Article#6: 1st Stage on the Path to Accepting (Early) Retirement

It’s easier said than done to just state the stages that I went through, leading to (early) retirement. There are complex layers involved at each stage, so let me try to deep dive into them a bit more. (PS: this is as much for me as it is for you, so bear with me..:))
First, the restless/dissatisfied/questioning stage.

To be honest, this stage crept upon me, slowly but surely, and even caught me by surprise. I joined the financial services industry in 2003-2004 after my Masters. I Was a young, ambitious “immigrant” who wanted to have it all. I worked hard, I learnt the business, I made sure my bosses knew how well I was
doing, and was ever-alert for opportunities to climb that ladder. Being the only Indian around, I worked extra hard to fit in with the predominantly white co-workers. People accepted me, supposed eccentricities et al, and things were good.

From the frontline, I moved to the back-end of the business. Instead of personal investments (facing individual investors), I was now working with small to mid-size firms and their C-suite individuals to onboard them onto our clearing custody platform. I eventually switched jobs, but the line of business and the
expertise remained the same.

It was exciting, no denying that. I was meeting new people, high-powered clients, offering them solutions, getting recognized, and dressing up like a fast rising corporate whiz in branded suits and shoes. I loved it. My parents were proud of me, the sky seemed the limit.

I can’t exactly pinpoint why, but I started losing the drive, the interest and the motivation to keep at it. I began asking myself a rather deep and pertinent question – what’s the point?

Matters that I would earlier lose sleep over, like delivering bad news to a client or dealing with senior management after a missed deadline, suddenly didn’t seem all that important. I started looking at a bigger picture when it came to the consequences of my actions (or inactions). Either ways, my corporate days seemed numbered. I was
still, sort of, trying to deny it, and forge on with my “normal” life, but the impending doomsday was nearing, and getting clearer by the day.

To be continued….

Any clue as to why this happens? Do we just start looking at things differently as we get older? And do some people start thinking like this sooner than others?