Burning Bridges

21st Century Consequences

I am an excellent bridge arson.

Being brought up in a war torn country, you are taught to suspect everyone, to question every intention, and to use trust as a last resort. These methods help you survive, they protect your mind from being washed and your life from being meaningless. What follows logically is that the slightest betrayal by anyone means a bridge is ignited, regardless of the time and effort it took to build it. As a child I was exposed to feuds that had lasted decades, even in my own family.

My own personal bridge burning has been rampant. I have completely severed contact with loved ones and acquaintances alike, sometimes based solely on a single interaction, or a single instance of confrontation. I am intimately familiar with the feeling of vitriol.

In the old world, you could leave. You could go somewhere distant and create a new identity for yourself, a new reputation for yourself. The consequences of the bridges you burned remained behind with the other baggage you no longer needed.

But not today.

Today, the people from your deepest past can remain with you virtually forever. What’s worse? You find that you need these people to help you succeed in your business or your career, two decades later.

Some bridges must be burned. Sometimes the betrayal is so egregious that there is no other choice.

But most often, it would suffice just to close the bridge calmly. It would suffice not to delete that person from your social network, not to spill the beans onto the internet, and not to cause any drama.

Instead simply ignore them.

Or else one day, two decades into the future, you may find yourself in front of them, hat in hand.