My husband and I were discussing the “number” concept because some of our friends were talking about their specific numbers. Everyone’s number is different so be sure you don’t base your number on other people’s numbers.
I asked my husband if he has a number. I think he has a general number in his head but he said he doesn’t have one.
He then asked me what I think our number is — since I am the financial planner.
I tried to explain to him that I don’t have a “number” in the traditional sense because I want to keep working and doing what I love. Yes, I want freedom and flexibility but I want to keep working. I would rather work with more flexibility and possibly less hours but do it for more years into the future. I want to do it on my terms.
Do I want financial freedom? Yes, and maybe doing it on my terms is financial freedom in some form. BUT I am not willing to make too many sacrifices now so that I/we can have that total freedom as soon as possible. I would rather my husband and I take a pay cut and be doing jobs we love that we do for more years than a job where we make more money and are counting down the days till we can “retire.”
I truly do not like the word or the concept of retirement. Retire means to withdrawal. I view it as a form of withdrawing from life. I believe all of us are here for a purpose and reason and hopefully our work fulfills us in some way.
Retirement is a western concept created by society. I can tell you based on personal experience that many clients count down the days to “retirement” and insist that they will be happy doing “nothing” (meaning reading and / or golfing a lot) and then a year or two later, they are bored and frustrated and unhappy with retirement. Another common occurrence is that people have significant health issues soon after retirement. I believe the health issues may be a result of this withdrawal and loss of meaning and social interaction that occurs after retirement.
This reminds me of Ikigai (pronounced Ick-ee-guy). Ikigai is a Japanese concept that roughly means your reason to get out of bed in the morning. Ikigai has its origins from Okinawa, a Japanese island, home to one of the locations with the most centurions in the world. Dan Buettner has written several books on “The Blue Zone” where he has studied and shares the common characteristics of the populations where significantly longer life is normal.
One characteristic of these groups of people is the concept of Ikigai. Above is a beautiful diagram of Ikigai. It is the intersection of:
- What you Love
- What the World Needs
- What you can be Paid for
- What You are Good at
I believe each of us are here for a reason and a purpose. We each are unique and should be using our gifts and talents to help others and also provide joy for ourselves. The pandemic has given us (and forced on some of us) the opportunity to make some changes. If you want to make a change or you are being required to make a change, think about these 4 questions. Start with brainstorming answers to each of the questions. Keep adding to the list. Then look at and see if or where any of them overlap.
Where can you begin? What would you like to learn more about? You don’t have to “know” the answer right now. Most people don’t know. Start with where you are. What are you curious about? What are you drawn to?
If you know what you want and what your ikigai is, what steps can you take to start getting to where you want to be? A fulfilling life has meaning and joy and satisfaction.
I recommend focusing more on your ikigai rather than focusing only on achieving your “number” and retiring and withdrawing. If you think that achieving your “number” allows you to then do what you want to do, why can’t you make a shift and start doing what you want to do in some form or at least do MORE of it in some way to help increase the satisfaction you want in your life.
Wishing you the Very Best,
Tara
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