What you should quit and why

We are conditioned to believe quitting is for the weak. “Winners never quit and quitters never win”, heard of it, right? Yet, I have found the opposite to be more helpful for your life, career and mental health provided you know what and when to quit.

We have limited time and attention spans. What we choose to do with our time costs us all the other things that we could have been doing instead so we need to choose wisely. But how do we know which is better? By trying it out, of course. And when something you are trying out doesn’t work, quickly quit and move your attention to something else to cut your losses. Simply sticking to something that isn’t working for you because you are not a “quitter” is not sound advice at all.

Here are some things you should quit more often and I’ll tell you why –

1. Projects that don’t excite you – The opportunity cost of continuing to work on such projects is time away from exciting, fulfilling projects. Unfinished tasks are a constant burden that can weigh you down, simply cancel them.
2. Relationships- You tend to become the average of the people you spend the most time with. Stop feeling guilty about cutting negative people and taxing relationships out. By continuing, you are keeping them and yourself from better relationships. These could be perfectly normal and well adjusted individuals, but if hanging out with them is not bringing out the best in both parties, move on.
3. Jobs that drain you – Sticking to toxic workplaces and jobs that give you no joy or have zero career growth robs you of your mental health and productivity. You are better off looking for something else. Mental health above loyalty! Of course, you need to be able to support yourself and your family and if for various reasons you might not be able to move on to another job, be smart in that case. Keep working on your skills and keep looking out for opportunities. Make a move when you can.
4. Reading bad books – This one is tough for me, personally. I feel compelled to finish every book I start. I am learning to get better at this. It’s OK to quit reading books that do nothing for you, even if they are worldwide bestsellers. If you read only one really good thought provoking or highly entertaining book a year, that’s enough!
5. Being Comfortable – “Comfort zone is a beautiful place but nothing ever grows there”. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable as that’s when good things happen. When you start something new, lack of knowledge in this new area can make you uncomfortable and this is when you learn the most. And once you gain some experience and confidence having done this new thing a number of times, you start to get comfortable again. Go from being comfortable to uncomfortable repeatedly to keep learning and growing.
6. Seeing failure as final – It is not over until it is over. Consider failure as a lesson in how not to succeed. The more you fail, the more chances you have of succeeding. You only fail when you fail to learn from a failure.
7. Waiting for things to happen – Infuse your life with action however small it may be rather than waiting for things to happen to you. Don’t like your situation? Do something about it. Don’t like how you health is?- Do something to improve it. Don’t like your job? – Move on to something you like better. You get the picture.

So, the idea is to quit and quit quickly to make better use of your time and attention and live your best life. You only live once!