Knowing when to walk away

A few weeks ago, after I shared my plan to sell my business, a close friend observed that I “know when to walk away.” I’ve been thinking a lot about that statement and how it applies to many different circumstances in my life, wondering if it means I give up or move on. It’s kind of hard to say for certain, but me being me, I’ll try to keep my perspective positive and go with the latter.

While I like to think of myself as an optimist (don’t we all?), I suppose the more apt description would be realist. I know that I’m a hard worker, that I will devote my attention, energy and resources into any endeavor that I find worthy and rewarding. But, when the task at hand becomes a situation that negatively affects my quality of life despite all my determination, I can only conclude that it’s time to let go and open up myself to what is ahead. I guess that makes me kind of pragmatic.

Relationships, projects and businesses all provide wonderful opportunities for growth and the chance to invest a piece of ourselves into something we believe in. The potential rewards can be tremendous – love, fulfillment and satisfaction, but, when it becomes obvious that the greatest efforts will not achieve the desired outcome, things often must be reconsidered.

Walking away can be sad and frustrating – it’s really hard to admit that despite how much you may want something it isn’t within your power to make it happen. For me, the consolation is knowing that I tried and that my motivation was strong. It isn’t failure if you learned something, right? Plus, I’m not walking away as much as I’m walking forward. Being stuck would be much more tragic.