Know When To Walk Away

"...know when to walk away, and know when to run." - Kenny Rogers, "The Gambler"

I'm generally not a big fan of country music, and I'm really lousy at poker, but Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" is one of my all-time favorite songs. The chorus, talking about knowing whether to stay or go, and knowing how quickly you should be going, talk to much more than poker or country musicians.

In life, as in poker, there is a fine line between loyalty to a cause and needlessly going down with a sinking ship. People often find themselves asking, "Is this cause really worth so much of my time?" or "Is this relationship really worth the effort?" Loyalty usually says "yes", and self-preservation usually says "no". The problem is that both answers are right; true loyalty is a rare gift and is often repaid in unexpected ways, and removing yourself from a bad situation can be just as beneficial, if not moreso.

So if both answers are right, how do you resolve this conflict? Patience. Experience. Knowing your own limits of how much you'll put up with, and knowing the needs and limits of the other party, be it a cause or a person. It's not an easy thing to figure out. If it were, we'd have far fewer Gamblers gracing our country song lyrics and far fewer Armchair Admirals rambling about it....

I could go on about this one for hours, but tonight I'm gonna keep it short and sweet, just like the lyrics I quoted.

(I realize that this makes two song-related 'blog posts in a row. It wasn't intentional, but I certainly won't refrain from it in the future. Pun intended.)