I’ve been thinking a lot in the past couple days about sticking things out.

There are some things I’m quick to quit: books I’m not enjoying, parties, situations that bore me.

But with most things in life, I’d say that I’m there until the bitter end, regardless of how it comes.

Sometimes that’s good. Democracy, for instance. When evil people take control of our government, some people are quick to suggest leaving. But if everyone who hates a new regime goes, who will bear witness to the demise? Who will help to right the ship? Who will put out the fire?

But sometimes, it’s bad. With my last job, there was a period of six months where I knew that the situation was untenable, but I thought that because I was good at my job that if I could ride out the uncomfortable, I could make it through to smooth seas again. I know now that I should have cut bait, should have gotten out when I knew that I couldn’t make the changes I knew would have to happen in order to stay and be happy.

A dear friend once told me that was both my superpower and my fatal flaw: I was deeply capable of holding on in uncomfortable situations. He was right. I can and I do, regardless of whether holding on or letting go would be better for me.

Less personally, I’m thinking of that specifically about Twitter, as are many users of the social media platform this week. The new owner is a stereotypical super-villain, who is used to getting his way by throwing money and power at problems. And I could live with that, if we agreed on what the actual problems were. But we don’t, and I wonder if this is a situation, like my last job, where I should leave while I see the writing on the wall, or if this is like democracy, where if I leave, I’m part of the problem, turning the platform over to trolls and bots and dooming it to failure.