3 ms·

Same. Once I started seriously considering retirement, admittedly a bit early-ish relative to the usual 65-70, the internal mental model of self has started to

Same. Once I started seriously considering retirement, admittedly a bit early-ish relative to the usual 65-70, the internal mental model of self has started to shift pretty dramatically, and the hypothetical "I have a lot of things i want to do" plans for the future now have the annotation "and a lot of them need to be done while I am still relatively young enough for them to be plausible." That has honestly shifted the self-perception pretty dramatically. Or maybe I have the cause and effect reversed.

simonblack 4y ago
"I have a lot of things i want to do and a lot of them need to be done while I am still relatively young enough for them to be plausible." Do those things that are 'on your list' as soon as possible. There is an old saying 'Life is what happens while you're making other plans'. I discovered that I had, in practice, a mere six (6!) years in retrospect where it was possible do do things that were 'on MY list. If you miss that window of opportunity, you'll never get to do your list at all. You have to make to effort to fit them in while you can. One of my lifelong dreams was to spend a year or two in a small village in France. The first time it was a possibility was in 2003, but 'No, I have the responsibility to make us a living' meant that that chance was lost and so eight years went by - lost opportunity - until I finally made it to my village in France in 2011 but by then I could only spend time there in bits and pieces rather than as a single block of time. My "window of opportunity" closed at the end of 2016, though I wasn't aware of that fact till about 3 years later. Many times I have said to my wife, "If only we were 10 years younger, we could have ... bought an apartment in Paris ... or a house in Italy, or .......". Lost opportunities by the score.
- Aeolun 4y ago
  If you were 10 years younger you might not have had the means to do that?
  - simonblack 4y ago
    That is true in theory, but if you really want to do something, you will find a way. (And strangely enough, for some reason, the Universe will assist you.) I once was working only part-time but I made it a goal to get to "Paris in April". That was 29 years ago. I can't remember now how we managed it, but somehow or other, we achieved that 'Paris in April' as part of a six-week round-the-world trip. About 3 years after that, some friends invited us to spend a few weeks in Spain in their time-share holiday. We didn't have the money. They said 'Put it on the card'. So we did. Several months later, I received a very rare Tax Refund which allowed us to pay the credit card off. Twelve months later, the tax man took all the refund and more, back off me. So I sometimes say "The Tax Department lent us the money to go to Spain. We'd never have been able to that, otherwise."
- foobiekr 4y ago
  I hear you, and I give the same advice. However, there are always things that you want to do that are time intensive, which is hard.

simonblack 4y ago

"I have a lot of things i want to do and a lot of them need to be done while I am still relatively young enough for them to be plausible." Do those things that are 'on your list' as soon as possible. There is an old saying 'Life is what happens while you're making other plans'. I discovered that I had, in practice, a mere six (6!) years in retrospect where it was possible do do things that were 'on MY list. If you miss that window of opportunity, you'll never get to do your list at all. You have to make to effort to fit them in while you can. One of my lifelong dreams was to spend a year or two in a small village in France. The first time it was a possibility was in 2003, but 'No, I have the responsibility to make us a living' meant that that chance was lost and so eight years went by - lost opportunity - until I finally made it to my village in France in 2011 but by then I could only spend time there in bits and pieces rather than as a single block of time. My "window of opportunity" closed at the end of 2016, though I wasn't aware of that fact till about 3 years later. Many times I have said to my wife, "If only we were 10 years younger, we could have ... bought an apartment in Paris ... or a house in Italy, or .......". Lost opportunities by the score.

Aeolun 4y ago
If you were 10 years younger you might not have had the means to do that?
- simonblack 4y ago
  That is true in theory, but if you really want to do something, you will find a way. (And strangely enough, for some reason, the Universe will assist you.) I once was working only part-time but I made it a goal to get to "Paris in April". That was 29 years ago. I can't remember now how we managed it, but somehow or other, we achieved that 'Paris in April' as part of a six-week round-the-world trip. About 3 years after that, some friends invited us to spend a few weeks in Spain in their time-share holiday. We didn't have the money. They said 'Put it on the card'. So we did. Several months later, I received a very rare Tax Refund which allowed us to pay the credit card off. Twelve months later, the tax man took all the refund and more, back off me. So I sometimes say "The Tax Department lent us the money to go to Spain. We'd never have been able to that, otherwise."
foobiekr 4y ago
I hear you, and I give the same advice. However, there are always things that you want to do that are time intensive, which is hard.