From the archive

You're defending it because you've already spent five years on it

You don't have to spectacularly burn everything to prove you're free now. But it helps to stop calling the wait for a miracle that vindicates your old choice a plan. Five years can leave you with skills, connections, experience, and an unpleasant understanding of your own limits. That's already something. You don't need to pay for a sixth year just to give the previous five a nicer name.