Untangling The Lines: Bringing Psychological, Time, and Location Freedom Together Once You Achieve FIRE

Well, I got out of the trolls’ den unscathed, and am just about caught up and ready to go full blast the rest of August.

This morning I got started at 7am finishing up my end-of-month tasks that make up my normal process. It took me until 12:30pm to catch up.

Net worth was up, so that was good.

I am on track with my spending plan (budget). That’s great.

Oh, and my test on the apartment? It’s continuing to pay for itself.

The assets I have earmarked to generate returns and cash to cover the annual cost of the rent and utilities?

They are up $3,000 over what I have been required to spend.

Nice.

Typically, I would have Finished these tasks on Monday or Tuesday.

but I have been consumed by a fire. That fire is tied to today’s topic.

Here’s the setup:

You’ve achieved FIRE. Fantastic.

You have complete (or almost complete) time freedom. Giggity.

You have the resources to live in any location in the world, some richly, others on a tighter budget, but the location freedom is real.

Holy Jules Verne, Vern!

In fact, you could live in two places if you want.

Shoot, you could live in three or more if you found it was beneficial.

Heck, you could be a complete nomad if you want … and maintain a couple of places; one as a home base and one as an outpost.

The sky is the limit.

But it’s really not.

The limit is your psychological freedom.

That is what I have been wrestling with this past week, and perhaps all my life.

It’s interesting, because some people don’t see the benefit of pursuing FIRE.

Why do that?

Just go find something you like or even love to do, and build your life around that.

You don’t like your current job or work?

Quit, and go do something else.

Bills and other responsibilities?

Who cares? They will take care of themselves.

Follow your bliss, dude!

It’s hard to say for sure, but my guess is that more women are capable of doing this than men.

I have had conversations with friends and colleagues about this in the past, and they tended to agree, both female and male friends and colleagues.

It has to do with conditioning and conventional expectations.

My other guess is that this is changing as “traditional” family structures have shifted.

But then I hear about “trad life” trends gaining in popularity, so I really don’t know.

What I do know is that, in reality, at any point in my life, I had agency to choose how to live my life, where I wanted to live it, and to do what I wanted to do.

But I always felt like that was asking too much of life and of the relationships I cared about.

I had the world on my shoulders. I had my shoulder against the boulder.

And guess what?

That doesn’t change after you reach FIRE, unless you consciously work on making that change.

You have to let loose.

You have to let go of the reins and let life and your dreams guide you.

Lee filled me in on a YouTube show that was sort of about this. Different, but similar. I believe it is called Untie The Lines.

It is a show documenting the journey of a young woman who bought a sailboat with the dream of someday sailing long distances. Perhaps around the world.

But she spent the first couple of years tied to the dock.

She was prepping the boat. Learning the skills she would need when out on the high seas. Originally, she thought she would be ready to go in two months.

Since then, she has fully stepped into the life of her dreams,

but it was not easy. Her YouTube channel probably created a sense of accountability.

You tell someone, “Oh, I will be ready to go in two months” … and then …

Two years later … as they say on SpongeBob SquarePants.

It gets a little embarrassing.

Honestly, I am embarrassed at how I have both drifted and stayed tied to the docks. And that is the source of the fire and why I am working to change.

Where I have landed is that it is about the identity I put at the center of my life.

I have been trying to wear too many hats and confusing myself. This has led to me creating false starts and demonstrating slow-as-a-turtle momentum as a result.

My turtle nature probably needs some rabbit energy.

And I think I am getting clearer on how to bring this all together.

But, we will see.