Many people stay in a relationship or an occupation because it’s part of a comfortable routine — or because we’re generally taught to stick with something, commit to it and persevere.

In that context, perseverance is clearly seen as a positive. Meanwhile, the concept of surrender is typically a pejorative.

We spoke with Brendan Tapley, who has written about the concept of perseverance and surrender, and with Verunka Vikova, who decided to stop being an opera singer after many years of work and training.