Financial Independence (FI) has been a big theme in the SippingCoconuts household ever since we came upon this idea and it effectively changed our lives. Having been on this journey for a good 3+ years, we can attest to the fact that more than anything else, it is the mindset of FI that truly gears you for complete alignment and success. (Note: Yes, we are not FIRE yet so how would we know success is on the cards? Good spot, Internet FI Police. We’re seeing consistent progress in our plan towards FI and relying on this to extrapolate and say our piece. Fair enough, right?)
Surely FI is all about the numbers though? Have x amount in your investment portfolio and ensure it’s generating sufficient returns, live below the returns and do cartwheels into the sunset thereafter? The mechanics are simple actually. The execution is what takes flair and often neglected is the mindset to attain FI.
We present to you the FI Mindset, the SippingCoconuts’ version. This is a 2 part blog as the final piece turned out to be a wee bit lengthy!
The Sense of Purpose
An age old nugget of wisdom and applies to every aspect of life, to have a sense of purpose. What is the purpose behind the want to reach FI? Get this one aspect right and feel all parts of life just fall into place like the perfect Tetris game.
A quick and superficial answer may not have enough depth to take one through the rough parts of the journey and influence tricky decisions. An answer such as “well, to never work again” may well be accurate but it is a short term goal and one that is not weighed with sufficient purpose which makes deviating off the FI path a little more likely. For some, the answer might be even be a prerequisite to interest them to start on the FI journey as let’s face it, the magic number that needs to be saved up to sustain FIRE will likely be huge relative to the person. (eg: a budget of S$2k/mth needs S$600k, and S$4k/mth needs upwards of $1 million) At first glance, that is a high barrier of entry however one that is totally attainable as long as one have the grit to see it through.
An answer that resonates with your entire being will give you a stronger sense of purpose. One that acts as a easy decision tree for what may be the bigger, weightier decisions in life or even the simple decisions. Simply said, it gives your FI goal legs to stand on, much like how a square table needs 4 legs and 3 legs just isn’t enough. “Ah I really want to go on a holiday, and my next holiday is 8 months out” is an easier itch to medicate when there’s a sense of purpose to why you need to hold out from scratching till 8 months later.
Think about your pull factors and your push factors that irresistibly draw you in towards FI and away from the status quo. Here’s some questions that explore your thoughts in different ways that might uncover a deeper sense of purpose:
- What do I want in life?
- What do I want to spend my time on?
- What is worth of my energy?
- What gives me joy in life?
- What am I passionate about?
- Who do I love and who loves me? How can I make the most of now for that person(s)?
- What kind of life would I like to have lived, if I am looking back at the age of 80?
- What would I want to be known for, if people were to talk about me?
OhH, ohhh (excitedly waving my arms around, wide-eyed and with a huge grin), maybe you would like to grab a pen and paper and try answering some of the questions above and see what you come up with? Is it consistent with what you thought you knew? Do some of the answers bring greater clarity to your existing thoughts?
At this point, let it sink in that FI isn’t all just about money. FI is a more wholesome state. Having money does make a lot of decisions and thoughts easier however the sense of purpose makes it whole. If money solved everything then we wouldn’t have rich folks feeling depressed and unfulfilled. While it may be hard to conceive at this point, I have read a few blogs of folks who have reached FI and quickly becoming disenchanted with the post-FI life. The common themes are loneliness and that they have achieved the biggest goal in their life thus they have nothing to look forward to after the novelty of traveling has worn off. Again, hard to imagine but there must be some lessons in the experience of those who have been there and done that?
Here is where that sense of purpose comes into play and gently guides the rest of our days to be filled with all the values that we hold dear. When we act in a way that fulfills the values we hold sacred, we will find peace and joy. To that end, the sense of purpose that we define and tweak as we go long is the game changer between making the journey to FI enjoyable vs. being a destination that you can’t wait to reach.
Side note: One of the most powerful exercise I like to do in my coaching sessions is the Values Elicitation Exercise. The purpose of the exercise is just that, to draw out the values you hold close to your heart. Being consciously aware of these unconscious values does wonders to your daily decision-making and appreciation as well as interpretation of what is around you. Values are often neglected and thought to be some airy-fairy aspect of life, however values are what guides us in our every action, daily. If we are unconscious of it, we are driving blind. This may then be towards values which we may not deem relevant or desirable consciously. When we bring to our consciousness what these values are, then we have the ability to understand our thoughts and actions better and design the values we want our lives to be based on.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the FI Mindset, the SippingCoconut version! Feel free to chime in your thoughts in the comments section, what is your wholesome sense of purpose in the FI journey?
Author: Ms.K
Ms.K is everything that Mr.C is, without the natural interest in investing and company financials! The activity planner for the family, the driver of random ideas and soon to be ‘retiring’ in to full time motherhood – Ms.K has no idea what she’s in for but remains super excited!
Fantastic piece! Agree with you on the sense of purpose. A lot of people assumed that most want to achieve FI because they hate their jobs! Which should not be the case. FI offers you the freedom to do whatever you want and that gels in with purpose part. If you simply just quit your job, you might just feel lost. Which was the case with a friend of mine and he soon went back to work there after.
You can still continue with your job when you reach FI. Nobody ain’t stopping you. Just that if you feel like quitting it, you have the freedom to do so anytime you want!
You speak our heart 😉 Spot on! I think purpose goes a long way, in helping you stick to the plan to reach FI and then to have fulfillment post FI. It makes for a fulfilled life.