Keep the power to end things

Each time you start a new project or relationship, you have the power to give it up at some point in time. Whether it's because you have failed to find joy, happiness, failed to reach the goals you had in mind, don't like how things turned out, ran out of energy, motivation, or curiosity. There are countless reasons to end things...

Sometimes, unfortunately, you may end up in a trap where you can't seem to find the strength, willpower, or energy to make the decision you know deep down to be the right one. That happens when you fail to recognize that you still have the power to end things. When you give it up, consciously or not.

When you don't end things when you should and actually have the power to do so, you betray yourself and steal yourself from the future and success you deserve. Not making the decisions you need to make is actually making the worst possible one. Because not deciding is actually deciding to avoid deciding, which is worse.

What you're not changing, you're choosing

Decision avoidance often has roots in fear. You might fear losing/wasting the money and/or time that you've invested in your project. Or you might fear ending up alone. You might fear making the wrong decision, so you try to play it safe by going on. The problem with such fears is that they are limiting. They are blinding you to the endless possibilities in front of you.

I've faced such tough dilemmas in the past, and it didn't end well. I've shared a story about my failed startup which ended up costing me ~200k € because I failed to abandon the project soon enough. I was fooled by the sunk cost fallacy.

To avoid this pitfall, whatever your situation is, determine if you actually do have the power to end things. More often than not, you do have it. Then, consider what's really the worst that could happen.

About Sébastien

I'm Sébastien Dubois, and I'm on a mission to help knowledge workers escape information overload. After 20+ years in IT and seeing too many brilliant minds drowning in digital chaos, I've decided to help people build systems that actually work. Through the Knowii Community, my courses, products & services and my Website, I share practical and battle-tested systems. You can follow me on X 🐦 and on BlueSky 🦋.

I am an author, founder, and coach. I write books and articles about Knowledge Work, Personal Knowledge Management, Note-taking, Lifelong Learning, Personal Organization, and Zen Productivity. I also craft lovely digital products.

If you want to follow my work, then become a member and join our community.

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