to always have a backup plan(s) in case the original plan doesn’t work out. You know the proverb “The best laid out plan doesn’t survive the first enemy fire!”
You just don’t know how everything will work out until you’re actually doing it!
The key to being even-keeled is to have a plan to deal with the downturn. Always prepare for it.
In conclusion:
In this journey through life and financial independence, the key to being even-keeled is to always prepare for the worst. With this done, you’ll be able to deal with it when it comes. Learn to look at life as a series of valleys and peaks. Sometimes you’re at the top, but also know, you’ll sometimes hit the bottom. We wouldn’t be humans if we didn’t...
Learning to understand and to accept this fact will make your life more manageable. Don’t be too down on yourself when things are bad, but don’t be overly excited when things are going great. Take things in stride. Life will even things out eventually...
Thank you all for reading!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
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