Let go of battles that cannot be won

One of the major contributing factors to self-created stress is the tendency that most of us have to hold on to battles that we have virtually no chance of winning. For whatever reason, we keep alive unnecessary arguments and conflicts, we insist on being right, or we try to get someone to change when there is almost no possibility that we will succeed.

Many times, we bump up against stone walls, but instead of backing off and taking the path of least resistance, we keep on struggling.

Suppose you’re driving to work when some aggressive driver tries to overtake you. You get annoyed and bothered. You focus your attention in the mirror. If you get mad enough, you might even accelerate just to retaliate. You think to yourself how awful the world has become and how road rage is a sad fact of life.

Even though your assessment of this driver may be correct, this is clearly a battle that you cannot win. By participating in the battle, the best that can happen is that you’ll end up frustrated. At worst, you may even contribute to the cause of an accident. It’s not worth it because either way you lose. By recognizing that this is a battle not worth fighting, you can calmly move to a different lane and allow the driver to go.

Wise have said, “When you’re doing something wrong, doing it more intensely isn’t going to help. Learn to differentiate between a battle worth fighting and one that is better left alone.