How do you deal with a “no win” situation?

You give up….save your energy for something productive and fun that you will feel good about! ;)

If you never give up you end up like the Black Knight

I recently had to walk away from one. It was hard.

@Cruiser – But “giving up” is the same as doing nothing, which hasn’t worked out very well so far for the decision maker.

Which decision has integrity? Which one is most ethical? Which one does the least harm to others?

I handle no-win situations just like @zenvelo. I make the best decision I can given all the variables. And then I walk away.

@christine215 A “no win” situation is just that. No one wins no matter how many swings you take at the problem. There are so many more productive things I could do than piss into the wind and not think I won’t get soaked!

Now it this is a “I can win IF I do (X)”...then let us know what X is and maybe we can offer suggestions.

Same with all of the above. I weigh my options, then do what correlates best with my moral compass, then walk away.

In the past that has meant letting someone know I am walking away because their actions/decisions are not something I feel comfortable with.

Pick a different windmill to till against.

Is there anything traceable down the road as an outcome if you do something or do nothing?

Stay an be unhappy for an undetermined amount of time… staying involves “sucking it up” and keeping quiet about the circumstance which is causing the distress. You have NO idea how long this circumstance will last, could be years of unhappiness

Go and be unhappy for an undetermined amount of time, you’re away from the circumstance, but you’ve just left someone you love very much!

The bottom line is you need to be a “free thinking” individual not a pawn of someone else’s unacceptabilities. If the other person can’t or won’t tune into how much this is hurting you, they may not be able or willing to put care for you and about you ahead of their own thing they are doing which hurtst you. It is really painful to take a big step but if we compromise our own moral compass as @SpatzieLover put it so well, then a bit of our integrity and sense of self continues to ooze off into a relational gutter. So really you don’t end up having your true self or a true relationship with the other person. Drugs, Alcohol, Abuse, Adultery, Abandonment at some level all set us up for needing rehab ourselves.

When in doubt do nothing, that’s my mantra.

Back off… hide in the corner… come back out when I have a new plan to win.

I crack open the first of many, many beers.

Suddenly it’s a win/win situation.

@christine215 In the circumstances that you’ve described, you need to do the one that is best for you.

I would say it depends on the circumstance.

Is it bad job hours or something like that?

Is it having one of the loved ones relatives live with you?

Is it having the loved one deal with an addiction?

In case 1, I would stay, but work to change the circumstances.

In case 2, I would stay and bring in respite care so the two of you could get away when needed.

In case 3, I would definitely leave.

So it depends.

I agree that the situation will be what it will but… I’ll at least speak my mind and then leave off.

De ja vu! I just went to sleep on a situation like this last night. grrr

I can’t lose, thats all.

Nah, I always manage to figure out a no-win arguement, or theoretical situation.

I don’t believe in the No Win Scenerio. Neither did He

@christine215 What/Who says you have to keep quiet about the circumstances causing the dilemma if you stay?

Would staying mean you have to stay the duration? Say you get fed up 5 years down the road, can’t you just go?

Go with your gut.

@christine215 @smilingheart1 The circumstances you describe are not “no win”. It is often clear that the ending of a relationship for whatever reason may be a hard step to take, but that a person can discern the eventual outcome.

I try to thoroughly consider what each decision represents to me. Do I have more positive feelings about one option? Am I subconsciously leaning in one direction? If so, then I choose that one. It takes longer and is more introspective than a straight out pro-con list, and isn’t good for decisions you need to make in the moment, but it rarely steers me wrong.

You do whatever lets you lose the least.

Go with what causes the least amount of damage. Basically what tlm said.