Don’t Confuse How With Why
Don’t Confuse How With Why
I have to admit that sometimes I am a little redundant on this blog. Although I never want to bore my readers, I find that there are just so many different personal finance topics. It has been said over and over, the principles behind financial independence are simple although achieving them may be hard and require a good deal of time. In the past I have warned about confusing process with product. In so may ways, I think process is weighing us down. We lose sight of our end goal and fill our plate with meetings, and emails, and compliance, etc. So much so that these silly daily tasks become an end unto themselves. Thus, I think it is important to recalibrate and remember not to confuse how with why.
This is one of our biggest impediments to contentment and actually reaching the appropriate goals.
How
Before I get any further, i want to stress that how is quite important. It is the stepping stone to our goals. More importantly, it is the actionable process in which our journey is built.
How is process.
For many readers of this blog, how is financial independence. That’s right, financial independence is a tool, a lever. It is a means to an end. It is not an end itself.
We can get more granular. Financial independence is a series of actions that lead to financial freedom. They include frugality, saving, investing, and wage earning. We utilize these techniques in unison for the greater goal.
But here is where it gets tricky. Financial independence is not a goal. It is a technique. A process that inevitable leads to a product.
So what is the product?
Don’t confuse how with why and you might just be able to answer that question.
Why
Why is different things to different people. Our why is very personal and may change with time. If financial Independence is plan B (process), then life is plan A (product). Our why is life.
This is most likely the reason we set off in pursuit of financial independence in the first place. There was some yearning, something drawing us to gain more control.
Maybe it is our children. Or our passion for travel. Possibly we have a hobby which burns so deeply that we want to spend every waking moment engaged in it.
The details don’t matter.
When we confuse how with why, however, the result is cognitive dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance
Definition: In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort (psychological stress) experienced by a person who simultaneously holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values. It is a situation in which perception or belief of a person clashes with the action that is performed by that person.
Financial independence is not a goal, it is a goal post.
Belief 1: Financial independence is a goal and is my why.
Belief 2: Life has meaning outside of money and we live for a greater purpose. Our true why stems from living authentic lives.
When you confuse how with why these two beliefs clash and lead down a path of fear and depression. Our old friend the money mind meld rears its ugly head. Retirement becomes not the nirvana but an empty vessel that is not able to be filled. The one more year phenomenon kicks in and it is far easier to let momentum carry than maintain this discordant retired life.
Final Thoughts
Financial independence is the how. It is a tool. The why is life. It is the sum total of wants and dreams that we live for. It is our purpose and authenticity.
Don’t confuse how with why.
Don’t fall down that rabbit hole of cognitive dissonance.
Good post! For me, in my dotage, it’s not about money but about proper integration of what I believe and understand and do. FI can as easily be slavery as freedom. In fact coupled with RE I think it tends to become about slavery at least in the blogosphere but likely in reality as well. How many bloggers or pre-retirees have any real clue about retirement? Understanding retirement is like understanding heaven. You won’t get it till you get there, and once you’re there the die is cast since there is little you can do to change the course short of putting the yoke back on. The point being you better have a clue how you’re going to spend your life and what is really important.
Much of what I read by the early RE crowd is about being one of the cool kids, the “look how amazing I am, I actually did it” blogger. It becomes about being amazing so you have something to write about to generate clicks since your retirement is partially if not significantly supported by clicks. In other words your amazingness is a form of slavery and you’re FI isn’t so independent. It’s conditional. The “report” becomes boring not amazing. Look at me eating Bahn Mi in Ho Chi Min city. I can get the same damn sandwich driving 30 miles to Orlando. Where do you go when the superficial wears off? What dissonance does it cause when you get to “Is that all there is?” When you come to realize your independence isn’t so independent. One part however is independent and that’s the relentlessly forward movement of time travel and encountering the future. the magic happens when you can express “look what I found” as the future comes upon you, as opposed to “look what I contrived”
I think FI can totally be about slavery. Look at all those who are RE and pretty much spend blog post after post proving their own money insecurity. Hmmm, sounds like a good post topic for tomorrow!