Over the last couple of days, I’ve been thinking about how we ascribe value to the relationships we have with others, be it of a professional nature or a personal one.  This came about when I found myself taking stock of my participation in one of the many project teams I’m involved with.  Following certain decisions that changed the direction the team was headed toward, I realized that not only would there be less for me to contribute to the project, but the personal goals that were the reason why I joined the team four years ago were now well out of reach.  On paper, it would seem to be an open-and-shut case as to what I should do.  But as we all know, life is rarely that simple.

You see, while there was clearly less of a benefit now for both the team and myself in maintaining the relationship, I also knew that I had four years of my time, effort and resources invested into the project.  As such, if I were to walk away, I would basically be giving all of that up without having attained the goals I had set out to reach as a member of that team.  It was such a difficult pill to swallow that I even considered the chances that an opportunity might present itself where the team’s direction would shift so that I could once again contribute to the endeavor.  Obviously, such an approach was playing the long odds.  It also made the idea of change – of no longer being a member of this team – that much harder to contemplate.

Of course, dealing with any kind of change in our lives can be a challenge, but it’s even more daunting when Click here to continue reading »”Letting Go In Order To Move On”