Why to Pursue Financial Independence

I wanted to take a moment today to explain my rationale for pursuing financial independence and to convince you or remind you why you should pursue financial independence. I'm not sure if anyone else in the community has so called "tunnel vision," but I know that I do at times. I can become so fixed and determined to achieve something that I forget why I was even striving to achieve it to begin with. With that said, I've found that it's much easier to fully commit to something when you have clear and concise reason(s) for pursuing a goal. When life gets tough and when your goal seems elusive, it is the reasons you're striving to accomplish that goal that will guide you through the challenges you will inevitably encounter.

1. The primary reason that I am pursuing financial independence is because when you are financially independent, you are free to live on your own terms. This can mean waking up whenever you'd like, working whenever you choose, on whatever you choose. It almost goes without saying that when you are financially independent, you are able to live however you choose. This leads us into the next reason that closely relates to the above reason.

2.  As a byproduct of being financially independent and being able to live on your own terms, it is almost an absolute certainty that you will be less stressed as a result of the first reason. I've never really had to endure a toxic work environment to this point in my career, but I know of many that deal with unreasonable bosses or clients. I don't want anyone to misconstrue this reason as me condoning the idea that all stress is bad or unhealthy because stress can actually be beneficial in optimizing our performance (i.e. deadlines). Having said that, I believe that many of us can be too stressed at times, and this could have a detrimental impact from both a mental and physical health standpoint. This leads us into our third and final reason.

3. When we are working 40+ hours a week on top of any additional responsibilities we have, it becomes clear that we don't have as much time as we would like to better ourselves through exercise, education, entrepreneurial endeavors, philanthropy, etcetera. Tying this into the first reason, it is financial independence that allows us to focus on improving ourselves, which can in turn be used to better the lives of others.

Having discussed my 3 reasons that I am pursuing financial independence and why you should, these 3 reasons could all be summarized in a couple sentences. Financial independence provides you with the flexibility that others do not have! You are free to do as you choose, and as a result, you can improve yourself and the lives of others.

What are your reasons for pursuing financial independence? Are there any major reasons for you that I missed?