Walking away from a situation is not running away. It is the conscious and deliberate decision we take not to engage when we refuse to compromise, or when we take a step back keeping the larger picture in mind.

We need to walk away from bad relationships. Of course we must do our best to build and maintain relationships, but never at the cost of our self-respect and dignity.

We need to walk away from people who easily break their promises. If we cannot trust someone, we cannot sustain our association with them.

We need to walk away from those who don’t think win-win. When the other person is only thinking about themselves, sooner or later we will find ourselves paying a heavy price when we are vulnerable.

We need to walk away from temptation when we know what is right and not. Short-term gain at the cost of long-term reputation and value creation can be a very short-sighted way of looking at life.

We need to walk away from violence, not just physical, but even the mental violence of anger, rage, and hatred we experience towards someone. Inner violence is like an acid that corrodes the very container that holds it.

We need to walk away when we realise that we are no longer needed or wanted. It is not abandoning someone but gracefully giving them their space to grow and flourish.

We need to sometimes walk away to diffuse the situation. It’s okay to settle for less for the larger good. It’s not that we are being taken advantage of, in fact, we are taking advantage of our inner strength to move on and make a better life for ourselves.

And when we think of walking away, it’s not just what we are walking away from, but also realising that we are walking towards better relationships, experiences and opportunities.

The courage to walk away comes from faith, believing that there is something better waiting for us. The clarity of walking away comes from realising that sometimes it is not worth engaging with some things in life. The confidence to walk away comes from knowing that walking away is not running away.