Early Retirement, Redefined

If you had told me a few years ago that I’d “retire” at 31, I probably would have laughed. Retirement, after all, is something I associate with gray hair, pensions, and long afternoons in rocking chairs. But for me, retiring at 31 doesn’t mean I stopped working—it means I stopped chasing a version of life that wasn’t really mine.

From the outside, people sometimes say it looks like I have everything figured out. The truth? My journey has been full of detours, rough seas, and recalibrations. And maybe that’s the point: a good sailor isn’t the one who avoids storms, but the one who’s been through them and learned how to steer anyway.

For six years, I immersed myself in the field of public health. It was rewarding and fulfilling, but often it’s not all sunshines and rainbows. Reasons? Maybe I could have the courage to write about it some other time. However, that realization nudged me toward a shift. Today, I work with an NGO and in research, and for the first time in a long time, I feel aligned. I feel like I have arrived.

And here’s the surprising bit: this shift has changed not just how I work, but how I actually live. I sleep better. I wake up refreshed. I cook more meals at home. I walk in parks (during my breaks, in the middle of the day, during a weekday- wow). I read books that actually spark my curiosity (spoiler alert: currently reading On Writing by Stephen King) I actually wrote more in an actual journal than I had for the past five years. (People used to give me a lot of notebooks and writing materials during my birthday because they knew me as someone who always loved to write, well, at least I used to.)

What I’ve Learned So Far

1. Retirement is a mindset, not an age.
   For me, “retiring” at 31 meant stepping away from paths that drained me, and stepping into ones that energize me. It’s not about avoiding work—it’s about choosing work that feels like me.

2. Detours are part of the design.
   I used to see every pivot as a setback. Now, I see them as necessary course corrections. Without those detours, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

3. Small joys matter more than big titles.
   It turns out the luxuries I craved weren’t material. They were simple things: rest, peace, good food, sunrises and sunsets, time for the people and things I love.

Final Thoughts

If life looks “figured out” from the outside, it’s only because I’ve learned to let go of the idea that I need to have it all figured out. Retiring at 31 wasn’t about quitting work—it was about quitting the pressure to live a life that didn’t fit me.

And maybe that’s what real success looks like: designing a life you don’t need to escape from.

So here’s to softer mornings, slower afternoons, and evenings that feel full—not with busyness, but with meaning. And here’s to redefining retirement, not as the end of work, but as the beginning of a life that finally feels like your own.

Retired from the government service at 31.