I get this question all of the time from guys: Why should you never burn a bridge?

My answer to that is that it would create just a ridiculous amount of traffic. If you actually burned a bridge, then the traffic would be clogged up for days. Another thing about burning a bridge is that you can actually get arrested for it.

Or if you don’t want to talk about bridges, then let’s talk about tunnels. Never bury yourself in a tunnel because you wouldn’t be able to get out.

I’m sure you know where I’m really going with this. Let’s talk about burning bridges in life.

I truly believe that you should never burn any bridges in life. You need to end every relationship you have — whether it’s a friendship, a romantic relationship or a work relationship — on good terms.

So if you’re going to break up with somebody, you need to end the relationship on good terms. If you no longer want to be friends with somebody, you need to sit them down and explain that to them. If you no longer want to do business with somebody, you need to not leave them hanging and explain that to them.

You never want to burn bridges in life, because it will just come back to haunt you. I experienced this a lot in my 20’s.

When I was in my 20’s, I was going around having sex with women and not really calling them back. Then I would inevitably run into them six months later when they were with one of their hot friends. I always wanted to meet the hot friend, but never could because I was the asshole who burned that bridge.

So learn from me. Don’t burn bridges.

If you no longer want to be with someone, whether you’re dating them for a week or a year, you need to sit down face-to-face with them and tell them why. Closure is great, and they will respect you as a person for doing that.

When it comes down to work, you need to do the exact same thing. If you don’t want to do work anymore with somebody or do business with someone anymore, then you need to sit down with them and tell them why.

Do not burn bridges. Not only do they create traffic jams, but they can create embarrassing moments for you in the future.