[samsamsam]

No tl;dr here folks.

Something I have been pondering lately. We all have different levels of pain tolerance be it physical or emotional. In this post I am using the word pain to describe a whole range of things that basically reduce a person’s joy. So a bad job, inconveniences, annoyances, bad marriage, anything that takes energy to manage but produces no tangible happiness.

I can take, or in the past at least, a huge amount of pain, struggle, inconvenience. It was always something I was proud of. It also showed up when my friends had their struggles because I could take their hurt also. Back in the day when I thought I was supposed to help everyone I met. Not anymore.

But we all have our limits. Either through circumstances, age or just being worn down, I am actively thinking of ways to reduce the pain load now.

Don't get me wrong pain serves a purpose. No one is successful without pain. Plenty of stories about successful men who endured tremendous hardship and failure before being massively successful.

I am not encouraging people to quit right when they ever experience any pain, they would never get anywhere. They would never develop any character. A lot of people these days seem to wilt at the slightest inconvenience. But constantly taking punches does nothing but produce brain damage at some point, right?

I think there comes a point in life when one needs to cut some losses and refocus efforts that may be more rewarding despite maybe not being the most monstrously successful in terms of money, fame or power.

2016 is coming up, I would like to set some things in motion to make 2016 one of the more enjoyable years I have had recently while slogging through some deals I am involved in.

How have some of you reduced the stuff that wasn’t adding value? With respect, I am curious to hear from those who have stuck with something for a while, not those who just quit whenever you are unhappy. I am making that distinction because I have been at some of these things for a while and would help me process to hear from those who were in the same boat. I also don’t want to sound ungrateful. Through hard work, saving and investing I am in an enviable position but at the same time, these things that I have worked towards have been feeling like a burden lately.

For example, my real estate holdings. Sure it generates cash flow, but when there are those rough months, vacancies, repairs, etc. the positive becomes a negative very quickly. In a way, I am thinking that knowing there will not be a negative outcome in a month is worth so much more than the potential cash flow. It easier to budget and plan my life without this wildcard. Many would say keep it, the cash I have to chip in each year is so much less than the appreciation, but those were the math games I played when I was younger. Now I am just thinking, fuck it.

I'd also be interested in hearing from those who just decided they were done with it all, cashed in their chips and just went traveling. I think if you have enough assets, generating 1k to 2k a month in cash flow might not be that hard. With those resources and some random gigs, I bet you could live very well abroad. How did you arrive at that final decision?

Thanks for letting me hash this out a bit on a thread. I welcome any insights you guys are willing to share.