Finding time to de-stress in your journey to FIRE (financial independence retire early)

 

Emerald Isle Boating Access, North Carolina 

Ovid:  “Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.”

During our journey through life (and financial independence), we needed to find a right balance of work/life to get us through.  Stress is one of the most destructive forces that can ruin everything in life.  It can ruin your mental health, finances, and relationships.  

In this post, I’d like to share with you my thoughts on the utmost importance of destressing in achieving financial independence, but also in living your life day to day.  Without having the ability to destress or unwind, you’ll have a hard time enjoying your life.  Over time, stress will eventually lead to health issues, feeling burnt out at work, and myriad other mental health related issues...

My mom always said growing up, that I was a very calm baby.  I rarely fussed over bedtime or for food.  She said I used to cry a bit when diaper needed to be changed, but that was about it.  Even when bathing, she mentioned I would just enjoy my time there and not worry too much about the process.  Bottom line, I was a pretty happy and calm baby.

Fast forward to my childhood and to adulthood, I always knew I enjoyed the little things in life.  I enjoyed watching and listening to the rain fall.  I enjoyed watching the snow come down.  I enjoyed listening to music.  I enjoyed animals, whether they’re birds, dogs, cats, or squirrels.  

I always enjoyed going to new places by driving there.  For me, the drive would be soul cleansing.  I was happy when exploring new places and driving there.  I knew I was bit different than my friends, who didn’t enjoy these things like I did.

In my last job that would allow me to retire early, my supervisor called me the ‘Zen Master’, due to my unflappable nature when dealing with daily grind of dealing with people and deadlines.  She thought nothing bothered me.  In fact, I rarely if ever, lost my composure at work.  I was always Mr. Calm himself, or the Zen Master.

So, after this long and winding peek into my past, I will get to my point.  The point is, you MUST find a way to find your happy zone, to destress.  There are many ways you can do this as we are all different in how we live our lives everyday.

What is common though, is to learn to focus on the moment to achieve destressing.  In yoga, exercise, and video gaming, the goal is similar.  You’re not THINKING of anything when you’re actively participating in your activity.  To me, NOT THINKING is the key to destressing.  I think our brains are too advanced for most of us to deal with.  We constantly think and over analyze, to a point where it negatively impacts our lives.  

We no longer sleep well at night because our brains are working, constantly rehashing past events, or the future events yet to happen.  I am also guilty of brain overworking, as on most Fridays, before my retirement, I could not sleep.  I was also doing these same exact things...

I’ve come up with few things that helped me to destress each day.  It didn’t help me much on Friday nights, but at least it helped the rest of the week.

• Focus on the moment:

Enjoy whatever it is you’re doing at that exact moment.  If doing yoga or exercise, just do the movements but don’t think.  If playing video games, same thing.  Concentrate on your activity that’s happening now!  Live like dogs!  They live for the moment.  They don’t think about the past or worry about the future.  For them, it’s all about the moment.  If there’s a tasty treat, then they’re happy!

• Enjoy the little things in life:

‘Enjoy nature’ is one of my favorite mottos.  Enjoy rain falling, snow falling, birds chirping, dogs playing, hummingbirds hovering in air, etc.  When you start to enjoy these little things in life, your life will be richer because of it.  

• Listen to music:

There are times when you hear music vs when you listen to music.  Hearing music is when you’re in an elevator and there’s background music playing.  You hear something but you’re not really concentrating on the music.  When you listen to music, you’re concentrating on that music.  You’re following the melody, the words, and the mood of the song.  To destress, try to listen to music.  In this state, your brain is not thinking about anything else, but the music.  

I usually listen to music when I’m going to sleep as well.  It helps me to focus.

• Pick up a hobby:

Pick up a hobby that doesn’t cost much money.  Read a book borrowed from a library, do walks/hikes, learn to play an instrument, learn to paint, etc.  Because this is a finance / travel blog, I’d like to recommend not spending too much on a hobby, for example, going heli-skiing in Europe!

• Exercise:

My colleagues at my last job will remember my daily morning routine.  I used to do 40 push ups (I read somewhere that doing 40 push ups or more reduces your chance of getting a heart attack by like 96% compared to those who could do 10 or less), calisthenics, and stretches.  I would do little bit of these throughout the day as well, depending on how stressed I was.  

Whether you’re working from home these days or working at a job site, find time to add in exercise.  They all add up at the end of the day!  When you’re feeling stressed, pump out a quick exercise to get an instant boost to your mood.  I still do this after retiring...

• Correct Diet:

Don’t underestimate the importance of food you’re putting into your body each day.  I know I feel good when eating right. When I eat proteins, salads, whole grains, fruits, I usually feel good and feel energized.

When I used to eat sugar, I didn’t feel so good afterwards.  Sugar would bring an inevitable crash fairly quickly.  I hated the feeling of needing to eat more sugars to feel satiated.  

Since around 2010, I cut sugar out of my diet for good.  No more cookies, cakes, ice cream, sugary cocktails, chocolates, candies, barbecue sauce (or any sweet sauce), etc.  I read an article from a well known diet specialist that cutting sugar helps your body age less.  I think everyone can use this to our advantage!

• Plan your financial future:

Having a plan that is written down so you can see it from time to time will alleviate your fears about the future.  Write down how your financial life will look like in 1, 3, 5, 10 years.  Map out each goalpost with commitment to make that happen.  Commit how you’re going to achieve those...It helped me to focus on days when stress was getting to me.  Seeing yourself in a better financial situation in the future will brighten your mood.  Try it!

• Be creative:

Creating something will give you a natural high.  Whether you’re writing a song, writing a memoir, creating a new recipe, etc., creating something out of nothing is an incredible gift we all have.  Everyone is good at something!  Find that, and you’ll feel happy doing it.  It’s when someone talks about being ‘in the zone’.  Time flies when you enjoy creating something.

In conclusion:

All of us feel stressed at times. Since living is stressful, you might as well learn to deal with it and live with it as best you can.  Learn to tame stress, and your life (and your financial life) will thank you for it.  

I hope some of these recommendations helps someone in their lives.  Thank you for reading!

Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

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