Burn The Bridges
There are times when you feel trapped in a relationship you want to end but cannot. You find yourself caught in a cycle of not wanting to hurt people while desperately wanting to get away from them.
This behavioural pattern is easy to recognise, and people often take advantage of it. They guilt-trip you into staying, even when your presence in the relationship makes you miserable. The cycle is vicious.
In game theory, there is a strategy known as burning bridges. It involves making a commitment through actions that are irreversible by nature. You cross the bridge and then burn it, leaving yourself no way to retreat. You have no choice but to commit to the war. That is the whole point.
Sometimes, you cannot walk away from a relationship cordially. Sometimes, brute force is the only option. You don't aim to quietly open the door; you have to break it down. Think of actions that not only compel the other person to accept your decision but also force you to commit to it. Make the situation so difficult to reverse that you cannot turn back, even if you want to.
Consider this example. Guilt can only work if you allow yourself to be drawn into arguments in which you try to convince the other person that you are unhappy in the relationship. Burning the bridge, however, would mean leaving a note and disappearing. Don't give them an opportunity to argue, persuade or make you reconsider. Once you force yourself to walk away, you are more likely to remain committed to your decision, particularly if you have genuinely grown weary of the relationship.
Whenever you find yourself too emotionally entangled to walk away from a situation, or too helpless to commit to a decision, burning bridges may seem like the only viable strategy. Take an action that makes your decision irreversible, even in your own eyes.
Sometimes, getting out of a bad situation in life seems more important than the means you choose to escape it.