IT'S OK TO QUIT

There are times where I know that I have given something my all. I’ve done everything I can to try to make it work, to get better, and to succeed and yet I am still met with failure at the end of it all. I want to quit with every fiber of my being, but I don’t, because we have been taught that quitting is akin to losing. That it is a sign of weakness to quit and if we just keep trying then we will eventually reach our goal. At least that is what every self-help book I read seems to be preaching to me. I’m not a huge fan of self-help books and one of the reasons is this “NO QUITTING” attitude. Sometimes it is okay to give yourself to permission to quit. It is healthy even.

Now don’t get me wrong, there is something to be said for persevering through challenges and endurance is an important life skill so that you are not quitting at the first sign of hardship. That being said there are perfectly good reasons why someone would want to quit, and we need to get rid of this idea that quitting is an entirely bad thing. We need to be able to learn to trust our judgement and when we have an instinct that tells us it is time to pull the plug, it may be a good idea to pay attention to that because it is probably coming up for a good reason.

We can sometimes think that short-term misery will be worth it in the long run, but ask yourself if the payoff will be worth it, and if that suffering will really be short term. It is important to reflect on the situation and ask yourself if the sacrifices that you are making will have a negative impact on your well-being in the long term.

When you are in a toxic situation sometimes you may feel the need to stick it out, however think about how the negative situation may be impacting your mental health and wellbeing and if you feel that there is really not much that you can do to change things, than it may be a good time to call it quits. Other-times you may need to walk away from a situation when you find that you are unable to put in place boundaries and your entire life revolves around one particular thing, be it work or a relationship. If you are finding it hard to establish a balance, that may be an indicator that taking some space is needed.

The benefit of quitting is that you are the one closing the door, and it can give you some control as you reset your goals and you can be the one who opens the door to new opportunities and situations that can lead to a more healthy and balanced life.