It’s been a bit over a year since I started this little ditty focused on my march toward retirement and the mental gymnastics required along the way. I thought today would be a good day to pause and jot down what I’ve actually gained from the process. One hundred and one posts feels like a good place to pause and reflect.

On the positive side, blogging has helped me work through some difficult emotions. It has allowed me to put into words the seemingly bipolar thoughts about working when I may or may not need to. I prefer to think of it as a pendulum swinging back and forth rather than actual mood swings. (I think I’m normal, but my mother never had me tested ☺.) Over time and many words, the pendulum seems to be slowing down and finding a better center.

Yes, the blog has touched on having enough money to retire, but going back over old posts, the real focus is on emotions. That surprises me, to be honest. Being part engineer, I thought I’d be ruled by the math mind, but the evidence points to more Magic 8-Ball than Slide Rule.

As much as I hate to admit being ruled by emotions, it’s quite obvious I have been. Quite frankly, this process would be easier if I were strictly math-focused.

On the negative side, I don’t think blogging has magically transformed me. I thought all this reflection would lead to waking up one day with the ultimate answer. That I’d convince myself to do what I already know is right and suddenly become confident in whatever direction I chose.

Didn’t happen.

I’m still wishy-washy about doing what I know I need to do. I still fall into old habits. New habits are hard to create. Momentum rules my life in so many ways, and no amount of logical processing has been able to override it overnight.

One solid positive, though: I’ve found that topics I’ve written here come up much more readily in conversation with others. Because I’ve already lived with these thoughts and written them down, I can pull them out in the real world when relevant.

Another surprise is how often I go back and read my own content. They say you should write for an audience of one, and it turns out I’ve done exactly that. I genuinely enjoy reading my older posts, so at least there’s an audience of one who likes the site!

Writing itself goes in cycles. Some months I write almost every weekday; other months, maybe once a week. The more I write, the shorter and more focused my posts tend to get. Ironically, when I look back through the archives, it’s those older, longer, rambling posts that I end up enjoying the most.

I can see how blogging has a natural lifespan. Eventually, I may say everything I have to say, or the pull might fade. But heading into Year 2, I hope it continues, because it’s been a meaningful part of my routine over the last 12 months.

As for the technical side? I still do not enjoy wrestling with WordPress. It feels like a different language at times, and unless something is dead simple, it hardly feels worth the headache. Maybe I need to hire a 12-year-old to manage it for me, or perhaps I should have tried Substack from day one.

On the fun side it is incredible to see people read or comment on my blog that also write their own blogs.  It is cool interacting with people whose stuff I have been reading for years (Doug, Fritz, Dave, and Freddy).  Shout out to FIforthepeople.com and EscapingAvalon.com who gave me good advice as I was starting up.

Also it was amazing guest posting on 1500days and having my Econome post sent out to their Facebook group.

Overall, it’s been a fun ride. In Year 2, I hope to build more community feel as I turn my focus a bit more outward than inward.

To the few people who have read all 101 posts. I am sorry. You have some weird affliction that can’t be explained 🙂

To anyone reading along: I hope this has helped you in some small way, or at least made you smile once.

More swinging back and forth to come