At some stage in our life it's likely that every one of us has called it quits over something.
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We have decided that the energy we are expending fails to measure up to the real or expected return, walking away from a job, a relationship, a responsibility.
But quitting has consequences.
Forcing one door closed doesn't guarantee a fresh, new portal of opportunity will suddenly appear.
Someone once wrote that when one door closes, another opens. That's the hope anyway.
But it's in finding our way through the dark corridors between those doors that many of us will face some of our greatest tests.
The catch is that no one can decide for us; it's a responsibility we must accept no matter how empowered or inadequate we may feel.
It takes emotional effort to back such an important decision. The individual has invested in the situation. There are few of us who can afford to waste such an investment.
It's important we take the time and make the effort before making a decision. That must involve self-examination including an honest assessment of our own ability to cope.
Have we tried hard enough? Have we tried too hard? Is what we gain from quitting of greater value than what we lose by staying put?
There's only one person who can honestly answer such questions.
- Gary Bentley is a Rural Aid counsellor