Revenge of the nerds! (a really fascinating look at why)
Fierce Nerds [Paul Graham] “The fierce nerds are a small but interesting group. They are as a rule extremely competitive — more competitive, I’d say, than highly competitive non-nerds. Competition is more personal for them. Partly perhaps because they’re not emotionally mature enough to distance themselves from it, but also because there’s less randomness in the kinds of competition they engage in, and they are thus more justified in taking the results personally.”
One of the biggest challenges you see after someone retires is the readjustment of their sense of self-worth. When you’ve spent the better part of several decades as a [insert job here], it’s hard to come to grips to the person you are outside of that job. It’s even harder if you were a 60-70 hour-per-week type of grinder.
How To Separate Your Self Worth From Your Professional Life [Tis But a Moment] – “One of the women I most look up to and appreciate in my career (and outside of it) has decided to walk away from the corporate world altogether. She’s had a huge impact in my life since getting to work together, and her leaving felt like an obvious next step. Her values are not based on hierarchies, money, or how others perceive her. She told me she was leaving the field not because of FI/RE, but because work no longer offers a sense of meaning for her.”
I faced this challenge when I sold my first personal finance blog, Bargaineering, and I solved it by completely ignoring the idea of retirement and starting other businesses – including my latest blog Wallet Hacks. I don’t have all the answers but, at least in this case, I know the problem is waiting for me. 🙂