No Matter What...

What does loyalty mean, to you? What do determination and dedication mean, to you?

I'm sure there are lots of good answers out there!

Although not as often as once upon a time, I have often been told that I am "loyal to a fault." The implication hasn't necessarily been a positive one.

Evidently, a lot of people have a much easier time just letting someone/something go on the spot if something is less than perfect.

I ended up thinking about this because someone I know said "I don't know why you're still bothering with that" in response to my mentioning that I am still involved in crypto.

I guess — at least to that person — it was just a passing phase.

Sometimes I wonder whether loyalty and patience are almost the same thing...

Indeed, sticking to something "no matter what" isn't always a good thing. Like the marriage I was in... that functionally ended after about 4-5 years, but the actual divorce didn't happen until another seven years later.

Maybe there's loyalty... and then there's outright insanity and self-destructiveness.

I have had a lot of "fairweather friends" in my life, and my experiences with these folks who disappeared at the slightest sign of difficulties taught me that I did not want to be like them.

Ultimately, loyalty and determination are double-edged swords... like so many things in life.

They are good and noble attributes, but they can also become quite toxic, when taken to extremes... as I have done, a few times.

Sometimes we have to sit up and recognize that there's not enough hopium on the planet to turn a bad situation around.

Something I learned — in a very expensive fashion — in the legacy stock market, many moons ago.

"Don't try to catch a falling knife"

Or so the saying goes...

The sad truth is that we humans tend to be poorly equipped to distinguish between something that is gradually — albeit slowly — heading down the drain, and something that is simply experiencing a protracted slowdown.

Trust me, it's really important to be able to tell that difference!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week ahead!

How about you? Do you consider yourself a loyal person? Sometimes more than is actually good for you? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2024.08.19 01:24PDT
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