Knowing when to walk away is wisdom.

“Knowing when to walk away is wisdom. Being able to is courage.” ??
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Seikichi Odo 10th dan Okinawa Kenpo Karate & Kobudo (1926-2002)
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In martial arts we are always told never give up, keep going, no matter what. Is this the right attitude?
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The problem with persistence is that every decision you make to keep going faces a trade-off. On the one hand, by quitting too early and too often, you never get past the hard parts and into the areas where your effort may pay off.
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On the other hand, failing to quit is a failure to learn. Sometimes your ideas and vision don’t match reality. What you’re trying to do isn’t going to work, staying stubbornly in the same direction can cost you much more than just pride.
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I’ve been in a position multiple times in my life where things seem to not be working out, and I have to consider whether I should keep going or give up.
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Decisions aren’t made in isolation. You’re always comparing doing something to doing something else. A good question, therefore, when you’re weighing whether or not to continue is if you have a clear idea of what you’d do instead.
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Do you need to give up? Or just take a break?
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Fatigue, anxiety and frustration can all put you in emotional states that make it hard to keep going. However, sometimes the problem is just that – a momentary emotion.
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If whatever you’re considering giving up is important, and you’ve invested a lot of time already, I strongly suggest starting with a brief break.
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Once you get back to a more neutral mindset, you can reexamine your feelings to see if you want to get back up and continue the old path, or if the break reinforces your decision to give it all up.
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Whatever you do, recognize that there’s no perfect solution to these problems in life. You’ll always make decisions under uncertainty. The choice is yours to make.

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