Six Perfect Instances to call it Quits

“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”.

Really?

• What if the bird in the hand is lame?
• What if it’s deathly sick?
• What if it has a defect?
• What if it’s dead?

Would it still be worth two in the bush? Would you still hold onto it or get moving to seek those in the bush?

Immediately after College, I got a job as an IT Instructor and Consultant. This was during the Internet bubble and just about everybody wanted to be IT Savvy. This job came as a referral. A College mate who worked in this organization was on hand when they had a vacancy and he remembered my exploits.

Having studied IT, the job was appropriate for my career direction, or so I thought. It took me about four months to master everything there was about this assignment that after that, I just started drifting through it.

There was no thrill and challenge anymore. Slowly by slowly, I got disenchanted by this job. The pay was not that great. I knew that I was meant for much bigger and better things. I could feel it daily within my gut. Yet I continued loathing this assignment and started applying for better chances. They never came.

As a result, I stayed at this job that I loathed for…wait for it…Four more years…before I quit! Four years!! I was waiting for a replacement job before I did quit…and even after I quit, there was no replacement job, just a promise of the same. I attended an interview that apparently gave me enough confidence to quit. Even that job never came…and I stayed in the cold for one year. How I survived is another story…but I can tell you that I am so glad that I made the decision to quit.

 

There are some things you just don’t quit. Marriage for example. But even then, when you are a victim of physical and emotional abuse, you ought to consider quitting. Controversial? No.

At times in life, we come to situations where we need to make a decision to quit, go back, refrain or abandon a cause altogether. Yes, at times, quitting is very much a plausible option.

I am not talking about quitting bad things or eliminating destructive behavior. I am talking about letting go of something that has been beneficial to you, such as a job/career, a course, a relationship or a business idea.

Assuming that everything about your human rights is constant and not violated, here are a few scenarios that should make you consider quitting. This is not just limited to careers. It also can include phases or stages of life. One obvious instance to quit your current environment is obviously when you have a better chance. What’s a better chance? It’s where you can stretch more, grow more, learn more, earn more, reach more, influence more and exploit more of your potential.

Besides that, the following instances are what I would seriously advice someone to consider quitting.

1. When You have become Comfortable:

Amazingly, we all inherently seek comfort. There is nothing wrong with wanting to life a comfortable life. The problem however is that a comfortable life is seldom a life of growth. I have to be careful here. I am not talking about having a life where all your basic needs are comfortably met. No, I am not talking about that kind of comfort. The kind of comfort I am talking about is the one where you are no longer stretched in any faculty as you dispense your duties. If you get to the level, especially in your career, where you are comfortable, it is time to seek a bigger stretching challenger.

2. When Stagnation Sets in:

Stagnation and comfort are different. You can be comfortable but not stagnant, but you cannot be stagnant and comfortable at the same time…unless of course you love stagnation. You have to be careful to differentiate between a must go through phase of stagnation and stagnation proper. It is easy to gauge stagnation if you have a goal that you are working towards in your life. If your current position does not guarantee the acceleration and ultimate fulfillment of your goal, it is time to re-evaluate and quit. I can tell you this: Stagnation is not standing still, stagnation is the new word for chronic retrogression. So watch out!

3. When there is Di-Vision:

“Can two walk together unless they agree?” Nothing on the face of the earth is more burdensome than pulling in separate ways while at the same time intending to go in the same direction. It is pure conflict. It does not fulfill any of the parties involved. It does not help any of them to grow in anyway. If anything, it causes unprecedented heartache and cold war. It is the recipe for disaster. If you cannot get locked into the vision or if they cannot get locked into your vision, quitting is pretty much an option. Staying put is not worth anything. Please note that I am not referring to marriage!

4. When Your Passion is being sapped:

You know, the moment you stop growing in anyway, that is the time you start dying. When your passion is being sapped daily and you can no longer grow, you need to re-evaluate if you are in the right place. Your priority ought to be for an environment that nurtures your passion and enables you to exploit your God given potential to the fullest. If that is not happening on a consistent basis, you are wasting away slowly. You might need to make a very radical step to quit that environment for a better one. Make it a matter of priority.

5. When you are not contributing anymore:

This is obvious. If for one reason or another you realize that you have outlived your usefulness, it is time to become useful elsewhere. If you do not quit, you are not helping others who are attached to you, neither are you helping yourself. In life, we move forward through our positive contributions. If you are not contributing where you used to be counted, its time to quit. Again, I am not talking about marriage. If you are not contributing your part in marriage, quitting is not an option. You ought to style up and live up to your expectations.

6. When there is no confidence in you anymore:

This is specifically to do with organizations and nations. If you have been found wanting in a public office whether morally or otherwise, you ought to step down. In the Kingdom of God, the stepping down is not a total demotion. Sometimes you quit so you can sort yourself before re-emerging.