It’s Okay to Quit – Sometimes it’s a Good Thing

It’s okay to quit.

I know that’s shocking to read on a self-improvement site.

We’re supposed to tell you to never give up.

“Those who succeed are those who persist.”

“You could be inches from striking gold.”

But in reality, quitting is often a good thing, and you absolutely should give up if:

• What you’re doing is a bad idea.
• It’s not working out.
• It’s not right for you.
• You’re miserable.
• There are better uses for your time.
• The chance of success is too low, or the consequences of failure too high.

Refusing to quit can be disastrous

I know this from personal experience.

I’ve previously told the story about how my father refused to quit.

He was determined to be mega-rich.

When things got tough he persisted, like motivational posters say.

He was so confident, he wouldn’t listen to “doubters and haters.”

And never gave up on a plan that was so terrible it turned him from a successful wealthy lawyer into a broke homeless criminal.

It’s okay to quit when things aren’t working out

Sometimes your plans just don’t work.

Maybe there are barriers you didn’t expect.

People don’t want your product.

You hate the work.

Or you simply aren’t very good at it.

When these happen, it’s okay to quit. In fact, it’s beneficial. Stop banging your head against the wall and move on.

It’s okay to quit for better opportunities

Have you ever not been able to do something because you were too busy?

Of course. You only have so much time and energy.

Anything you do means there’s something else you can’t do.

But you’re never really too busy for anything. You’ve simply chosen to make other things a priority.

When you won’t quit, you’ve locked yourself into a priority, even if something else would be a better use of your time.

Perhaps you’d be happy and successful as a programmer, but you aren’t available to take coding classes while chasing your dream to be a movie star.

You’ll never know if you refuse to quit.

Knowing it’s okay to quit lets you experiment and grow

If every choice is a forever choice, starting anything is an enormous burden. You’re making a lifelong commitment.

So you’re unlikely to try anything new.

But telling yourself it’s okay to quit gives you permission to experiment.

“Let’s see if this works. If not, I’ll just quit and try something else.”

Repeat until something does work.

Never-quitters are afraid to test the waters. “I’m not going to get into this unless I can do it right.”

Trying fewer things means learning fewer skills, and less opportunities to find what excites you.

You don’t know what will make you happy

Motivational posters tell you success comes from persistence.

But the reality is success comes from finding where your skills meet opportunity.

Success comes from finding where your skills meet opportunity.

Persistence is one way to get to that point, if the opportunity is there.

But even if it works out, will it make you happy?

You assume it will.

But you can’t know for sure until you’ve lived it.

There are depressed billionaires and miserable movie stars. A real-life princess recently quit princessing because she hated it.

And what if the opportunity isn’t there? Or your skills and opportunity never align?

You dedicate your life to pursuing a goal, refusing to quit. Then you either fail, or succeed and don’t enjoy it.

Where do you go from there?

But if you quit when something doesn’t work out, you learn more skills.

There are more places where your skills meet opportunity. You can choose the one that makes you happiest.

My own experience with quitting

Let me tell you about three times I quit:

I have a Masters degree in Screenwriting from the top film school in the world. I think I’m pretty good at writing, but I’m lousy at getting my scripts in front of people in a position to buy them.

Which means I’m bad at professional screenwriting.

After failing for years, I realized I needed to stop chasing a pipe dream.

So I quit. I still screenwrite, but as an amateur. It would be nice if I make a sale, but it’s not something I count on.

On the other hand, I’m extremely skilled in Accounting and Finance. I kept getting promoted in this career, eventually to Chief Financial Officer.

But I was miserable. So even though I was successful, I quit.

After leaving my Accounting career, I launched my blog, newsletter, and weight loss book.

But there’s another product I created that literally zero people bought. 

After a few months, I realized there just wasn’t any demand. I quit wasting my time on something no one wanted, took down the links, and moved on with my life.

First I quit because I wasn’t very skilled, then because I was unhappy, then because what I was doing didn’t work.

These are all excellent reasons to quit.

Because I quit these goals that weren’t right for me, I’m now able to launch my own business. One I’m excited about, where my skills meet opportunity. Skills I’ve learned from previous times I quit.

I always say: If you fail but learn how to do better next time, you haven’t really failed.

If you fail but learn how to do better next time, you haven’t really failed.

It’s okay to quit when it’s not right for you

You shouldn’t quit just because things get hard.

You should continually evaluate if your goals still make sense.

Pursue them in different ways. Pursue multiple goals.

Quit what doesn’t work in exchange for better goals.

Experiment. Try new things. Build new skills.

Hunt for where your skills meet opportunity and what you find fulfilling.

Because the one place you shouldn’t quit is seeking happiness.

Ultimately, that’s what never-quitters miss.

Never-quitters dedicate their life to their obsession.

But that’s backward.

Your career should serve your life, not the other way around.

Quit what makes you miserable.

And experiment to find what brings you joy.