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Three Ways to Know When It Is Time to Walk Away
“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em. Know when to fold ’em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run.”
Humans are creatures of habit. Whether it is relationships, jobs, or organizational affiliations, we tend to stick with what is comfortable even if it is no longer good for us. We may know in our hearts that a situation needs to end, but we will hang on to toxic hope, dragging it out and convincing ourselves that things will get better, even when we have no objective basis for that conclusion.
We can resist ending certain situations because cultural or religious beliefs taught us that some endings are not okay, such as in the case of divorce. We may hold false beliefs like “all relationships end up like this” and “everyone hates their job.” We may confuse the value of working hard with existing in a state of constant struggle. And we may hold misguided loyalties to people or organizations, not realizing that what we are calling loyalty is in reality our lack of boundaries.
We should expect to encounter difficult situations throughout our lives. Cutting ties with someone or something every time you hit a bump in road will leave you driving around in circles and never arriving at a destination. We learn and grow through experiencing and…
