Why Is It So Hard to Say Goodbye? An Economic Perspective

It is so often the case in life that we have to, time and time again, be rudely awakened with the realization that nothing in life lasts forever. Everything in life is fleeting, everything in life is momentary. What we cherish the most at one point in time may only become an insignificant bygone memory in the next. In the face of such terrifying uncertainty, we thus feel averse and fearful towards change, especially as that change naturally leads to loss, separation and to us saying goodbye. When we say goodbye, we are not only bidding farewell to the people and thing that have taught us love, patience and pain. We are also, at the same time, being faced head-on with the prospect of deep feelings of loss and uncertainty.