Changing your life is simple. All just need sufficient Dissatisfaction, a compelling enough Vision, and a good enough Plan, to overcome the Cost of Change.[1] In equation form, DVP>C.
If your life isn’t changing the way you’d like it to, think through which components of this equation needs work. It’s an easy exercise to sketch out:
Dissatisfaction:
Lack of autonomy;
a First-World average ecological footprint;
fragility/exposure to risk;
uncertainty about the efficacy of my Work;
stress;
workaholism;
lack of quality time with friends and family;
a widening chasm between my idealized sense of who I am and the real-world evidence of who I actually appear to be becoming;
the sense that my one precious life is slipping through my fingers one thumb swipe at a time.
Vision:
Lots of free time;
money occupies a very small fragment of my attention;
interesting adventures;
a significant amount of time spend in craft;
a household equipped with high quality analog goods that focus and channel creative energies;
resilience to world system shocks and local disasters;
a strong and healthy body;
1-3 evenings/wk spent in deep quality time with friends and family - a consistent and robust social life;
the sense that my actions are no longer part of the problem;
the sense that my actions are part of a solution.
Plan:
Spend the time necessary to develop strong “Foundational” life skills;
lay in reasonable preps to buffer short-term system shocks;
minimize all forms of waste and eliminate counter-productive actions;
learn at least an intermediate level of personal finance;
pursue skills and activities of interest that have potential value for others that are also likely to throw off incidental income;
steadily drive cost of living expenses down until $5k/yr is habituated and requires no special effort;
experiment with radically decreasing my exposure to digital tools.
The Cost of Change:
Effort;
the perceived sacrifice of curtailing consumer activities like long road trips in cars, eating out often, extreme mountain biking, and frequent flights;
no longer giving in to instant material gratification;
navigating relationships with a wide difference in lifestyle;
the nagging doubt that I could be wrong about all this.
[1]Early Retirement Extreme, Jacob Lund Fisker