Here Comes The Sun: Replacing Crap With Fun
Let’s do a quick recap.
You’ve done the prerequisites of understanding how you’ve spent your earnings and savored your time on this planet so far.
You’ve also figured out the way to budget your money and time going forward.
(Or at least you have a tricycle that will turn into a bicycle and then an electric bike, etc., etc.)
and …
You’ve figured out where you stand with the 7 FIRE Metrics That Matter (i.e., financial metrics).
You have a strategy in place for building wealth.
You know the first cross-over point you want to hit.
and …
You have begun to say NO to the things that don’t matter, and are learning to say Yes to those that bring you joy.
You have reduced, or are in the process of reducing, the unnecessary friction in your life.
You are Zeroscaping your life and are developing the freedom to live your truth.
and ..
You have the beginnings of a clear vision of the lifestyle you want to live post-FIRE.
You know your core values.
You know what things are of great interest for you to do in the future (i.e., passions).
You are beginning to understand who you are at the core.
If you are like me, you’ll want to repeat these steps.
They will be iterative over time.
Your competence in each will expand as you reach higher levels of the vision for your life.
but you must put in the time and work to continue to make it a reality.
Essentially, you are on your way to a version of the Highway to Yeah that is calling to you.
Now comes the really good part.
You are going to ditch the old ways and pick up the new ways.
You are going to lose interest in productivity and achievement as ends unto themselves.
Work and/or a vocation, or even a spiritual calling, are no longer how you must define your self-worth.
If you choose to work or pursue a vocational calling, you will do them without the ego concerns of status and such.
Delayed gratification loses some of its grip, too.
You start stepping into having Fun in the Sun.
Fun in the Sun?
Besides being the greatest lyric ever used in any song, just what the heck does that mean?
Happiness dialed up to 11
Celebration, and lots of it
“Absolute” clarity—you know what you want and why
Your vitality is through the roof
You’re done waiting for the right time, the right circumstances, or the this-or-that thing that keeps you stuck.
Your energy is infectious and enthusiastic, and you are becoming authentically self-expressive.
You get to become who you have always wanted and knew deep inside you could be.
You’ve learned to say NO, so now you can actually hear what a real Yeah is.
You claim your destiny.
That’s what the rest of this ride is about. You’ve earned it.
You are ready for adventure.
You are ready to engage in meaningful creative expression.
You are free for building deep connections.
Oh, but there is one catch…
You’ve got to Develop the psychological freedom to do all these things.
For me, this has been the biggest challenge I have faced in my post-FIRE experience.
It’s not an either/or. It’s a continuum.
Absolute freedom would be total chaos.
We want some limiting structures.
and we want to play by the most important of society’s rules.
You want to find the Best spot on the continuum for you and your life design.
This is what a lot of the quest for a radically designed lifestyle you love is all about.
We’ll pick up again on the topic of Psyhological Freedom in tomorrow’s article.