Leaving isn’t always quitting. Sometimes it’s the only step forward on the board.

Quitting and leaving get treated as the same act, and they are not. One is giving up on what you want. The other is giving up on a particular route to it, which is sometimes the only move available that improves your position. Staying is not automatically brave, and it is not automatically loyal either.

If you are weighing an exit, ask what you are actually leaving: the goal, or this way of chasing it. Say the answer out loud. If the goal survives the leaving, it is not a retreat. Then move deliberately, rather than waiting until the situation decides for you.