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The downsides of early retirement

Picture of someone about to pop a balloon with a pin.

“Here’s the truth: If you’re unhappy before you retire early, it’s likely that you’ll still be unhappy after you retire. It’s better to figure out what’s at the very core of your issues and fix them first,” Sam explained.

Regret is a big challenge in retirement

Illustration of an ikigai diagram.

“What is it that you are going to do once you leave the workforce?” George asked. “You can retire from your career, but you can’t retire from life.”

Are you living a ‘what if’ or ‘what is’ life?

Photo of older man contemplating doubt and indecision.

A “what if” life fixates on past regrets, stays stuck in state of unsettledness and hindsight bias, embodying the fallacy that if only I’d done this or that, or if that awful thing didn’t happen to me things would’ve turned out better, or when this or that passes or happens, or some kind of Golden Ticket arrives, things will be fine.