Knowing When to Quit and When to Keep Going

Some times we just need to quit.

We need to quit what's not working so that we can pursue more of what will. But it's not that easy, is it?

How are we to know when it's time to quit? And what will others think of us as we do?

And then there's this idea of GRIT--that we are to persevere through adversity, no matter what.

No wonder quitting is a touchy subject, albeit important.

What is it costing you to continue pursuing what is no longer serving you?

In this video, we explore how you can know when to quit and when to stay the course. 

You'll learn more about:

1. The "don't quit" trap and why it's important to quit the wrong thing.

2. The two things to consider when it comes to quitting

3. The best way to prepare yourself to stay on the path of a meaningful journey

While we're on the topic of maximizing who you are as a leader, have you checked out this Executive Morning Plan?

Knowing When to Quit and When to Keep Going

Transcript - March 12, 2020

Knowing when to quit and when to keep going is a big question to answer.

My name is Zach. I'm a performance and leadership coach with Create Purpose Coaching. I work with leaders, small business owners and sales professionals to make the shifts they need to make in their life and their business to create the results that they desire.

So, today we're going to talk about quitting.

You know, there's a myth out there that quitting is just wrong, you know, only losers quit, right? That's how we were raised to think and I can remember a time where I held firm to that belief.

In fact, if you want to know a little bit about me, I don't quit.

I go and I go, and I keep picking myself back up and I go again, I fight I just have this fighting spirit and I can't quit.

But there were times in my life that quitting, the wrong thing was the very thing that I should have done. That would have benefited me if I would have just quit.

Because this resilient mindset of never quit, never fail, just keep going, never quit, right?

Oftentimes, we end up putting blinders on, we put our head down, and we just go without really paying attention to what other opportunities are there and what's working for us and what's not working for us.

And there's actually some psychology around this that makes this even more sticky. There's something known as the Gambler's Dilemma.

And this idea is, the more time that you invest, and even the more failures perceived failures that you experience, it actually creates this inner-drive that leaves you feeling like a win is just around the corner.

Statistically, I have failed too often to not get what I want eventually. You know, in sales, you know that you went 30% of the deals you are in or something like that.

And, so when you maybe don't get the next three, four deals, you know that the next one is right around the corner.

But that can be deceiving because if that is how you operate it, you might continue down a road that is no longer serving you with this belief that the answer is going to be around the next corner, all you have to do is keep getting up and keep going and keep trying and keep doing the thing that you're doing and you're not getting the success you want to see.

And so what I'm proposing here is how do you know when to quit the wrong thing?

And I think there's something to really pay attention to here because there are two things to look at when it comes to quitting.

I think to quit the wrong thing, you should do that as fast as possible because what we're going to get into here is there is no easy road. And so if you feel quitting because it gets hard, that's the wrong reason to quit.

And so the success mindset that we've all been taught that quitting is, you know, not what we should be doing in that light. It's correct.

But when should you quit?

Because come on, there are times when you need to quit. There are times when you need to make a change. And that might be a big change. That might just be some subtle quarter turns, you're going to quit doing some things so that you can start doing new things, right?

The number one thing to focus on when it comes to quitting or not quitting is being able to answer the question, Do I have the skills? Let me rephrase that. Do I have the ability, doing what I'm doing, to develop the skills that I need to be successful?

And the second part of this is what I'm doing. am I passionate about it? am I passionate about what I'm doing?

So can I develop the skills I need to be successful and am I passionate about what I'm doing?

If the answer to those two questions is yes, keep going.

Keep going, don't quit, because there's a great great book by Seth Godin, called The Dip.

If you haven't read this book, it's a very short read. It's like a one and a half hour audiobook. If you like audiobooks, check it out!

Because he talks about this dip. The dip is inevitable, no matter what you're doing, you're going to hit a dip.

And the question you need to answer is, hey, if you can develop the skill sets that you need to be successful, and you're passionate about what you're doing, or what your goal is, or what the outcome will be on the other end, then go! Because the dip is going to be inevitable.

If it's not, if you're not passionate about it, or if you aren't in a situation where you can develop the skill sets that you desire to create to develop so you can live into your vision then you need to quit.

You need to quit fast because you're wasting a lot of time and mental energy doing the wrong thing.

And, you know, I get that, that this isn't for everybody. This is for people that are wanting to live and lead a high performance life. They want to create massive results in their life, they want to leave a legacy they want to achieve success for not only themselves, but in a way that benefits everybody else around them. And it's just very important for them to be in alignment with who they are.

I was at a conference a couple weeks ago and the speaker shared with with us that maybe your problem is not achievement, maybe it's alignment?

That hit me when I heard that because that is the difference between quitting and keeping on.

If you're in alignment with who you are and your values and your vision and what you want most in life, and maybe it's a big dream, and maybe it feels way out there.

But if you're on that path, stay on the path because there's this thing called the dip. It's meant to get hard. It's meant to get hard. And it has to be hard for the victory to be sweet.

And so instead of running away from the discomfort or evaluating situations as "well, this is hard, maybe I should quit, maybe there's an easier route." That is a trap that you'll fall into. Because the dips inevitable.

So what can you do? Embrace the challenge.

So if you are deciding know, this dip is for me, this is what I want. I know it's hard, but I know who I am. I know my values. I know the vision and what I want to live into. And you know what the path I'm on right now is giving me those opportunities to learn and grow and develop and start to create the results and start to make the progressive steps toward where I'm going.

If that's true for you, you keep going. If it's not true, you quit and you pivot, you find a way to get back on that path towards who you are, who you desire to be.

If you are on that path, you know it's your path, and it gets hard, embrace the challenge.

Embrace the challenge because it's going to get hard.

And, it's better to just anticipate the you know what it's going to get hard, it's going to be challenging, things aren't going to go as planned.

Heck, I might end up in a different spot than I originally intended.

And that's the last piece here...

When you're going through the dip, even if you don't achieve the the desired outcome, if you go through it and you play full out, and you push yourself to your limits, I guarantee that you're going to learn new skill sets, you're going to transform and mature as a leader. And you're going to come out the other side ready for more whatever it is.

And so that's why you can embrace the suck because it is molding you and crafting you into who you are, so that you can step into that opportunity that is designed uniquely for you. But you have to go through the hard things that craft you and shape you to prepare you for what's ahead.

Embrace it. And the last thing when it comes to quitting, if you are on the path and maybe things just aren't working for you, but gosh, you know, you want this you know, you're committed, you know, you can learn the things you need to learn to succeed.

But maybe it's just not happening for you and you're embracing the challenge. But Gosh, it's still not happening for you.

The last thing I want to leave you with is to ask for help.

Ask for help.

Share what's going on, share your struggles, share what's not going the way you want with other people and ideally find other people that have gone on similar journeys.

Not that you want to copy their journey, but just so you can get outside perspective because there was a time I did that. And a whole new world of possibilities opened up just because I went and started asking for help. And I started learning about different ways of approaching the challenge, different pahts to the same destination, right?

I started seeing these bigger world and when you're going through the dip all alone You have tunnel vision, all you can see is what's right in front of you. And if it's not working, that's a very scary place to be.

Make it a habit of getting out building relationships, building connections and being vulnerable and asking for help, because it can be a game changer for you.

The last thing I want to throw out yet here is I shared with you that I'm a coach, I work with a lot of leaders, I work with a lot of business owners and professionals and helping them create shifts in how they're they're leading, and how they're living into the the life that they want most.

And really helping them get from point A to point B. So my question to you is, are you going through a major life transition, a major moment of transition?

It might be a great opportunity to ask for some guidance. That is why I'm opening up my calendar for a few slots over the next couple weeks to do a free 30 minute sales free zone, strategy session where we'll do some coaching and I promise you as an outcome of that, if you show up and are open and play full out, you'll be getting some clarity around what your next step is.

You can start making that progressive movement towards what you want most in your life. That's really what matters.

Because you can pursue what what you feel is the safer route and still fail. And so why not go after what you want.

If it is a fear of failure that's holding you back, check yourself there because failure is really out of your control

When it comes to a fear of failure, the only option you have is to play full out and go after what you want in your life.

Otherwise, you're playing it safe, you're playing small, and you're going to end up at the end of your life regretting not really going for your dreams.

I would love to talk with you. I would hear about what what you want most and what why you don't have it yet? What's getting in your way? And let's let's explore that together.

Let's see if we can make some shifts for you to start breaking through and moving upward towards what you want most.

So, remember, quitting is not a bad thing. Sometimes we need to quit. Those things that aren't serving us, we need to quit the things that we're not passionate about.

Number one, we need to quit the things that are no longer providing us the level of challenge that we find compelling. Because if the challenge isn't compelling, the learning won't be there, the growth and development won't be there and the passion is going to subside very quickly. And you're going to plateau and that isn't likely what you're going after.

So go play full out this week.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai