But even my friends on the Internet (or, preferably, those who know me in real life and happen to stalk me on the Internet too) can be aware of my online introspections and, through a casual reference to a post like this, feel like they have more of an open door to bring up issues and observations in real life interactions with me.

That’s exactly why I post things like this … and yes, it works.

i agree with beth in that i see it as a character quality as well, to a point [like most everything]. tenacity and perseverance are wonderful qualities, until you hit the point in any situation where you step back and say, well… this is kinda stupid, isn’t it?

the tough part is that it varies from scenario to scenario, which makes it… rather impossible for your friends via internet to interject any helpful observations in your current plight.

in accounting there is a concept of “sunk cost”: a certain amount of money [and/or time] put into something that can never be recovered. these costs are unchangable and unrecoverable, and should never interfere with current or future decision making. just some food for thought.

Some people call this an ‘accountability’ partner or group. I don’t know, it may be helpful.