"Don’t ever give up." This bumper sticker is everywhere.
Yet, I consider myself a PROFESSIONAL quitter. There’s a huge stigma attached to quitting.
But reality is far more nuanced.
It’s true, many people quit when they should persist. You shouldn’t give up on your goal simply because things got too HARD.
YET many people persist when they should not. Grit isn't repeatedly doing what’s not working.
I quit being a lawyer because I didn't find the work fulfilling.
I left Google for the same reason, and subsequently gave up the security of a steady paycheck to start my own business.
By clinging to one thing, you’re passing up the opportunity for something else.
If you keep pursuing a dead relationship because you hope you can fix the other person, you won’t find a relationship that feeds your soul.
We stay the course in part because we focus on the short-term loss.
We ask, What will I miss if I quit?
But there’s another question to ask: What will I gain if I let this go?
Sometimes—just sometimes—quitting might be the best thing you can do.