Say Yes to One More Year

Why Loving Your Work Is Reason Enough to Never Retire Early

There’s this idea floating around in financial independence circles: the holy grail is quitting your job the moment you have “enough.” No more alarm clocks. No more meetings. Just beach walks, mountain hikes, and hobby time for days. Sounds idyllic, right?

But here’s the thing. A lot of people I know genuinely love their jobs. Their work gives them energy. It fills them up. It’s not a burden to bear until the money math works out—it’s actually a source of joy and identity.

If that’s you, then I’ve got news: you don’t have to retire early. In fact, you shouldn’t.

Let’s break this down.

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Purpose Isn’t Always Big

We often talk about “Purpose” like it has to be some grand, world-saving mission. But most of the time, it’s much quieter than that. Let’s call it little-p purpose—the kind of purpose that’s found in process. In doing the work. In making something better. In contributing. In being useful.

Your job might be your little-p purpose.

If it lights you up, if it brings meaning to your day and rhythm to your week, then there is no reason to quit just because your financial spreadsheet says you can.

We have to stop assuming that work is the enemy of fulfillment. Sometimes, work is fulfillment.

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The Problem With the Word “Work”

In American culture, the word work carries baggage. We’ve equated it with struggle, with grind, with stress. But at its core, work just means effort applied toward a result.

Think about it. If you’re employed to wash dishes at a restaurant, that’s work. You’re trading your effort for money.

But say you retire. You go home, cook dinner, and wash your own dishes. Is that still work?

Of course it is. You just don’t get paid for it.

Work isn’t bad. It’s just effort. What we really don’t like is effort without meaning. That’s when it feels like a grind.

But effort with purpose? That’s when it feels like flow.

So if you’ve got a job you love, one that gives you that little-p purpose, that brings you into that flow state? Why stop?

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One More Year Syndrome, Reframed

In the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) world, there’s a dreaded affliction called One More Year Syndrome. It’s when someone keeps working just one more year even though they technically have enough to retire, because they’re afraid to let go.

And sure—if you’re clinging to a job you hate because you’re scared, or don’t trust your numbers, that’s a problem.

But if you’re staying because you love what you do? Then it’s not a syndrome at all. It’s just living well.

So let’s reclaim it.

“One more year” can be a beautiful thing—if that year is full of passion, meaning, and good work. And if it is? Keep saying yes to one more year for the rest of your life.

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Let’s Divorce Money from Meaning

Here’s where things get interesting.

At the beginning of our careers, we don’t have much choice. We do the jobs we can get. We trade time and energy for paychecks. Sometimes those jobs are aligned with our interests, and sometimes they’re just a means to survive.

But over time, if we’re lucky, we gain freedom. Financial independence opens a door.

The mistake is thinking that once you’re financially independent, you should walk through that door into total leisure. But some people walk through it… and then look back and realize they left their favorite part of life behind.

Financial independence should liberate you to do the work you love—not guilt you into quitting it.

You can reach the point where making money is no longer the goal… but rather, a happy side effect of doing something that brings you joy.

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Let’s Stop Shaming People for Doing What They Love

We need to stop heckling people who keep making money when they don’t “need” to.

Money isn’t shameful. And work isn’t something to escape if it brings you meaning.

So what if you’re financially independent and still drawing a salary? If you’re showing up energized, challenged, and lit up by what you do, then why stop?

In fact, the extra income might let you live even larger—take the nicer vacation, fly first class, splurge on the things that make life sparkle. That’s not a failure to retire. That’s success in finding a sustainable, joyful life rhythm.

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The Real Retirement Is Doing What You Love

Let’s get real: you’re going to “work” in some form for the rest of your life.

Maybe you’ll volunteer. Maybe you’ll write. Maybe you’ll garden or mentor or consult. Maybe you’ll build something with your hands.

If you happen to get paid for that work, amazing. If not, that’s fine too. The point isn’t the money. It’s the meaning.

So if you’ve already found something that lights you up and pays you? Don’t walk away from it just because you hit an arbitrary financial milestone.

You don’t need a reason to stay—other than the fact that you love what you’re doing.

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Say yes to one more year.

Not out of fear.

Not out of scarcity.

But because you’re already doing the thing people spend their whole lives trying to find.

And that? That’s a life well-lived.

Did you catch this week’s episode of Earn & Invest (Click to listen)?

The Purpose Code is Now Available!