Wealth and investments are not ends themselves. Having enough money won't guarantee a meaningful life. This is a mistake many working people, not just the FIRE

Wealth and investments are not ends themselves. Having enough money won't guarantee a meaningful life. This is a mistake many working people, not just the FIRE community makes. I found the concept of "funded contentment" by Brian Portnoy[1] useful: > ... wealth and investing are about funding contentment and underwriting a meaningful life, as defined by you. Not about getting rich, having "more," and losing yourself on the hedonic treadmill. So without having defined "contentment" first, you'll be unhappy either way, retired or working. Contentment itself seems to come from a combination of three things. The weights tend to be different for each person: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.[2] I found this a very useful framework for myself and I don't see early retirement as a goal any more. Instead, I focus on the things that make me content, which is mainly mastery and autonomy for me. 1: https://www.alexjhughes.com/books/2018/7/4/the-geometry-of-wealth-brian-portnoy https://www.alexjhughes.com/books/2018/7/4/the-geometry-of-w... 2: https://www.danpink.com/books/drive/ https://www.danpink.com/books/drive/