It’s hard to imagine having a long term relationship and ending it with the other person being totally happy about it. If you’ve ever been in this situation, you know how difficult it can be. On one hand, breaking-up can feel like the absolute worst decision that could have been made — on the other hand, there’s no way for you to back out of anything once you’ve committed yourself to the idea of relationships without an actual breakup.

Committing to love with all of yourself is one thing, and keeping that commitment for years requires something else entirely. When you get into a long-term relationship, it means that you are committed to each other for life…and that’s the kind of commitment that simply can’t be broken.

You can’t break up because you know there will be consequences…even if those “consequences” never actually come to fruition. You can’t break up because it hurts too much to end things…and even if things stay the same, “things” don’t get any easier. You can’t break up because people will think less of you if a relationship doesn’t work out…and even if you never validate their suspicions, you know they’re there.

Sometimes, a couple’s commitment to one another is more important than the relationship itself. The idea of being with someone for the rest of your life is more important than the way things are right now. They say that “age is just a number,” but if you’re in a long term relationship, it’s not simply about which age group you fall into — it’s about your shared commitment to each other and to love in general.

It’s hard to break up when it could mean so much, and it’s even harder to do when you know that no matter what happens, you’re in for the long haul. That said, breaking-up isn’t about walking away from something “good” — it’s about recognizing the right thing at the right time. It might not be easy to breakup with someone you care about; however, in this day and age, there’s no way to avoid a breakup that doesn’t feel absolutely painful.

Once you’ve committed yourself to a long term relationship, there are no excuses for waiting around until the end of times.