I thought that when I first started - if I just could go make X/year, I'd retire really fast and it'd all be great! it tends not to work out that way for most

I thought that when I first started - if I just could go make X/year, I'd retire really fast and it'd all be great! it tends not to work out that way for most people, I think. Life gets complicated. Sometimes we are the ones doing the complicating, some of it is just that life gets more complex (promotions, kids, wife, stuff). Being able to wipe away your tears with $100 bills comes at its cost too. Once you have a bunch, you really start to wonder whether it's worth what you paid to get them. Viktor Frankl observed in a small book that the only thing we truly control is our attitude to our situation, and that small book became a true classic. Unfortunately, he had to live in a concentration camp for a few years to reach that enlightenment. Zen teaches us that we need to let go of the struggle. Again, few are enlightened. Christ called on us to follow Him and worry not for the future because the cares of today are enough, and He was right, but few of us can manage that either. Perspective is everything, I always used to say. Perspective (and thus what you ask) is, however, very difficult.