Some of us look at quitting as unacceptable. We’re told that we should never give up on what we’re pursuing, but knowledge and experience are not “all or nothing” things. Sometimes it’s OK to quit.
Photo by rocketace
Whether it’s a project, goal or even a job, you may find yourself not wanting to continue. The problem is, a lot of people feel that way and stick through it because they’re afraid to quit. Writer and designer Sarah Kathleen Peck talks in her Medium blog about how she was constantly frustrated with herself over incomplete projects. Eventually she had a moment of clarity:
And then it hit me: what if I was getting exactly what I needed? These courses and events served as inspiration for my soul, and my soul nudged me when it was time to begin working. Like a creative coach blowing the whistle, she stood on the sidelines while I soaked in knowledge until they stepped in and said, “OK, Sarah, go make that thing. You heard the whisper. Now make.” What if my ego was the only part of me that really cared about finishing? You don’t have to do everything to get something out of it.
Not everything you do needs to be finished. Sometimes it’s OK to start something, get whatever it is you wanted from it — inspiration, experience, knowledge — and run. There are some things that are certainly better off being seen through, but why waste your time and efforts on a project when you’ve already found what you wanted?
Why Quitting is Perfectly OK [Medium]
Comments
2 responses to “You Still Get Something When You Quit”
Sometimes quitting is the important thing to do. The question to ask is what the payoff would be for not quitting compared to the opportunity cost of the commitment. So, I keep going on the old ‘project 1’ that seemed like a good idea five years ago, and meanwhile opportunity x that could propel me into a new world of profits drifts by because I’m busy keeping up with my past.
No! burn bridges as often as you need to to stay fresh and vigorous.
Gambling springs to mind. You’ll get more out of it if you quit early, more people need to realise that.