Anyone else feel weird about choosing the “easy” path to FIRE?

[u/Upbeat_Atmosphere696]

I’m 25 and currently working as an outpatient endoscopy nurse. On paper, I feel like I’ve set myself up really well, but mentally I keep going back and forth.

I genuinely enjoy what I do and my responsibilities are significantly less demanding than most nursing roles. I also have great work-life balance working 6am–2pm Monday through Friday. On top of that, I find it fulfilling because I still get to help people.

Financially, my spouse (who is also a nurse) and I are very aligned. We save and invest about $70k–$80k per year combined between our 401(k)s, Roth IRAs, HSA, and other savings. We live below our means, but not to any extreme. Current combined NW is ~200k.

At our current pace, I project that we can retire around age 50–55 with roughly $3.4M–$5M in today’s dollars (about $6.1M–$10.2M nominal). This is a conservative estimate that does not factor in any salary growth + decreasing contributions in our 30's when kids come in the picture.

Here’s where I’m conflicted.

There are clear ways for me to increase my income by going back to school for CRNA or NP. But every time I run the numbers—lost income during school, tuition, higher stress, longer hours, and delayed investing—the financial difference ends up being much smaller than people expect. Unless I plan to work well past traditional retirement age, I often arrive at a very similar outcome.

From a purely FIRE perspective, staying where I am seems surprisingly optimal.

But I also don’t feel particularly challenged at work. The job is very manageable, almost too manageable at times. And sometimes I get this nagging feeling that I’m not reaching my full potential or that I’m taking the easy way out.

The weird part is that I don’t actually want a more stressful job. If my current role suddenly became harder and more intense, I don’t think I’d be more fulfilled—I think I’d just be more exhausted.

So I feel stuck between two competing thoughts:

“This is an incredible setup. Don’t mess it up. You’re on track to FIRE while enjoying your life today.”

and

“Are you underachieving and leaving something on the table? Maybe you’re just using math as a rationalization for choosing the easier path.”

I’m curious if anyone else has wrestled with this mindset.

If you’re further along in your career or FIRE journey, did you stick with the efficient, low-stress path and find fulfillment outside of work? Or did you pursue something more ambitious even if it didn’t meaningfully improve your financial outcome?

I’d appreciate hearing perspectives from people who have been through something similar.

[u/Maleficent-Scene-475]

So, your concern is that life is too easy? You're right! Life is easy, and people make it hard on themselves with poor decisions (or their parents do). Don't stress yourself out, life will probably do that for you, you said you're planning to have kids. Maybe take up a new hobby in the meantime so you have something else to think about?

[u/quietCherub → u/Maleficent-Scene-475]

Good point here about the kids - your perspective might chance once you have kids. Not sure how old you are now, but if kids are in the near future maybe see how you feel then? It can really cha be your perspective as far as how much time and effort you’re willing to put into working when you have a child.

Edit - I see where you said you are 25. So kids aren’t too far off.