Some years ago, I was writing in the middle of the night when I began hearing a distracting sound from a corner of my room. I couldn’t concentrate as the sound wouldn’t just stop. I observed, however, that the sound went off each time I stood with my chair screeching the study’s smooth floor. So, the ‘smart me’ patiently sat with all the lights in the room switched off. In my hand was a flashlight set for trigger as I waited for the sound to come up again. And yes, the irritating sound came up again.

I curiously tiptoed towards the corner from whence the sound came. As I got close, I torched the corner and found to my dismay, a tiny little rat feeding on my books. As I wondered how the rat found its way into my apartment, I wanted it dead so badly. So I and my tiny enemy, the rat, launched a marathon race within the short perimeter of the room. The rat ran around the room’s corners many times while I, with all optimism, kept chasing after it. 

After so much scattering of the room, the rat finally eloped through a small opening under the closed door into the kitchen. I was mad in my spirit. But I knew chasing any further wouldn’t make any sense. So, I gave up. I went back into the study and lo, I found out that I was already injured in the relay process of trying to end my distractor’s life. The rat wasted my time, energy and most annoyingly, made me sustain an injury. And sadly, I couldn’t kill it. You needed to see me panting when I finally gave up. I regretted having to run marathons in one room in a bid to kill a little rat. Yes, it was giving me headaches but I could have just let go in between; to think about some smarter ways of eliminating it.

Virtually all of us have had such experiences—chasing things we perhaps shouldn’t have. The truth is some things are just not worth doing while several are not at all worth stressing over. Some investments are not at all worth making. Some risks are by no means going to make any sense in the end. So, why not master the ‘retreat tactics’ soon enough, to save you a lot of time, energy and above all, your happiness? Now, think about those friends that were never worth it. Think about those commitments that have brought you absolutely nothing.

C’mon, Fam! you don’t want to waste any further time. You have long suffered for those unyielding efforts. You may need to take a break and catch some breath. The pause would inspire you with better ways of handling that situation. In the end, I killed the rat with ease, but with a strategy. It won’t be late for you too. You can still catch up once your approach is SMART. But for now, Run! You haven’t given up, you just know when and how to hold on. You are sure coming back and, that come back is going to be dangerous. 

So, the next time you seem not finding your way around a challenging situation, simply retreat! This is how to be in absolute charge of your life and happiness. I hope this helps.