Getting Comfortable With the Uncomfortable

Getting Comfortable With the Uncomfortable

April 16, 2020 Banker On FIRE Personal Development 11

Feeling comfortable?

In a way, aspiring to financial independence is all about comfort.

Forgetting what the jam-packed commute feels like.  Never having to deal with workplace politics again.  Leaving all the money worries behind and spending the rest of your days in a state of pure bliss and relaxation.

If that doesn’t sound absolutely grand, I don’t know what does.  That is, until you consider all the thorny patches on the road to this state of hedonistic nirvana.

The most obvious one is spending less than others.  In a society where the majority of people are programmed to spend at least as much (if not more) than they make, putting a lid on your spending isn’t easy. There are good reasons for it, too.  Humans are social animals.  Ever since we emerged as a species, social acceptance played a key role in our survival.

Just imagine getting kicked out of the cave for being “different”.  That certainly didn’t increase anyone’s chances of making it through the night – and keeping their genes in the pool.

As a result, thousands of years down the road we are now coming off the assembly line with a default setting that causes us to mimic the behaviour of our “pack” to avoid a disastrous outcome.

It takes a lot of hard work and painful introspection to re-program the way our brains are designed to work.  And the further up the food chain you are, the starker the comparison.

Some people just can’t bear to rock the iPhone 6 like I have been for the past five years.  For others, flying commercial is an absolute deathblow to social ambitions (unless you can claim it’s all about climate change).

No matter how obnoxiously wealthy you may be, there’s always someone with a bigger yacht – or a prettier private island… tough life!  And if you do manage to get your own psyche under control, you’ve then got to get your significant other on board too.

For many people, it’s a task akin to having to stare down Federer’s serve at love – forty, what with the ball boys, audience and umpire all squarely in his corner.

Making More Money

There is an alternative of course.  Find some middle ground in terms of spending and focus on increasing your earnings instead.

But dig one level deeper and you’ll find that it’s not so straightforward either.

 

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