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4 Questions to Ask Before You Quit (Anything)
A lot of advice focuses on what to do, but advice focusing on what to quit is comparatively rare. Every path taken necessarily implies another path ignored, so the two must matter equally.
In some ways, choosing to quit is harder than choosing to take action. We all know we should exercise, read, meditate, socialize, work hard, spend time with family, and drink eight glasses of water every day. But when that list inevitably becomes unmanageable, it’s hard to say what we ought to stop.
Another reason the importance of quitting is less often discussed is that worthwhile pursuits are often challenging, and it is tempting to surrender to early difficulties. “Never give up” is an unrealistic slogan, but it may serve us well in situations where we’re tempted to give up on our dreams and watch Netflix instead.
Because we devote more time to thinking about projects we should undertake rather than those we should abandon, the latter tends to occur impulsively. We quit because we’re tired, bored, or because something else seems more appealing. I think this is a mistake. Thinking more deliberately about when to give up might improve our decisions more than simply choosing more tasks to add to our to-do list.
Here are four questions you can ask yourself to help make the decision.
