Figuring Out How To Die… Happily

…so that we can live happily.

There’s a lot of retired people where I live.

It’s just a function of what people choose to do when they’ve spent their life working, and then finally, once they have the means to, choosing a lifestyle they’d always dreamed of.

Lots of sunshine, temperate climate, crashing waves, white sandy beaches. We homo sapiens flock to it. And so it’s newly weds and “nearly deads”.

What it means for me is when walking on the beach I will often bump into neighbours (picking on the retired ones here), and sometimes we’ll walk together.

Reflecting on the conversations, what’s striking is how we accommodate in our minds for the mistakes we’ve made.

This makes sense because regret is a bitter pill and makes you a miserable person. Nobody likes that. Hands up who wants to hang around a miserable old fart who’s always harping on about how life screwed him over?

Also it’s a form or protecting our own self esteem and not recognising our failures.

As we get older, however, it seems clear to me that we become more honest with ourselves and with others. We recognise those failures, release them, and are free to talk about them. Ego isn’t something that features as much as we age.

This is, I’m going to guess, pretty much what it looks like for average people.

But we don’t want to be average. That’d suck!

Our task, therefore, is to have it look more like this:

Get the ego stuff over with as fast as possible… or better still, never get it at all.

Oh, and ego and confidence are NOT the same thing. Not by a long shot!

I’ve much to learn before they put me in a box or roast me in an oven, but here’s some things I’ve been thinking about as I find myself unbelievably at middle age. How the hell did that happen?

  • Say NO more often. Most of everything out there is a waste of your time. Learn to check it fast. I shared some more personal thoughts on this a while ago.
  • Leverage the skills and talents of those who have what you haven’t. Rambo works for movies, not so much in real life.
  • Don’t beat dead horses. People rarely change and there are 7 billion of them out there. Don’t waste your time with those who’re not helping you.
  • And coupled with the last one, make sure you help those you can.
  • You’ve one life. Live it like you mean it. This means finding your passion. If you can make a living out of it great. If not (because let’s face it, it can be hard), make sure you dedicate enough time to it to ensure contentment.
  • Decimate, kill, and annihilate distractions: TV, video games, social media isht, conversations with morons. Treat them as your enemy. The time people spend on absolutely worthless crap is criminal.
  • Three really important ones: read, read, and read.
  • Take time to stop and just think. Every day. An absolute minimum of 30 min. An hour is preferable.

And then on investing…

I wrote an article on the easy and uncomplicated way to get rich that covers the basics. Foundational stuff, if you will. At least it’s been that way for me but hey, what do I know?

Some other thoughts:

  • I’d position size smaller than I first did. But…
  • I’d also take more risks. Definitely.
  • I’d let my profits run and re-allocate so that I could psychologically do this.
  • I’d seek help earlier on things I don’t know or understand. Battling along being macho about it is idiotic.
  • Get rid of cocky. The market doesn’t give a flying hoot about you or your opinions. Be humble.
  • When you’re right, press the accelerator.

And if I can get all this right, not only do I get to live a wonderful nourishing life. I get to die happy.

I’d love any feedback. Let me know what I’m missing as I’m sure I’ve missed a lot.

Please use the comments section at the end of each article, so the feedback is organised under the article. But if you’d rather reply by email, that’s fine too. I’m here.

– Chris

“There is no knowledge so hard to acquire as the knowledge of how to live this life well and naturally.” ― Michel de Montaigne

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