I have trouble giving up on people.
It’s not just people, though. It’s more accurate to say I have trouble giving up on whatever fantasy of the future that I’ve created in my mind. Sometimes that involves people. Sometimes it’s an achievement I’ve set my heart on. It can be any fantasy of what I think my life is going to look like.
I fall in love with my fantasies, I suppose. My life will be perfect when I make this thing happen. Everything will be perfect when this woman loves me and we live happily ever after.
And when I figure out that I’ve been chasing the wrong thing, I have trouble letting go of it. I have trouble saying that this thing is never going to happen. It’s hard for me to admit that maybe the thing I’ve been chasing was never good for me anyway.
When I stubbornly cling to dreams that are already dead, I sometimes allow myself to miss better opportunities. I sometimes mope so much about what I can’t have — even something I’ve decided isn’t good for me — that I miss better choices.
It’s been very difficult for me to stop watering dead flowers.

Is Paul Krugman serious or is this some kind of weird performance art?
I’m a liar — and you are, too; most of all, we lie to ourselves
Tribal instincts cause us to see others as evil, when they’re just different
Each loss makes me feel grateful for the irreplaceable ones I love
Politicians have no right dictating the menu of your kid’s Happy Meal
I’ve always done my best work when I’m allowed to fix things
Without hope for a better future, depression grabs us by the throat
Cop’s murder has me pondering why humans kill those they love