Back in the fall of 2016 I posted one of this blog’s earliest pieces, “Early Retirement Due to Stress.” Back then I planned to be out of the corporate grind by spring 2020 — only three and a half years to go, I thought.
It ended up taking another three years, but I finally hit my goal and walked away early. I imagined a life completely free of stress. Ahh, bliss.
Right.
A few weeks before my first anniversary of freedom I’d soften that idea. Yes, I’m much less stressed than in 2016 — I have the health data to prove it — but I didn’t wake up on June 2, 2023 in a land of rainbows and stress-free nirvana.
I probably drank too much Kool-Aid back then. I suggested you could dodge work stress by being a good soldier and mastering Jedi-like cubicle coping skills.
There’s a grain of truth to that. With age, experience, and a willingness to learn, even hacks like me can survive — and sometimes thrive — in a corporate system. The problem is, if you never learn to embrace change or handle conflict, your corporate pass will eventually expire.
In that old 2016 post I even had the gall to say in #5 that you could simply say “No” and everything would work out. Heh.
I’m here to tell you that saying “No” too often — refusing projects, managers, or roles — will get you noticed by higher-ups who only hear “YES.”
Looking back, my streak of dodging things lasted from March 2020 (just before the COVID lockdowns) until fall 2022. My updated advice? Stagger your “No”s until you’re financially independent. Once you are, you can say “No” as much as you like.
I was glad I wrote this line in 2016: “Sometimes there’s a re-org that simply shakes everyone’s confidence, and morale goes up in smoke.” Well…
Reflecting is useful. I’d forgotten how hard I worked to become a better manager and teammate while stuck in a cubicle. I wasn’t cut out for that life — and I can tell because I’m naturally prone to stress.
Stress can be helpful — it reminds you to do things and warns you when trouble’s coming. But it also wears you down. For me, 25 years of that was enough.
Nowadays most of my stress shows up in parenting. Raising two pre-teens is incredibly rewarding and I’m grateful for my family a million times over. But the bargaining and drama from stubborn 10-year-olds can get old.
The lower stress I mentioned earlier goes hand in hand with my friend Iritis — the eye condition. This spring I got through March and April without a flare-up for the first time. The trend had been improving, but last year it rebounded to two flare-ups after a record low of one in 2022.
So I can’t say for sure that retiring early stopped the flare-ups. The second flare-up in 2022 happened a few months after I retired. For now I’ll enjoy the “spring coincidence” and call it a win.
I think it’s mostly about managing expectations. Staying busy in meaningful, productive ways meets a lot of people’s needs. Early retirement is just a new chapter with different — and often better — challenges. The best part: you get to choose your adventure. The re-org no longer calls the shots.
Seven years ago I listed six habits for achieving “balance.” At my one-year retirement mark I’ve given myself grades in the post — and I’ll add a few more habits that help avoid retiree stress.
So here it is: Cubert’s 9 Habits of Highly Content Retirees — my little riff on Stephen Covey’s famous list.
Notice there’s nothing about “travel the world,” “buy a bigger house,” “get a boat,” or “book that vacation home.” No tips about shopping sprees or risky investments. Those things aren’t necessarily wrong if you’re financially independent.
But if you already have what matters — friends, family, health, and purpose — and you don’t suffer from FOMO, it makes little sense to get pulled into conspicuous consumerism.
After nearly a year off the payroll, I’m convinced early retirement can be wonderful — but only if you have a plan for day one.
Retire without a plan and you could end up bored, broke, or depressed from losing purpose and identity. Now that would be downright stressful.
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