There's an old saying that I'm very fond of.
Don't Burn your Bridges.
It basically means when leaving a situation, don't create such a fuss or ruckus that you can never again return.
A great example of not Burning your Bridges is to leave a relationship on good terms.
Source: Pixabay.com
That's a very difficult thing for me because relationships are usually extremely passionate situations that can end quite explosively.
I have a friend that constantly hooks up with his ex girlfriends because every time he breaks up, he makes sure to always leave on good terms. He might catch a girl sleeping with someone else and then break up with her.... but he will never act mad about it.
For him it means putting on an act. Ignoring how you feel emotionally because you know that you might want to have sex with this person again. That's just not how I am. It's tantamount to lying.
However, I have to hand it to him. He always has sex waiting for him just around the corner.
That's one good example of not burning your bridges but it's not an example that I advise.
Something happened at work today that made me think of another example though.
One of my friends put in his 2 weeks notice. He's a really good employee. You can always count on this guy.
However, he found another job that he likes better and decided to quit.
On his very last day he did not show up for work. I know what he was thinking.
"Why show up when I've already put in my notice?"
Now he is on some sort of a blacklist. If he ever applies for this job again he will not be hired because he's been blacklisted.
Nobody knows what's around the corner. This guy does not know if the job he applied for will actually work out.
He burned his bridge.
There are a thousand different situations where you could burn bridges.
You could get in a fight with an old friend and then end that friendship but you might miss him or her later on down the line.
You might get into an argument with a family member over something that you don't even remember and say things that you didn't really mean to say, but it's too late to take them back.
You could break up with someone that you really love and be really mean about it. You might not be able to get them to come back into your arms. You may never even see them again.
You might leave a job on bad terms and find yourself unable to return to that job. You might even find yourself blacklisted across a multitude of jobs because certain corporations communicate with each other.
Burning bridges is about the worst thing that a person can do to themselves.
Don't Burn Your Bridges Unless You're Quite Certain That You Will Never Return.