Learning to quit is a life skill

Have you wondered sit in your cubicle and wondered why are you working so hard? Why are you doing this or that? What’s this for? Who am I doing it for? What’s the goal? How do I benefit from this? Why should I do it now?

There are only two routes: to continue or quit.

If you focus on your goal, your motivation is high and is determined to continue the journey, good for you. Likewise, you may think of quitting due to a low level of motivation or burnout. These thoughts are valid too.

If you belong to the latter, sometimes, the best thing you can do for yourself is to quit. Learning to quit is a life skill.

Here’s what you can ask yourself when you are at the cross route.

Source: Steven Bartlett’s Quitting Framework from “Happy Sexy Millionaire” by Steven Bartlett

Quitting can be productive.

Are you reaping all the benefits that you thought you would gain? Are you not quitting because of the time and energy invested in a project? You got that instinct (also known as the sunk cost fallacy.) You bit the bullet and continue with it! However, is it worth it?

Once you have quit, you can spend your time and energy on other projects that matter. However, I know it’s tough to walk away from your baby. Get a person to provide a reality check. If not, sit back and reflect deeply on it. Hence, you can use the above framework to help yourself.

For example, for 2.5 years, I had illustrated on Meowmie. Slowly, I ran out of ideas and decided to switch to blogging. Hence, I decided to make the tough decision to quit Meowmie and focus on this blog. Now, I am starting to reap what I sow from this blog. I am glad to shift my focus.

Despite the above framework, some will choose not to quit. It may be due to the following reasons.

Fear of change
Being labelled as a failure
The circumstances do not allow them to quit.

These are valid concerns, especially if one can’t quit due to the circumstances. For example, a single parent, who cannot quit his current job, needs to work at a place to bring bread home. He can only quit if he secures the next job that earns him enough for the family.

As cliché as it sounds, life is never fair. Try your best as much as possible to be engaged in work doing work that matters. Giving up is not for losers. Remove yourself from the unnecessary work and focus on things that matter! There are many ways to make life more meaningful.

Learning to quit is a life skill.

x, Esther