k_tectonic .. k_X_FOMO_v_livelihood

I have spent too much time trying to make the title more identifiable. The precise meaning of “comfortable position in my cohort” is crucial to this blogpost. Without a precise meaning, this blogpost will gradually but inevitably lose its relevance among multiple similar analyses like

• ##[19] living%%dream life, here-n-now is more useful because I need to progressively shift my focus away from (brank) peer-comparison, and focus more on comparison to my past.
• [19]a few games I Aced Visibly #MSFM,belly
• locus@control: carefree high ground mostly due2effort
• G5 Shields@family_livelihood
• [21] G9 short-term factors4ezlife #escape pod

Comfortable position means “well within the green zone and in no danger of drop-out.” Note green zone can be minority or majority. We instinctively know, to varying degrees, where we stand among our chosen peer group. On some games I feel unlikely to improve my relative standing, so I need to reconcile with these “amber zones”. They include:
* kids academics
* double income, white-collar wife
* brank — OC-effective leadership .. I didn’t say “income”. Consider the Siddeshes in my circle.

On other “games”, I feel confident to maintain my comfortable position relative to peers:

0. — half-ranked by surprise, beyond the big5 topics like sg citizenship, wellness, cashflow (brbr, Fuller wealth, retirement planning, ffree). It’s important to de-emphasize these big, common factors so they don’t /overshadow/ the smaller, more “interesting” factors
1. stable marriage, valuable support from grandparents
2. top college insider insight — relaxed attitude towards and some insight into it
3. lower fear of job loss, lower work stress .. thanks to contract
4. HDB home ownership — low maintenance
5. English proficiency … a growing fountainhead of wellbeing, (stress)protection, a foundation stone for self-care. Writing/oral communication, vocab
6. coding IV — as benchmarked against my age group on Wall St
7. QQ IV — coreJava and c++ are both fairly stable and low-churn over a 30Y horizon.
8. mobility across multiple job markets, work-till-70, life-long learning, access to age-friendly job markets
9. my primary lang@FT_job has robust demand

The list is similar to [21] G9 short-term factors4ezlife #escape pod

— Q: How did I achieve this comfortable position, this carefree, relatively complete life? (Note “complete” is measured against personal yardsticks.)

Actually, G5 Shields@family_livelihood is a more thorough, more rigorous analysis that’s relevant to this question.

locus@control: carefree high ground mostly due2effort also answers this question, from a different angle.

To further explain my well-protected carefree and ffree that’s uncommon in my age group, I decided to ask two questions below.

Q: how are my chosen priorities “different”, excluding the common, basic ones (like job security, stable family, kids)
A: here are some priorities that my peers don’t give enough attention

1. career longevity till 80’s — instead of brank, salary bracket (exclub)
2. healthy longevity — I still need to give more sunshine to my flexibility
3. current nonwork income — instead of windfall appreciation. Instrumental to my early ffree.

A: here are some priorities of my peers that I don’t care much:

1. luxury IMO — top schools for their kids
2. luxury IMO — (usually big) home in a top school district
3. brank

Q: my strengths?
A: top 3 strengths unranked:

• brbr;
• lifelong xx for IV
• wellness, vitality

Beyond the strengths, here are some advantages:

• healthcare + retirement provisions I have set up for my family in Singapore;
• SG citizenship
• stable marriage
• property portfolio — including inheritance

— ffree — the poster boy of my comfortable position

Singapore is a success story in many ways. Its position in GDP ranking is the tip of an iceberg. Likewise, My fledgling ffree is the tip of an iceberg. My Fuller wealth rests on a foundation composed of my strengths and my guiding principles (priorities, habits) listed above.

The ffree draws disproportionate attention but is actually less reliable, less important than the G5 Shields@family_livelihood

Humble — My successE is not glorious, but it is rare, commendable, worthwhile. Look at the success of MMM, ERE author and other FIRE legends.