Plan? No Plan? A plan written on beach sand?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by TxCoastSailor

My wife and I are novice cruisers having just left our home port of many years on April 6.

We do have a plan more or less for the next two years but it is pretty flexible. We will likely spend this summer along the northern coast of the GOM. In the fall we will probably head down to south Florida, the keys and into the Bahamas. In the spring of 2020 up the eastern seaboard to the Chesapeake bay then back down south the following fall and possibly into the Caribbean. Notice there are no hard dates on any of this and if it happens that way great, if not that’s OK too. Time will tell.

Sounds like a great plan to me.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by daletournier

"The enemy of a great life is a good life "OR "the enemy of a good life is striving for perfection "....I once was a believer of the first statement, not so sure now? maybe good is good enough?

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I’m a strong proponent of “good enough.” I suppose this makes me the opposite of a perfectionist.

Perfection as an abstract ideal is fine — something like world peace, zero poverty, or the perfect IPA (forgive me … I’m drinking a beer right now). But in the real world none of this exists.

I view most problems in terms of an exponential graph, with accomplishment running the vertical axis, and effort/resources running the horizontal. It takes few resources to progress along the first ~75% of the curve. Beyond this the input demands to achieve each incremental progress percent rises steeply, until we reach perfection which requires an infinite amount of resources.

The skill in managing any problem, be it for an individual or collective, is to know when the input costs begin to exceed the incremental increase in benefits. IOW, I think it’s vital to understand when something is “good enough.”

I agree with this...

You need to know where that "hump" is!
Where after a certain level of effort or funds, you get vanishing returns in other areas of that same project or life.

But that doesn't mean that conceptually, you don't determine what "good enough" really is.

Accepting less thru a mindset of laziness or apathy is unfortunately the cause of most of the world's problems..... But that is a hot topic!

[weavis]

Oooh.

Accepting less is realistic. The cost of world domination is far higher than estimated.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I’m a strong proponent of “good enough.” I suppose this makes me the opposite of a perfectionist.

Perfection as an abstract ideal is fine — something like world peace, zero poverty, or the perfect IPA (forgive me … I’m drinking a beer right now). But in the real world none of this exists.

I view most problems in terms of an exponential graph, with accomplishment running the vertical axis, and effort/resources running the horizontal. It takes few resources to progress along the first ~75% of the curve. Beyond this the input demands to achieve each incremental progress percent rises steeply, until we reach perfection which requires an infinite amount of resources.

The skill in managing any problem, be it for an individual or collective, is to know when the input costs begin to exceed the incremental increase in benefits. IOW, I think it’s vital to understand when something is “good enough.”

Please put down the beer...

Most of the time, putting forth some extra effort in the short run can make a significant difference in the long term outcome.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by weavis

Oooh.

Accepting less is realistic. The cost of world domination is far higher than estimated.

Ah, ....... that's the Dr in you speaking!

Perfection has nothing to do with control.
It's as simple as a good cup of coffee [emoji57]

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

You need to know where that "hump" is!
Where after a certain level of effort or funds, you get vanishing returns in other areas of that same project or life.

But that doesn't mean that conceptually, you don't determine what "good enough" really is.

yup, hump = good enough

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Accepting less thru a mindset of laziness or apathy is unfortunately the cause of most of the world's problems..... But that is a hot topic!

Well, personally I’d avoid such broad sweeping statements. It’s just as easy to ascribe ethical failings to those who drive for ever-diminishing returns. Recall the adage that the road to hell is often paved by those with the best intentions. I’d easily argue most of the world’s problems can be traced to the strive for perfection, for growth; the perpetual drive for more.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Ah, ....... that's the Dr in you speaking!

Perfection has nothing to do with control.
It's as simple as a good cup of coffee [emoji57]

it was mild sarcasm with truth

[daletournier]

The problem with perfection and more is you never get there, this is more a western mentality, achieve, achieve, achieve, in fact I'd say it's a western disease that is more ego serving than happiness providing.

I retired early, completely self funded, I could of gone on and accumulated more, one simple question determined my retirement "how much do I need?".... now of course this varies depending on who you are. I can't live the bare minimalist life style like some BUT I wasn't willing to work another ten years to obtain more as I realised there was/is diminishing returns after a certain point (for me). Time money balance, it's an individual thing.

Would I like more? sure, but it depends on the cost I have to pay! If that cost involves selling my time doing something I don't want to do, well then I'm satisfied with what I have, also more often owns you, just as restrictive time management can own you.

One thing I won't do is get sucked into what I call the "Anthony Robbins religion of optimism, where there's never enough, I must achieve more, happiness only comes from achieving, must have every hour mapped out and accounted for!!!"....... this is a game that ends badly, I played it, in fact I wrote articles about it, one of my articles to motivate others was" the enemy of a great life is a good life", what a load of rubbish, a good life is a good life! the secret is not only acknowledging this but appreciating it... I'm still not there yet... Lol.

The days of white boards lining the walls ensuring I make the most of every hour are gone, do they serve or do you serve them?

Sometimes you have to achieve to know you don't have to achieve!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by daletournier

The problem with perfection and more is you never get there, this is more a western mentality, achieve, achieve, achieve, in fact I'd say it's a western disease that is more ego serving than happiness providing.

I retired early, completely self funded, I could of gone on and accumulated more, one simple question determined my retirement "how much do I need?".... now of course this varies depending on who you are. I can't live the bare minimalist life style like some BUT I wasn't willing to work another ten years to obtain more as I realised there was/is diminishing returns after a certain point (for me). Time money balance, it's an individual thing.

Would I like more? sure, but it depends on the cost I have to pay! If that cost involves selling my time doing something I don't want to do, well then I'm satisfied with what I have, also more often owns you, just as restrictive time management can own you.

One thing I won't do is get sucked into what I call the "Anthony Robbins religion of optimism, where there's never enough, I must achieve more, happiness only comes from achieving, must have every hour mapped out and accounted for!!!"....... this is a game that ends badly, I played it, in fact I wrote articles about it, one of my articles to motivate others was" the enemy of a great life is a good life", what a load of rubbish, a good life is a good life! the secret is not only acknowledging this but appreciating it... I'm still not there yet... Lol.

The days of white boards lining the walls ensuring I make the most of every hour are gone, do they serve or do you serve them?

Sometimes you have to achieve to know you don't have to achieve!

Sing it brother

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by daletournier

The problem with perfection and more is you never get there, this is more a western mentality, achieve, achieve, achieve, in fact I'd say it's a western disease that is more ego serving than happiness providing.

I retired early, completely self funded, I could of gone on and accumulated more, one simple question determined my retirement "how much do I need?".... now of course this varies depending on who you are. I can't live the bare minimalist life style like some BUT I wasn't willing to work another ten years to obtain more as I realised there was/is diminishing returns after a certain point (for me). Time money balance, it's an individual thing.

Would I like more? sure, but it depends on the cost I have to pay! If that cost involves selling my time doing something I don't want to do, well then I'm satisfied with what I have, also more often owns you, just as restrictive time management can own you.

One thing I won't do is get sucked into what I call the "Anthony Robbins religion of optimism, where there's never enough, I must achieve more, happiness only comes from achieving, must have every hour mapped out and accounted for!!!"....... this is a game that ends badly, I played it, in fact I wrote articles about it, one of my articles to motivate others was" the enemy of a great life is a good life", what a load of rubbish, a good life is a good life! the secret is not only acknowledging this but appreciating it... I'm still not there yet... Lol.

The days of white boards lining the walls ensuring I make the most of every hour are gone, do they serve or do you serve them?

Sometimes you have to achieve to know you don't have to achieve!

Nice post dale and I mostly agree with your sentiments except that you are forgetting the successful and happy individual.. who was wise enough to choose a carreer profession or occupation they really loved...and became great at it!

This is where 'striving' for perfection is as natural as a painter or composer's toil in creating a masterpiece.

'I think 'Great and Good' are terms other people use to describe you and I agree that 'Driven' can magnify character flaws that turn ugly.
(Thinking of Steve Jobs reputation...but I never met him... so don't really know)

Have met others like Gates a few times, relaxing on the water.
Seemed pretty happy but I could tell that thier ability to create new solutions to old problems, was what made them the happiest now and still consumed their considerable intellect and drive.


Live, Laugh Love! seems to be a common mantra amongst the successful....
...So why not do it well?

[hpeer]

And maybe there are different solutions for different people. And maybe some people can be happy with a variety of solutions while others need to find a specific solution.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by hpeer

And maybe there are different solutions for different people. And maybe some people can be happy with a variety of solutions while others need to find a specific solution.

There you go again, suggesting the real world is more nuanced and subtle than simple black & white statements would suggest .

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

There you go again, suggesting the real world is more nuanced and subtle than simple black & white statements would suggest .

Heavens to Betsy!! No!!

[Jdege]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Nice post dale and I mostly agree with your sentiments except that you are forgetting the successful and happy individual.. who was wise enough to choose a carreer profession or occupation they really loved...and became great at it!

This is where 'striving' for perfection is as natural as a painter or composer's toil in creating a masterpiece.

Most of the people I've known who were chasing early retirement were in one of the financial professions, pushing other people's money around.

It's work that needs to be done, but it'd have bored me to tears.

I write software. It's what I did before anyone paid me for it, it's what I've done since I started getting paid for it. Now that I'm looking at retirement, I'm looking into what it would take to do online contract work so I can continue to do it, from wherever I might happen to be.

I know people who've earned more, but I've earned enough to pay my expenses, and saved enough to buy a modest older boat, and to provide an adequate retirement income.

I don't know what more I could have asked for.

I certainly wouldn't have traded it for more money or earlier retirement, if it meant forty years of doing work that I hated.

[Pelagic]

I bet you became a very good software developer because it was something that deeply interested you

As others have said, we are all a bit different when it comes to desires, which I guess is the catalyst needed for making plans.

I made a mistake and retired early at 50, because of a double death in my family.

I retired early from doing something I loved as I needed time to grieve and went from a sophisticated lifestyle to counting coconuts in the Philippines.

It was a huge adjustment from maintaining demanding standards ..to a laid back acceptance of a dysfunctional country, which is why I pushed back at the "good enough" philosophy.
Yes, we are all different, for different reasons and we adjust to changing environments in search of happiness.

I managed to get involved in new satisfying projects while finding my true love amongst those coconuts.

So while in hindsight I see that plan to retire early as a mistake...now.knowing the outcome of a great relationship, I would not have changed it.
Plans, perfection, beauty and success.....are all in the eyes of the beholder