Author Topic: Discontent and dreaming of FIRE  (Read 2721 times)

Nangirl17

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Discontent and dreaming of FIRE
« on: March 05, 2017, 12:43:53 PM »
I found myself checking our retirement accounts yesterday, AGAIN, after just having checked them after close on Friday. Of course, they hadn't changed. Despite that, I felt compelled to run the calculators again and look at all the scenarios that I had so recently reviewed. I realised that I'm not coping well now (anxious and not wanting to go back to work after a few weeks of medical leave). Thinking back, I realised that every time in the past couple years that I get obsessive about MMM and checking my balances, I'm usually not in a good state mentally.

Have any of you experienced this? Any advice?

bugbaby

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Re: Discontent and dreaming of FIRE
« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2017, 07:34:40 PM »
I have the exact same thing, except I check multiple times a day especially on a hard day at work. But eventually I get bored and well, life goes on.

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VladTheImpaler

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Re: Discontent and dreaming of FIRE
« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2017, 07:46:19 PM »
I have experienced this as well. It's usually a good indicator that I need to do something social or get out of the house for a bit, even if it means I have to (gasp) drive my car or spend a little money.

I joke, but in all seriousness my perfectionism and INTJ personality make it easy to get anxious and antisocial. It's something I actively work on.

Nangirl17

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Re: Discontent and dreaming of FIRE
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2017, 10:54:30 AM »
I have experienced this as well. It's usually a good indicator that I need to do something social or get out of the house for a bit, even if it means I have to (gasp) drive my car or spend a little money.

I joke, but in all seriousness my perfectionism and INTJ personality make it easy to get anxious and antisocial. It's something I actively work on.

This is helpful; thanks for the insight!

WranglerBowman

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Re: Discontent and dreaming of FIRE
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2017, 12:16:22 PM »
I check my retirement accounts 1-3 times a day, and dream about all the things I'm going to do in retirement, and count down the year, months, days till retirement...and I can't stop.  I've been working really hard over the last year or so to try and enjoy the minute I'm in.  When I wake up in the morning I try to focus on just that day and when I go to sleep that night I focus on what I did that day...otherwise life is going to pass us by while we look forward to retirement.

DeskJockey2028

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Re: Discontent and dreaming of FIRE
« Reply #5 on: March 06, 2017, 12:21:54 PM »
I do the very same thing. In my case I think it's two factors.

first, I've been on this particular journey for less than a year so it's all still fairly new - and while most of it is on automatic, some if it still isn't. I check the things that aren't, figure out what I want to do with those chunks and then start thinking about all the rest of it - like zero commute, no new work projects coming in from left field, etc.

Second, I tend to get slightly obsessive about new things that I'm passionate about. It's a character trait/flaw that I'm entirely aware of. I expect this to fade after another 3-6 months into more of a background thing. It's amazing enough to keep my interest over the long run and I'll keep checking. Even now I've had a few weeks where I check my accounts/spreadsheets perhaps once, and a few where I check them every work day.

Interesting but other than when I open a new account or did my taxes, I've almost never checked these things on a weekend. So yes, sometimes I get bored at work as well and I guess that's a third factor.