u/jayybonelie

Today I wanted to share a few of the FIRE Mindset aspects that helped me succeed. Around these parts we tend to think and discuss a lot about the mechanics of FIRE. We delve deeply into annual expenses, withdrawal rates, taxes, healthcare costs etc. These are absolutely critical considerations, no doubt. Seems to me we do not get as much into the more intangible/conceptual aspects of FIRE, like mindset, philosophy and mental approaches.

I truly believe getting the FIRE mindset right can actually make the journey easier, less fearful and more enjoyable. Getting our mindset correct, is completely free and can help answer or guide many of the financial and non financial decisions points or questions that many of us have.

Having a mindset that is aligned can help one stay the course when times get tough and also gives the courage to pull the trigger when the right time comes.

So, I humbly offer some mindset nuggets that have helped me FIRE at 45. The most top of mind mindsets that worked for me are:

A sense of Gratitude - for all my blessings, no matter how small.
Reciprocity - Has helped me not just help myself but others as well.
Kindness and Compassion - Having the grace to be kind forgive myself and others even through dumb mistakes.
Dedication - Keeping my eye on the prize and not letting detours and roadblocks stop me from proceeding forward.
Levity, Fun and Optimism - Knowing I don't control everything. Never taking myself too seriously and having faith that it will work out even when times are bleak. There is overwhelming evidence that most things work out for the greater good, happiness is a choice and luck can be cultivated.

So, those are just a few of my mindsets. Keeping such a philosophy has helped me out of countless situations and accelerated my progress.

I'd love to hear what your most valuable philosophy has been as you have gone about your FIRE journey.

Since retiring at the age of 45, about three years ago, I have been thinking deeply about what early retirement means and thanking the universe for exposing the concept to me at an early age. So far early retirement has been incredible and I have done so many things I never thought I would get a chance to experience. This includes spending true unconstrained quality time with my children, doing lots of affordable travel, building new skills, making new friends and growing my community. I have enjoyed every moment of it and discovered that happiness can be enduring. It is truly possible to be happy almost every single day. I have improved my health and fitness by a mile and also been able to increase the depth of my knowledge, skills and relationships while giving back without the constant pressure to make money or meet arbitrary corporate targets. It has been a great privilege I hope to never take for granted.

Recently I wrote a post about finding the joy in missing out. I the comments of that post someone referred me to the book '4000 weeks'. I just finished it and wow, I think its so important for people like us. The book reminds us all, that on average we live ‘only’ 4000 weeks. Our time in this beautiful world, is finite and what we do with that time really matters. In the case of most of us, if you are over 40, you might have only 2000 weeks left and once you include sleep and the really great healthy years left, perhaps that number is only 1000 weeks. 1000 weeks is less than 20 new year’s eves. Its less 5 leap years. Can one fit all their hopes, dreams, aspirations, goals and desires in such a small period? For me its not about the fear of missing out or of running out of time but rather finding the joy in missing out. Its about focusing more on pursuing those things that truly matter. The book re-enforced my desire to embrace mind glow and joy by realizing how precious and short life is. My main realization in early retirement has been about developing a sense of gratitude and how that can create a joyful life.

The message is clear, life is short and if you think about the incredible odds for you to have been given this one and only life… You realize life is even shorter and more special than meets the eye. Therefore it makes all the sense in the world to seek to retire early, do what you love and love what you do, whatever that might be. Hoping you guys are enjoying the early retired life and if you are still pursuing it, I wish you well and may you reach your goal soon, leveraging the freely available wisdom here.

These are my own and original thoughts. I’m also not selling anything. I’m truly just interested in sharing thoughts, perspectives, insights with kindred spirits and paying it forward.

Is FIRE something that’s always come naturally to you? Or do you wish you had worked more during your career?

Life is short, but I’m happy to answer any friendly comments or questions. :)

Since retiring at the age of 45, about three years ago, I have been thinking deeply about what early retirement means and thanking the universe for exposing the concept to me at an early age. So far early retirement has been incredible and I have done so many things I never thought I would get a chance to experience. This includes spending true unconstrained quality time with my children, doing lots of affordable travel, building new skills, making new friends and growing my community. I have enjoyed every moment of it and discovered that happiness can be enduring. It is truly possible to be happy almost every single day. I have improved my health and fitness by a mile and also been able to increase the depth of my knowledge, skills and relationships while giving back without the constant pressure to make money or meet arbitrary corporate targets. It has been a great privilege I hope to never take for granted.

Recently I came across the book 4000 weeks and I think its so important as it reminds us all, that on average we live ‘only’ 4000 weeks. Our time is finite and what we do with that time really matters. In the case of most of us, if you are over 40, you might have only 2000 weeks left and once you include sleep and the really great healthy years left, perhaps that number is only 1000 weeks. 1000 weeks is less than 20 new year’s eves. Its less 5 leap years. Can one fit all their hopes, dreams, aspirations, goals and desires in such a small period? For me its not about the fear of missing out or of running out of time but rather finding the joy in missing out. Its about focusing more on pursuing those things that truly matter. The book re-enforced my desire to embrace mind glow and joy by realizing how precious and short life is. My main realization in early retirement has been about developing a sense of gratitude and how that can create a joyful life.

The message is clear, life is short and if you think about the incredible odds for you to have been given this one and only life… You realize life is even shorter and more special than meets the eye. Therefore it makes all the sense in the world to seek to retire early, do what you love and love what you do, whatever that might be. Hoping you guys are enjoying the early retired life and if you are still pursuing it, I wish you well and may you reach your goal soon.

Kindly note: These are my own and original thoughts. I’m also not selling anything. I’m truly just interested in sharing thoughts, perspectives and insights with kindred spirits.

How do you guys think about retiring early? Is it something that’s always come naturally to you? Or do you wish you had worked more during your career?

Life is short, but I’m happy to answer any friendly comments or questions. :)

I have been thinking about the notion of just how little time we have in this world. In this sub we talk a lot about numbers and the mechanics of FIRE. I believe there are other critical dimensions we do not usually touch such the non financial strategies, tactics, principles or even its philosophical aspects.

Given enough time, everyone is eventually dead. Research suggests, the average lifespan is about 4000 weeks. If you are 40 years old, you many think you have plenty of time but that's only just over 2000 weeks left. Can you fit all your dreams, desires, aspirations, goals, hopes and achievements in this time? Are just 40 more birthdays, enough to see all the places you had hoped and to do all the things that you truly wanted to do? Nonetheless, that's the time we have and how we choose to spend it is of paramount importance.

FI/RE is a philosophy that encourages us to seek that true essence in brain glow and to try and reach it in as short a period as feasibly possible without getting too distracted. And... Yes it can be done while remaining true to your values and having fun! One question I see a lot around here is people who ask about how one might overcome the one more year syndrome. Others ask how you might be able to live without social media and consumerism.

I think once you truly think about how precious your one and only life is, and just how finite your time on this beautiful planet may be... You may come to the conclusion you have no choice but to pull the trigger as soon as you get to your FIRE goal and no later than that. It also becomes natural to embrace the joy of missing out rather than the fear thereof and seeking only those things that authentically matter to you. FIREd or not, perhaps realizing how unique and lucky every single one of us is to be alive may bring us closer to a sense of gratitude and peace, even if one might be having a bad day or dreading yet another up coming Monday...

I've used no AI in this post. These are just my thoughts and I'd love to hear your perspective.

I have been thinking about the notion of just how little time we have in this world. In this sub we talk a lot about numbers and the mechanics of FIRE. I believe there are other critical dimensions we do not usually touch such the non financial strategies, tactics, principles or even its philosophical aspects.

Given enough time, everyone is eventually dead. Research suggests, the average lifespan is about 4000 weeks. If you are 40 years old, you many think you have plenty of time but that's only just over 2000 weeks left. Can you fit all your dreams, desires, aspirations, goals, hopes and achievements in this time? Are just 40 more birthdays, enough to see all the places you had hoped and to do all the things that you truly wanted to do? Nonetheless, that's the time we have and how we choose to spend it is of paramount importance.

FI/RE is a philosophy that encourages us to seek that true essence in brain glow and to try and reach it in as short a period as feasibly possible without getting too distracted. And... Yes it can be done while remaining true to your values and having fun! One question I see a lot around here is people who ask about how one might overcome the one more year syndrome. Others ask how you might be able to live without social media and consumerism.

I think once you truly think about how precious your one and only life is, and just how finite your time on this beautiful planet may be... You may come to the conclusion you have no choice but to pull the trigger as soon as you get to your FIRE goal and no later than that. It also becomes natural to embrace the joy of missing out rather than the fear thereof and seeking only those things that authentically matter to you. FIREd or not, perhaps realizing how unique and lucky every single one of us is to be alive may bring us closer to a sense of gratitude and peace, even if one might be having a bad day or dreading yet another up coming Monday...

I've used no AI in this post. These are just my thoughts and I'd love to hear your perspective.

Overview: Today will be close to 1111 days since I Fire’d from working as a systems engineer for about 25 years+. For the most part the work was fulfilling which is likely why I stayed there so long. I have been doing a lot of reflection on what my life looks like now and wanted to share some thoughts with you. You can read my detailed journey to FI in my earlier posts.

Financials: Here are a few of my numbers: Family of 4, Retired in 2023 with a networth that has increased to 7.9M in 2026. Our withdrawal rate is in the 1-3% range. We no longer budget but naturally maintain annual expenses in the 60-80K range. We feel like we have almost everything we want and are now spending a bigger portion of the dividend income. We are invested in the SMP500 (38%), A single stock from previous RSUs (23%), real estate 35%, other investments (3%) and Cash 1%. Continuing to slowly divest from the single stock RSU and increase the index fund over time. The main reason for not completely liquidated the RSUs is to control the capital gains and also maintaining MAGI. We are also starting to build an international index portfolio for additional diversification.

Life: So far, we have not been bored at all and every day provides new adventures. We have done our first cruise ever in our lives. I have cycled over 900 miles this year alone and hiked over 1 million steps. I’ve also done some things for others that truly brought me joy. There is so much to do and so little time. I have discovered runner’s high and a real sense of calm and joy I like I’ve never known before. Its hard to describe but imagine the best day of your life and then imagine getting to live it almost each and every day. That’s how it feels.

Some thoughts and realizations, on early retirement:

I now regret staying as long as I did in the corporate career. There are so many opportunities I see now which would likely have landed me in the same or better position. I got too busy at work and was not able to pursue them. Nonetheless, I’m still grateful I got to retire at 45 although 35 or 40 would have been better.

Its okay to slow down and have lots of quiet unplanned time. A lot of my inspiration and new ideas have come from idle time in the afternoons just walking or hiking around our area. This has also reduced my stress levels and helped me to improve my sense of well being.

Each and every year has provided new challenges we have never experienced before, but we approach these with a sense of levity, humility, optimism, faith and courage, knowing we have come so far and yet have even further to go. Problems are there to teach us a lesson and if we embrace them, we can grow.

The things we fear the most almost never happen. If you take reasonable action, managed risk and have courage and conviction in your plans, dreams and aspirations, anything is possible.

Deleting social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc has freed up so much cognitive cycles and reduced my anxiety while increasing my satisfaction with life. I didn’t realize how I addicted I was to those platforms till I stopped using them. I feel like I regained my power and so much more time. I use that time to talk to friends, make new goals and enjoy life in the real world.

Having a plan and purpose definitely the optimal way to go, but even if you don’t know what you will do, have faith that you will find it. Most people in this sub are imaginative, intuitive and smart. Trust that like everything else, you will figure it out. Some of my happiest FIREd friends have little or no plans and they are okay.

No AI was used in any of this post and these are my own earnest thoughts! That’s it for now. Hopefully this is helpful to someone. Life is short, but I’m happy to answer any friendly questions or comments :)

Overview: Today will be close to 1111 days since I Fire’d from working as a systems engineer for about 25 years+. For the most part the work was fulfilling which is likely why I stayed there so long. I have been doing a lot of reflection on what my life looks like now and wanted to share some thoughts with you. You can read my detailed journey to FI in my earlier posts.

Financials: Here are a few of my numbers: Family of 4, Retired in 2023 with a networth that has increased to 7.9M in 2026. Our withdrawal rate is in the 1-3% range. We no longer budget but naturally maintain annual expenses in the 60-80K range. We feel like we have almost everything we want and are now spending a bigger portion of the dividend income. We are invested in the SMP500 (38%), A single stock from previous RSUs (23%), real estate 35%, other investments (3%) and Cash 1%. Continuing to slowly divest from the single stock RSU and increase the index fund over time. The main reason for not completely liquidated the RSUs is to control the capital gains and also maintaining MAGI. We are also starting to build an international index portfolio for additional diversification.

Life: So far, we have not been bored at all and every day provides new adventures. We have done our first cruise ever in our lives. I have cycled over 900 miles this year alone and hiked over 1 million steps. I’ve also done some things for others that truly brought me joy. There is so much to do and so little time. I have discovered runner’s high and a real sense of calm and joy I like I’ve never known before. Its hard to describe but imagine the best day of your life and then imagine getting to live it almost each and every day. That’s how it feels.

Some thoughts and realizations, on early retirement:

I now regret staying as long as I did in the corporate career. There are so many opportunities I see now which would likely have landed me in the same or better position. I got too busy at work and was not able to pursue them. Nonetheless, I’m still grateful I got to retire at 45 although 35 or 40 would have been better.

Its okay to slow down and have lots of quiet unplanned time. A lot of my inspiration and new ideas have come from idle time in the afternoons just walking or hiking around our area. This has also reduced my stress levels and helped me to improve my sense of well being.

Each and every year has provided new challenges we have never experienced before, but we approach these with a sense of levity, humility, optimism, faith and courage, knowing we have come so far and yet have even further to go. Problems are there to teach us a lesson and if we embrace them, we can grow.

The things we fear the most almost never happen. If you take reasonable action, managed risk and have courage and conviction in your plans, dreams and aspirations, anything is possible.

Deleting social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc has freed up so much cognitive cycles and reduced my anxiety while increasing my satisfaction with life. I didn’t realize how I addicted I was to those platforms till I stopped using them. I feel like I regained my power and so much more time. I use that time to talk to friends, make new goals and enjoy life in the real world.

Having a plan and purpose definitely the optimal way to go, but even if you don’t know what you will do, have faith that you will find it. Most people in this sub are imaginative, intuitive and smart. Trust that like everything else, you will figure it out. Some of my happiest FIREd friends have little or no plans and they are okay.

No AI was used in any of this post and these are my own earnest thoughts! That’s it for now. Hopefully this is helpful to someone. Life is short, but I’m happy to answer any friendly questions or comments :)