Growth is learning when strength means holding on and when it means releasing.

Both holding on and letting go can be strength or avoidance depending on the situation, and there is no rule that settles it in advance. Persistence in the wrong place is stubbornness; release in the wrong place is giving up early. Learning the difference is one of the slower things a person learns, and it comes mostly from having got it wrong in both directions. Nobody gets it consistently right.

When you are unsure, ask what is actually being served by continuing and be honest about whether it is the goal or your self-image. Ask someone who knows the situation. And be forgiving of yourself, since this particular judgement is genuinely hard.