Sometimes, events reach a breaking point when you simply cannot stand what is happening. What is too much to accept?
For some people, change is uncomfortable. As a result, there are many people who like the status quo. They prefer things stay the way they currently are.
Of course, the world is constantly in flux. Things change all the time. However, in order to preserve the status quo, you must be able to deal with that change.
As a result, there are people who can ignore, minimize, or otherwise accept the new conditions. Often, the introduced changes are small in nature, which makes it relatively easy to adapt to them.
These small changes, though, add up over time. Eventually, the sum total becomes cumulatively so large that these techniques used to adapt start to break down. The new situation is too much to deal with.
For example, let’s imagine you have a job. You like most things about the job — the hours, the coworkers, the commute, the pay. There might be a few things that frustrate you, but you can deal with them.
Over time, though, things change. You don’t get a raise due to company cutbacks. Your closest friends leave for other jobs. You get a new boss who expects you to put in more hours. The office relocates even further away.
You can deal with any one of these things. But over time, they add up. At some point, it gets to b too much, and you decide to start looking for a different job.
How do you make that decision? When will you know that you are no longer able to justify what is happening, and you need the status quo to change. And what lengths will you go to in order to make that happen?
Related questions: What is necessary to change your mind? When have you had a sudden change of viewpoint? What makes change possible? How do you set priorities?