Maybe it’s a job you hate or that no longer gives you satisfaction. Or an intimate relationship where the emotional connection has long since frayed, and you’re now living parallel lives. Or, perhaps a friendship that was once vital but has now been downgraded to an acquaintance at best, or one that’s unbalanced, with only your periodic outreach keeping it alive.

But if you feel trapped in the job or the relationship, it’s like being stuck at the bottom of a well. It’s all too easy to give up, and when you do, you get depressed. It’s also easy to feel anxious, always walking on eggshells, keeping up a front, fearful of being discovered.

If you watch those YouTube videos where 80-year-olds reflect on their lives and share their lessons, they always focus on the same themes: Life is short, don’t waste the time you have; be bold, take risks, don’t settle—the "wish-I-had-eaten-more-ice-cream-and-less-beans" philosophy.........

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