Why can't I save her?

I note a thread in my dating history that I guess some others know too. It's the state of mind that says:

There's a girl I think needs help. I can save her.

It's a foolish way of thinking, but for a long time I couldn't quantify why it doesn't work. Experience taught me that people change only when they want to; the impetus for doing so must come wholly from within. Knowing that someone would benefit from help is different from them deciding to change.

The decision process I figured out is to never commit to someone more than they commit to themselves.

This is one more of those life lessons that would have been handy to learn by instruction rather than repeated mistakes.




Bottoms Up, Lifesavers!





Photo courtesy of the Ocean City Sentinel. [link]

Edited for clarity.