Deleting my side project felt like a breakup and I'm not okay

Spent four months on something that was never going to work. knew it for at least two of those months. kept going anyway because quitting felt like admitting i wasted the time.

Deleted the whole repo last week. it was weirdly emotional. like closing a door on a version of myself who really believed in it.

The thing is i don't actually regret the four months. i learned more from that failure than from anything that worked. i just wish i had been honest with myself two months earlier instead of pretending.

How long do you hold on before you call it? and does it ever get easier?