One essential skill for success is knowing when to quit.
A friend invested a decent amount of money in a start up that, after a while, turned unprofitable. He could not make peace with losing the money already invested. So he invested more money, hoping for a turnaround.
Another friend joined a university course to enhance her leadership skills. She did not enjoy the teaching method so she lost interest in the content. She continued following the course despite hating it. Not because she paid a lot of money, but because she was too embarrassed to quit.
What would you have done?
and even more important:
How would you have known when to quit?
When you invest time and energy, you need to ensure your effort will bring you the result you want. The easiest way to ensure you’re on track is to review from time to time the progress toward the expected result.
If you don’t pause, review and course-correct, you’ll end up:
- asking yourself where the time has gone,
- wondering why you get no result or
- blaming others for your failure.
So ask yourself often:
“Is it working?“
Ask this question from the perspective of: “Is what I’m doing getting me closer to the result I want?”
To get to most of the results that are meaningful, you need to take consistent action over a long(er) period of time. And that’s ok.
Results worth getting to, take time. Think of the time it takes to get an education degree, learn to play a musical instrument or become a professional speaker. You have to put in the effort and practice and focus for a long time before results show up and you can reap the benefits.
If what you do is taking you closer to the result you want (and deserve!), then it means what you’re doing is working.
And if it isn’t working, there is a second question that will definitely help you decide what to do next:
“Do I still enjoy it?”
If it is not working but you still enjoy it, then consider other ways to make it work. Think of creative ways to reinvent what you are doing, adjust and give it another chance.
But if it is not working and you no longer enjoy it, your next step is to quit.
Word of caution here: Don’t quit because you answered “no” to both of the questions above. Have an exit plan if you decide to. Especially if you want to quit something that your life depends on, an exit plan is a must. You don’t want to create new problems that you could have avoided with a bit of upfront planning. This is why it’s not wise, for example, to quit your job with 0 savings or place all your savings into a single investment.
Remember:
Your time, energy and attention resources are in limited supply.
You want to be very clear on where you choose to invest them.
You must be intentional about what you start, continue or stop.
TL;DR:
Knowing when to quit is a skill.
Ask yourself:
1. Is it working?
2. Do I still enjoy it?
If you answer “no“ to both questions, consider quitting.
By quitting, you allow yourself to focus on what’s relevant and important at this stage of your life.