The Freedom Paradox
I have this conversation often, but since I've had it three times this week, that merits a blog post. When I ask people what they are trying to achieve in their finances, many respond, "Freedom." Does that resonate with you? Do you desire financial freedom? I'm guessing that hits home for many of you, as it's one of the most common answers I receive.
I have a question, though. What is freedom? How do you define it? Inevitably, your answer is probably some number north of where you currently stand. It's something in the distance. It can be difficult to define what it looks like, but it's definitely more than whatever your current reality is. Why? Because you probably don't feel "free" today.
Herein lies the problem. Whenever we think about this idea of freedom or financial freedom, it's a moving target. Each time we hit a new plateau, we realize the winning score is higher than we thought. Thus, we begin a new pursuit.
There's a paradox here. Millions of Americans are pursuing freedom. They are pushing, grinding, and hoarding their way to more.....all in the name of creating freedom. The paradox is the fact that the pursuit of freedom is often what's keeping them from being free. Instead of just being free, they are fixated on a goal, a goal that will continually move further out.
Example 1: I recently talked to a 66-year-old with $2M in his retirement portfolio. He wants to retire, but believes he needs at least $3M to be free.
Example 2: I hung out with a friend with $4M in his retirement portfolio. He hates his job, but believes he needs at least $8M to be free.
Example 3: I met with a couple with $10M in retirement assets. Both spouses have big dreams of what they might want to do someday when they achieve financial freedom, but that number is closer to $15M-$18M.
Example 4: I spent time with a man who has more than $75M. His wife wants him to slow down, but he feels he first needs to get closer to $100M to solidify his financial standing.
Here's what all four of these families have in common. Each family is pursuing freedom. Each family already has freedom but is paradoxically sabotaging said freedom with their pursuit of freedom. Each family's perspective of freedom is anchored and skewed by their own current reality, not realizing they are already well ahead of the prior person's definition of freedom. That's quite the paradox.
Don't let the pursuit of freedom rob you of the opportunity to actually be free. True freedom is not found in a dollar amount.....it's found in perspective and contentment.
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