Decision Point: Quit or Keep Going

“Most of us have two lives: the life we live, and the unlived life within us.” — Steven Pressfield
Two Choices
There’s nothing like setting a target date for a project and hitting it. For projects with a defined end date, you’re done. But if it’s an ongoing venture, this initial launch date is just the first of many future deadlines to hit, potentially with no end in sight. Once you start, there are two options:
- Keep going
- Quit
It’s really easy to quit — we all do it. The anticipation for a project is huge — we’ve felt the pressure of the launch, but pushed through and started it anyway. We often think getting started is the hard part. In reality, the most challenging part is to keep going. No one will blame you for quitting — you’re busy, you’ve had an unexpected life change, or you don’t feel as passionate about your project.
If you’re anything like us, you have a graveyard of unfinished projects — ideas that you’ve put effort into bringing to life but gave up before following through completely. Why is this? How can we be so excited about an idea for days (or weeks or months) and then, all of sudden, when the time comes to ship the idea into the world, we pull back. What happened?
In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield answers these questions using what he calls the Resistance — the internal force within each of us that pushes us away from our “soul’s yearn for creating new things and doing something special.” The Resistance is the owner, operator, and chief gravedigger of our idea cemetery. It’s why we can so easily justify choosing “quit” over “keep going.”
Resistance is fueled by fear; in fact, Fear is often a perfect synonym for Resistance. We don’t fully chase down our dreams because we are scared. What if we fail? What if my friends and family don’t get it? What if I don’t make it and have to come crawling back for help?

Fighting Resistance; Fighting Fear
For both of us at Full Time Side Hustle, the Resistance and the Fear turned up the heat to maximum temperature all week. Last week, we shipped our very first blog post. We set a target date and time, and we hit it. At first, we felt fear in the form of nerves. We wondered if anyone would actually read it. And if people did read it, what if they didn’t get it? Or thought we were stupid for embarking on this journey?
Those initial nerves quickly passed though — we received high quality feedback on the post and the idea overall. But then, it started to sink in. We had officially started, which means that going forward we have a weekly decision. We can choose to quit, or we can choose to keep going.
As the week went on, quitting became an increasingly attractive option. We felt fatigued. We felt imposter syndrome. Alex is in the final few days of his Peace Corps Mission in Panama, the place (and life) he’s lived for the last two years. Mitch had an unexpectedly busy week at work and is in the process of moving. Quitting could have easily been justified, even if just for one week. But to quit is to give in to Resistance, and to let Fear win.
Whether or not we realize it, we all play an ongoing game with Fear. This game is zero-sum — there is one winner and one loser. If Fear wins, we lose — our internal fire (i.e. our passions and dreams) is doused to ashes. If we win, the flames continue ablaze, and our passions and dreams live to fight another day.
Strategies to Win the Game
It’s one thing to type up some inspiring words about facing our fears. But how can each of us actually take action to give ourselves an edge in this constant game we play against such a formidable opponent? Here are three actionable items that helped us push through this week when the Resistance was pulling out all the stops — each is transferable to any situation where the Resistance and the Fear are at their peak.
- Pump the brakes. We are often our own worst critic. If a struggling friend came to you for advice, chances are you would encourage them, recognize the positives, and reinforce the steps that they have already accomplished. We don’t do this with ourselves though. If you are driving the struggle bus, pump the brakes. Take a step back and imagine yourself as a third party; give advice on the situation as if you are an outsider. Chances are you’ve already accomplished some important tasks or taken a few steps forward — recognize that it wasn’t easy to get to where you are right now.
- Treat yo self (in moderation). When we are stressed to the max, it is incredibly unlikely that we will take time for self-care, even though this is when we need it the most. Imagine a day in your life at peak stress level — chances are you took exactly zero time to step back, even for a few minutes. Let’s say you have an eight hour window to complete a stressful project. Will you accomplish more by sitting at your desk for eight straight hours, or by taking a fifteen minute break to walk outside (hint: leave your phone inside) about halfway through your day? You might feel like you’ll get more done by sitting at your desk all day; but in reality, we all know which one will lead to a better end result, both for the project and your own sanity.
- Dig deep. Then dig deeper. Why did you start this project in the first place? What is the purpose? Who are you doing this for? Any project worth your time, energy, and efforts should make you feel something inside. Any journey worth taking should make you at least a little bit fearful. The Resistance is a double-edged sword — on one hand, it fights against our goals and dreams; but on the other hand, the Resistance is showing us exactly where we need to go. If you don’t feel the Resistance, then whatever it is you’re doing probably isn’t helping you grow. But when you feel the Resistance at its strongest, ask yourself why you thought this project was worth doing when you first started. If these reasons are still valid, you have two choices: quit or keep going. Hint: keep going.
Thank you for reading — we’ll see you next week.
Full Time Side Hustle is a blog created by Mitch Morse and Alex McCarty. For more about us, click here.
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Originally published at www.fulltimesidehustle.net.
