Knowing when to quit is a banausic philosophic adage of broad application which advances the seemingly unpopular admonition of retirement or withdrawal. Often it runs together with the metaphorical encouragement to abandon ship while there is still time.  It is accordingly both a substantive and temporal admonition. The warning has been associated with almost every critical aspect of human endeavour and relationships. Most often, because of the prerequisite of involvement, the harangue applies to what for the moment at least is important to us. Accordingly the decision to “jump ship” at what is likely an inopportune instance is regularly equated with an element of possible indiscretion at the very least or the more probable abbreviation of what is already a bad or ineffective alliance.

The decision to abandon ship can have grave consequences and should never be taken lightly. For that reason, it’s important to keep a clear head and remain calm. The very first step you need to take when you are debating when and how to abandon ship is to consider if it’s truly necessary.

This may sound strange, but it is critical. More than one boater has abandoned ship only to make the situation worse. This is because there are times when a boat is simply disabled. Or it begins to sink but only partially submerges. In those cases, it is likely safer to remain on the boat. Your survival ability on a life raft can decrease significantly. You have fewer resources and are harder to spot on a life raft. A disabled vessel may be able to handle rough seas and weather better than a life raft as well.

It hurts to relinquish the tethers which bind us to others or undertakings which often took years to develop and enrich. In some cases we confront what has been nothing but a prolonged mistake. In other instances we face recognition that material matters have changed including for example emanation of mutual disfavour or burgeoning distaste. It may also herald the plausible termination of a pre-existing contractual relationship which has unsuitably or erroneously been extended to personal acquaintance.

Keep in mind however that just as proprieties have changed in one’s life, they can also change once again. I say this not as an obstruction to the unconscious alert to withdraw; rather as a reminder that ingredients of every particle of our associations are constantly undergoing alteration. In a word, it is possible that we will one day re-visit that from which we have departed only to discover the deeper nature of what we left behind. This strategy of subsequent inaction operates as well to curtail fruitless and unnecessary absorption in what it was that initially triggered the alarm to quit. It is an unwritten consequence of this treatment of evaporation that we avoid mistaken allegations or suggestions. Frequently I have otherwise observed the facility with which many of us quickly descend to vilification of our erstwhile dedication. Contrary to this visceral delight is the less flattering observation that criticism is the best autobiography.

Knowing when to quit is by no means a simple deduction. There are at a minimum three perspectives: you, me and us. If business is at stake, then I proclaim only what I believe captures the axiomatic truths of commerce; namely fair trade. If relationship is at stake, then I announce my favour for instinct which I found in most instances to be a profound assessment frequently removed from petty accusations. If nothing else, one’s past is a reflection upon one’s present. And there’s the old apothegm that we see in others what we see in ourselves. Finally there is the possible attraction to preserve the currency at whatever cost.

All this makes the assessment of one’s circumstances occasionally mercurial. Nonetheless I have a hardened belief in the utility of knowing when to quit. If nothing else, the axiom overcomes any impeding lethargy. It may amount to usage of a gloved dagger but it portends the elemental nature of the determination. Generally speaking there is no point denying the urge to jump ship.