Guest post!!! So excited to share a post that one of my brothers wrote for the blog today. One of the many things I really admire about him is that he’s not the kind of person that takes the easy way out. Although his journey to FI (financial independence/retiring early) is just getting started, I know that his attitude towards hardship is going to be a valuable asset on the path.
Hardly Living
~By Bro #1
I’m sure most of us have heard the adage “Pressure makes diamonds”. It’s graced many “inspirational” Instagram pages marketed towards those with pumpkin spiced lattes in their hands. With mixed cursive fonts and glints of sparkling diamonds, this is one of those messages that is easy to roll your eyes at. For those who don’t know, the saying corresponds to the idea that those who suffer through hardship, come out crisper, shinier, and more defined than those who do not. This is something that should not be overlooked when you are rolling your eyes the next time you scroll past it.
Hardship and making it through difficulty is how we grow. It shows us who we really are. It cracks away any exterior that has been packed around the small, effervescent nugget of you at the center. It is those who struggle that find out who they truly are. Life should be hard. Just like Financial Independence.
Would having $1000 dollars be meaningful or feel good if it was just given to you? It wouldn’t. Experiencing difficulty on the journey to Financial Independence should be smiled at and thanked while you pass it by and look back on it later.
One step I’ve taken towards FI is, as of about three weeks ago, I ditched my car for a two-wheeled, man powered steed. Biking to work is awesome. You don’t have to make time for the gym, because you get an hour of cardio in everyday. Real cardio. You don’t feel tired before or after work, because your heart is circulating highly oxygenated blood throughout your body and up to your brain. You don’t have car payments, car insurance, car maintenance, etc. I have to supplement some of this cost with Lyft rides (for things too far away), grocery delivery services, and time. But with my current spending, it doesn’t even add up to what car insurance would cost in my area, and I find the extra time I spend on my commute and running average errands very worthwhile.
However, biking to work is not all sunshine and rainbows. It can be very hard and that’s the idea. Pedaling into a northern blowing headwind in the morning, wondering why the hell the wind is blowing from the south, only to pedal into a southern blowing headwind on your way home is kind of a bitch. It’s exhausting on your legs and it sometimes it makes you stress-order a large pizza from a shitty chain pizza place and eat half of it out of exhaustion, frustration, and spite (towards yourself for making you bike 12 damn miles a day). You can’t always get what you want/need at the grocery store when you run out of room in your backpack, which can be both great and not so great. You do become slightly dependent on other people whether that’s Lyft or friends.
Overall, making a bike your primary means of transportation is a great example of how you can feel every single dollar you save. Each morning you bike in a rainstorm (with no rain gear whatsoever), struggle through first gear on that last hill, or have to dodge a loose Great Dane chasing you down the street, you are adding difficulty and subsequent immense satisfaction to your life and your FI journey.
The struggles and setbacks you experience on your journey to FI and in life should be looked at with gratitude, because you just became that much more badass for embracing it and coming out the other side.
Find ways to make your journey hard and appreciate the toil of the climb.
