While grit and perseverance are important ingredients to your success, holding on to your latest mistake and refusing to give up on unattainable goals will only slow you down. Highly successful people like The Rock are not anchored to the past; instead, they look for opportunities when they present themselves. They also learn from their mistakes and quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt.
Understanding when to quit is a critical component for winners. Improving your odds of success means giving up those things that hinder your ability to meet your objectives. It is important to understand what to quit, and when, in order to keep from diluting your focus from the things that matter. There are some good reasons to quit something and then there are some bad reasons.
Here are eight signs that it may be time to quit:
1. It may be time to quit if you’re doing it out of the fear of making a mistake. Fear can paralyze you. If your only reason for sticking something out is fear, then it’s time to move on. You may be reluctant to quit a miserable job because you’re afraid you won’t find another one; or you may be hesitant to quit a bad relationship because you’re afraid of being alone. Whatever the case might be, you should recognize that the talents that got you where you are today will be more than sufficient to get you where you want to be in the future. Mistakes are part of life, so you should be careful if you’re doing something because you’re afraid of what might happen if you stop doing it. If that’s your situation, it might be a good time to quit.
2. It may be time to quit if you’re doing it for the wrong reason. It’s probably not a good idea to keep doing something if it’s not what you really want to be doing. In other words, if you’re doing something out of obligation for someone else or if you’re doing it simply because you don’t want to admit that you made a bad choice, it might be time to throw in the towel.
3. It may be time to quit if your priorities have changed. Sometimes you just decide you want to do something different. That’s okay. You have to take risks in order to grow. If you try something and you find that it’s not working for you, that’s a good time to give it up and reposition yourself.
4. It may be time to quit if it’s no longer fun. If a project or hobby used to be fun but you no longer enjoy it, quit! That’s not to say that you should quit willy-nilly. You also shouldn’t quit just because you don’t enjoy every aspect of a project. But if you get no enjoyment from it and you cannot fully immerse yourself into it, then you should move on.
5. It may be time to quit if doing more does not bring better results. This is known as the law of diminishing returns. It may be a good time to quit if you have reached a point where the benefits gained from your efforts are less than the amount of energy or resources invested. If that’s the case, it’s a good time to think about redirecting your efforts.
6. It may be time to quit if there is no future in what you’re doing. If you’re working a job or in a relationship that is a dead end, it is important to recognize it quickly. If something is just not working for you, it’s a great time to call it a day. The quicker you recognize that the project is going nowhere and the faster you disengage, the more success you will have.
7. It may be time to quit if you always dread doing it. The project used to excite you but now you dread the thought of it. It may even be making you sick and causing burnout. Not only is it a good idea to quit for emotional benefits, it’s probably better for you physically as well.
8. It may be time to quit if something about it just doesn’t feel right. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut. If you are involved in an activity that doesn’t sit well with you, you should give it up. Your instincts are very powerful and they alert you to things that may be harmful. In this case, you might think about quitting, whether it’s a moral issue or just a plain bad deal.
