Ask HN: How does one avoid cyclical traps in life?

Certain experiences lead into cycles for which one has increasingly limited direct control. Exit strategies/alternative choices at this stage become a trade of one foul master for another. In either case, the only lessons learned was that any confidence in one's judgement is unwarranted and that decisions have unaccountable tradeoffs. So how does someone avoid an unneeded, uncontrollable issue or at least observe when one is getting close to the event horizon?