Scott Galloway frequently talks about three areas in life:
- What you have to do.
- What you “should do“.
- What you want to do.
He says that financial independence gives you the freedom to eliminate the “shoulds”.
I completely agree.
Being retired has eliminated all of the work related shoulds that I hated doing:
- business travel
- unproductive, boring meetings
- corporate politics
- networking
- faux social/team building activities
- trade shows
- unbelievably lame training
The truth is, I started cutting back on all of these even while employed because I had reached a position where my results were good enough that I could skip at least some of the BS work without consequence.
Around the same time, in my 40s, I began to eliminate the “shoulds” in my personal life that I disliked doing.
- Keeping Up with the Joneses (especially regarding houses, cars, luxury items, etc.)
- Expensive dining and drinking
- Maintaining contact with people who didn’t like me (and vice versa)
This was all for the better. My life with my wife became simpler, less stressful and cozy.
After my wife died, most of my “shoulds” ceased. The few that remained gradually disappeared over time.
The other day, I realized I only have one “should” left.
I could eliminate it, but not without being intentionally cruel. I won’t be intentionally cruel simply to spare myself an unrewarding experience.
Not being dependent on a job for an income is quite freeing.
Having no significant other people in your life is freeing too.
There are downsides to not having them as well.
At least for now, I don’t any plans to change these things.