Holding on can feel responsible even when the smarter move is to stop.

Never deciding to stop isn't choosing to keep going. Past investment may be making the choice for you.

The test doesn't hand you a verdict. It reveals the truth, and what you do with it is still your choice.

I was wading in a river in Alaska when a man beside me hooked a salmon and a brown bear began moving directly toward him. He had already done the hard part: he had hooked the fish, kept tension on the line, and begun reeling it toward him. Then the bear entered the water.

He did not try to reel faster. He did not hold his ground or calculate whether he might still be able to keep the salmon. He cut the line and walked away. The bear got the fish. He got to keep fishing. The entire decision took about four seconds.

I have thought about it ever since, because most of the things we struggle to release do not arrive with a brown bear attached to them. They unfold slowly. A project keeps consuming time without gaining traction. A job no longer fits, but still offers enough familiarity to make leaving difficult. A relationship changes, yet both people remain committed to the version of it they once believed was possible. There is no single moment that forces a decision. So we keep going, not always........

© Psychology Today