How Slow FI Helps Get Me Through Tough Times

I don’t know about you, but I find the news especially hard to take these days. I have pretty good boundaries when it comes to my intake of news, but regardless, things have felt really rough lately. Upon reflection, I think that the principles of Slow FI and my journey to financial independence are the main factors getting me through.

The news has been especially hard for me to take since the night of November 9, 2016, when I stayed up late in anticipation of getting to witness the first woman become the President of the United States. We all know how that turned out.

Since then, we collectively have witnessed countless gut-wrenching news topics cross our screens such as COVID-19, the murder of George Floyd, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, continued climate denial and climate crises, mass shootings, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade, to name just a handful of what feels like an infinite number of topics.

Sometimes, it all feels absolutely paralyzing, like I should be doing more but at the same time already feeling at capacity when it comes to what I can give to my family, my friends, and my community, let alone the rest of the world.

Most days, the only thing that gets me through, the one solid thing that I can cling to, is that I am in control of how I spend my time and the decisions that I make. Thanks to the principles of Slow FI (using the financial freedom gained on the path to financial independence to start living your best life now) that I have come to learn over time as well as my financial independence goals, I am now more clear than ever on how I want to spend my days and my precious time.

Instead of being on the hamster wheel, working 80 hours a week in a job that I do not love in hopes that I can become financially independent as quickly as possible but being too exhausted and depleted to take care of myself, let alone anyone else, I have taken steps to design a life I love. I have decided what is enough for me, and I have designed my life so that my days are spent happy and fulfilled. Most days, that is what gets me through.

I have learned that it’s most important to take care of myself first, in such a way that I have the energy and capacity to be there, to be useful, to help in whatever way that I can, to my family, friends, and community. I’ve heard my friend Jess from The Fioneers write and speak often about being able to give others your overflow, and I love that concept so much. By putting my needs first, I’m better able to help others by giving them my overflow.

The best way I have been able to do this, to design a life I love and put my needs first, is to focus on what I’m doing in my routine, daily life. Sounds boring, right? I promise, it’s not; it’s the golden ticket!

How would you spend your last 6 months on Earth?

My husband and I are borderline obsessed with the movie Don’t Look Up. Have you seen it? (Warning: this post may contain spoilers.) I love this movie for about a million reasons, many being far outside the scope of this post. I love it not only because the movie is directed by Adam McKay but also because it makes you think, it makes you laugh, it makes you squirm, and it makes you grateful. In a nutshell, scientists discover that a comet is going to wipe out the planet Earth in exactly 6 months and 14 days, and the saga unfolds of a world where scientists are trying to warn of imminent danger while those in power try desperately to hide the facts based on what’s good for them. Sound familiar?

I’d be surprised if anyone could watch this movie and not think about how they would spend their last 6 months on Earth.

I feel like I know exactly what I would do. I would quit my job, and I would keep living my days mostly as they are now, except that I would spend a lot more time with friends and family than I already do.

Sound crazy? Well, maybe it is. But, thanks to the principles of Slow FI, I have already taken steps to design my life in a way where I enjoy each and every day immensely. I have everything I need and want. I’m living my best life now, instead of waiting until I hit financial independence.

Slow FI: make every day count

The concept of Slow FI was born because early adopters of the FIRE (financial independence retire early) movement started to talk about how they weren’t necessarily happy once they hit FI. For many, if they had to do it over, they say they would have slowed down. They say that reaching FI wasn’t this magic portal to happiness heaven.

In fact, in one of Jess from the Fioneers’ Slow FI interviews (if you haven’t checked them out yet, I highly recommend that you do), Mr. 1500 writes about how his journey to FIRE was like a death march, and how if he had to do it over, he would have focused on happiness daily. He believes that the real value of FIRE is how it impacts your daily life.

In that Slow FI interview, he writes, “life is short and you should strive to find beauty and wonder in every day.”

For me, this is the basis of my “why” for adopting the Slow FI journey. I am so much happier now, after getting off the hamster wheel. I’ve worked hard to find a job that pays well but doesn’t suck away all my time and energy so that I can make room for other things that bring me joy and happiness in my everyday life.

By slowing down, I have been able to discover so much about myself and what makes me happy. If I hadn’t slowed down on my journey to financial independence, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to create my Financial Freedom List (a list of things I want to do/explore as I gain more time freedom on my journey to financial independence).

But, some days are harder than others…

…and, when these days arise, these reminders that life is short become more powerful and important than usual.

We recently received horrible news about some family members of our good friends. A couple of years ago, we had gone camping with these friends and their cousins, a lovely husband and wife couple about our age. The news we recently received was that the husband of that couple had been hit and killed by a drunk driver on his way home from work. Just like that, a life gone, a wife devastated, and a family in mourning.

This was crushing news, the kind that takes your breath away. It’s an example of a tragic event that may feel rare but happens more than you might think (according to the NHTSA, one alcohol-related death occurs every 52 minutes in the US, and drunk driving accidents are responsible for 10,000 deaths every year). It’s the kind of event that when it happens to you or someone you know and love (and sometimes when it happens to someone not even that close to you), it is a devastating reminder that time is precious.

It is two things at once. We can be both reminded that life is short and at the same time encouraged to slow down and enjoy the every day. Slow FI can also be this reminder and encouragement for us, if we let it.

By carrying out my own version of slowing down and adopting a Slow FI mindset, I don’t dread my days. I don’t daydream about vacations where I can escape my every day. Instead, I find the joy and beauty in every day because I’m actively looking for it.

Having Everything

To sum it all up, Slow FI makes me feel like I have everything.

At the end of Don’t Look Up, one of the main characters Dr. Mindy (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) decides to spend his last night on Earth at the dinner table surrounded by his friends and family. They are not a religious group of people, but someone says grace (which I find interesting). The last words spoken in the whole movie (well, before the credits. If you haven’t seen the movie, definitely watch until the end of the credits) are from Dr. Mindy himself.

We really did have everything, didn’t we? I mean, when you think about it.

This line always hits me so hard. Every time I watch it. It seems so simple, and yet it is profound.

If it were me in that situation, that’s how I’d want to feel. Like I lived every day like it was my last, and that I had everything. That I had enough. For me, that’s what Slow FI brings to my life. It helps me live every day with intention. It helps me find the beauty in every day. And, even during hard times, it helps me feel like my cup is overflowing.

How are you doing lately? Drop me a comment and let me know, I’d love to hear from you.