As the song by The Clash goes, “Should I stay, or should I go now? If I go, there will be trouble. And if I stay, it will be double. So come on and let me know.”

We all face that period in life where we need to decide: should I stay or should I go?

It’s almost never a simple answer. Perhaps it’s moving to a new city or state (or even country), or switching jobs, or leaving a relationship.

There are always what-if’s. And change in general can be hard – more so for some than others.

So how do you decide?

There are, of course, many factors to consider. If moving, you think about the home, friends, job and life you’d be leaving behind and what may wait for you on the other side. For a job, if you’re switching, what is the position and pay, the people, the location? if you’re leaving to start your own thing, what do you have to lose? What’s at risk? In a relationship – do you have kids? Pets? Assets: a house, bank accounts?

People often mention “the devil you know” as some sort of confirmation that at least what you have already is a known quantity, even if it’s not great.

If we’re really going to boil it down, you should ask yourself, are you running from something or to something? Have you tried to change what’s making you want to go? What percent of the time are you happy vs unhappy with your current situation?

Take to heart these wise words: “Accept the things you cannot change. Have the courage to change the things you can. And have the wisdom to know the difference.”

We can’t be happy all of the time, but it all comes back to the 80/20 rule. If you’ve tried to change the negative aspects that are making you reconsider your situation, and you can’t accept those things that you can’t change, and you’re only happy a fraction of the time, it’s worth seriously examining – should you stay or should you go?