After going back and forth with my accommodation plans for next year with my friend, I sank into my bedsheets and realized that Morgan Housel was right;
Long-term planning is harder than it seems because people's goals and desires change over time The Psychology of Money - Book - Morgan Housel
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A few years ago, I would never have imagined I would have wanted to move again. I thought I was going to make this place my roots and build from here. But recently, another part of the world has been calling me, and every time I try to resist, the universe keeps dragging circumstances to prove that I have to make that leap.
Indeed, my goals and desires at this point have changed. I am beginning to see life from a completely different perspective that if I began to write about it for you to read I would be contradicting the things I said in the past.
Speaking of pasts. Sunk costs are mostly the reason people don't often let go of the past. They look at everything they've invested in a particular thing and since they don't want it to go to waste, they drag it along tirelessly. Instead of letting go and starting afresh. They hold onto the past and the past seems to hold them back but they don't see that.
If we did not all have sunk costs then letting go would have been perfectly easy. But we worry about what other people will say too much. We worry about being a disappointment to the people who love us. We worry about things that are not worried about us. Robert Greene had taught me to always let go of things that I wanted but seemed to be out of reach for me. Especially when it seems factors beyond my control are denying me access to this thing. This is a clear example of having no sunk cost and moving along quickly to the next thing.
People who are able to let go of their past often feel lighter and able to move on quickly. People go through school studying a particular course for years only to hate their profession and jobs down the road. Young people do things that they regret when they become older.
It's to this end that Morgan advised us to save hard. If we don't even have a good reason to save, we should do it because somewhere along the line the things we used to like and cherish will change. And we wouldn't be caught dead still doing them after we've lost interest just because we can't afford to lose the pay. We should have that reserve so that we can always say goodbye to the past and move on to the future. We can save in any means or asset class whatsoever as long as it will be able to beat inflation and secure our future.
The only thing we will be able to control is how much money we have sitting in our emergency account waiting to rescue us from situations we no longer feel happy or blessed to be in.
We should do this knowing that no matter how much we plan, we will never be able to forecast what our future selves will like and want. And it will be better if in the future we won't feel stuck in the past just because we can't bring ourselves to move past it.
Save enough so that if you no longer like your dream job, you can change route. Save enough so that if you are no longer in love with your partner breaking away wouldn't be a problem. Save enough so that if your partner suddenly decides they no longer feel the same way about you and wants a divorce you won't hold on because you can't feign for yourself if they leave. Save enough so if you need to travel out of the country and start a new life so you won't have to see your Ex every day, it will be possible. Save for your future self.
Right now I am hurting because I did not see the changes I am currently experiencing coming. And because I failed to forestall how much I would change, I am oddly not fully ready to make this leap. But it seems I am going to risk it all instead of holding onto it because of the sunk cost.