The Power of Walking Away: How Letting Go Transformed My Life
Society often tells us that quitting is a failure — that once you commit to something, be it a job, a relationship, or a lifelong goal, walking away is a sign of weakness. But I’ve learned that sometimes, walking away is the most courageous and empowering choice you can make. Letting go isn’t about giving up; it’s about recognizing when something no longer serves you, no longer aligns with who you are, and allowing yourself the space to grow beyond it.
I wasn’t always comfortable with the idea of leaving things behind. Like many people, I was raised to believe that hard work and perseverance were the keys to success. If you didn’t make it work, it was on you. So, I stayed in situations longer than I should have, believing that if I just pushed through, things would get better. That mentality worked until it didn’t, until I realized that some things are not meant to be forced.
One of the most pivotal moments of my life came when I decided to walk away from an Ivy League master’s program. On paper, I was living the dream — pursuing a degree in AI/ML at one of the most prestigious schools in the world. But deep down, I was miserable. I had chosen this path because it seemed like the “right” thing to do, a logical next step in my career. But the further I got into it, the more I realized it wasn’t for me. I wasn’t…
