Stoppage Points

Have you ever found yourself reaching a point where it just seemed almost natural to just STOP something you'd been doing; something you'd been a part of; something you were a member of; even a relationship... and never look back?

I was doing a little bit of "house cleaning" for one of my online businesses today... after I had done virtually nothing with it, for about two weeks.

Two weeks marked the longest time I had "neglected" it, since starting, back in 2007 — almost twenty years ago.

Like many things I have given time and effort to, this particular part of my business life has been in a state of slow decline for a number of years. It's not because I'm not working on it anymore, and it's not because I lack enthusiasm... it's just catering to a market that's slowly dying out. This, of course, in the face of a world where everything seems to be growing more expensive, every year.

I decided to continue forward because it still is contributing to my personal bottom line, but it did give me reason to pause and consider when a natural stoppage point occurs.

Historically speaking, I have been better at letting go of hopes and dreams than I have of tangible projects I have been part of.

In fact, I have periodically been told that I am "loyal to a fault" and that it is to my detriment, in some way. It's marginally hurtful to think about... perhaps because I still have old wounds from abandonment by others... but I also recognize the truth in it.

I am very good — too good, perhaps — at giving both people and projects third, fourth, even tenth chances to do better... and they invariably don't. I hold out hope for better things... and they tend to not ever materialize. And then I find myself wondering whether I am just extremely good at ignoring those natural stopping points.

But it wasn't really my fault!

It wasn't my fault that a business I had in the 1990s ended up "fenced in" by a city road construction project; it wasn't my fault that the best job I ever had ended because the company founders got in a fight and shut the company down; it wasn't my fault that Kristin (a young woman I was deeply smitten by, back in my 20s) was transferred to another part of the country just when we were starting to get close...

We tell ourselves that these stoppage points aren't our fault — and they aren't — but that doesn't mean that we don't need to heed them when they come along and make the rational decision to move along... as any sane and rational person would do.

Of course that's exactly part of the human experience: We tend to not be sane and rational, when it comes to those things we have given a lot of passion, energy and effort to.

Then again, maybe we are just trying to protect ourselves against eventual regret.

But regrets are part of life... and I guess I am just trying to embrace the fact that I end up leave little pieces of myself and my heart around various things, people and places in the big world of ours.

It's only natural...

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful Friday!

How about YOU? Have you found that life offers us "natural stopping points?" Do you usually act on them when they appear? Or do you find it hard to let go? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2026.06.18 19:56 PDT
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