Suffering from success

I am sure “suffering from success” sounds bizarre, if not stupid. But I think it is a real thing. Here are a few examples that I have come across.

1. Money management

For the past few years, I have been optimising money management. Different ways of managing different expenses, different spreadsheets to track expenses, income, taxes, investments, etc. Whenever I encountered some unsolved problem, I tweaked my processes and tooling.

Earlier, a significant chunk of my energy went into thinking about money and worrying if I had enough money. Then I started devoting a similar amount of energy in tweaking my processes and creating tools and spreadsheets.

Now I am at a phase where I don’t have to worry about money too much. My regular data recording and review processes don’t take more than a few minutes. I actually have free time… except I don’t know how to use that time. It’s a good problem to have for sure, but I am not prepared for this. If I don’t figure out how to use the extra time, I’ll likely become a sad person just scrolling through social media aimlessly.

2. Financial independence

There is a craze in some circles about financial independence. People even talk about how much they hate their current jobs and how amazing their lives will become once they have amassed enough wealth to be able to stop working.

But surprisingly, not everyone who retires early enjoys a peaceful life. Some live in a constant fear of running out of money. Some find it hard to keep themselves occupied and even go back to their old job (or a similar one).

What comes after success?

What’s common between these two examples? We look only at our immediate problems and solve them. Once they are solved, we are little prepared for what comes next.

I don’t think anyone can foresee these “second phase problems” and start to solve them ahead of time. That’s likely not possible, and likely not necessary. Maybe what we need is an open mind. Not getting too stuck in our routines that they leave us feeling empty when those routines are not necessary anymore. When we feel empty, we get addicted to something. I, for example, am likely on the verge of getting addicted to social media. Spending some energy in figuring out how to use my time better is in order now.

It’s funny. We see some problems and solve them. What do we get? More problems. Reminds me of this line from the movie Zorba the Greek: “Boss, life is trouble. Only death is not. To be alive is to undo your belt and look for trouble.” Maybe life is just an endeavor to keep looking for better and better problems.