We’ve all been told at one point or another that perseverance, diligence, will power, and dogged determination are required to succeed.
When you fall down 19 times, you get up 20. But what about the times this advice is actually harmful to our overall success, and the best thing to do is quit?
Ask any successful person, athlete, or entrepreneur and they’ll all tell you that perseverance played a significant role in their achievements. It was likely a key ingredient, if not THE key ingredient in achieving their goals. Their ability and desire to relentlessly pursue their dreams even when everything and everyone seemed to be against them.
I know I’ve certainly experienced times where it felt like the odds were against me.
There have been many times in my life and career where despite my best efforts things just didn’t seem to be working out. I’ve had multiple failed business ventures, lost close to a hundred thousand dollars on bad real estate and financial investments by my mid twenties, and at times felt lost and unsure which way to proceed.
It’s not how we react when times are good that determines our achievements, but rather it’s what we do when nothing seems to be going right.
When the sea was calm, all ships alike showed mastership in floating -William Shakespeare
It’s the strength and determination to push forward and soldier on that eventually brings the rewards of success. It’s the ability to keep working harder when others have already given up and gone home that helps to weed out the competition and secure your position at the top.
Winners never quit and quitters never win -Vince Lombardi
This is success 101.
But what about the times when quitting really is the best option. When climbing Mount Everest the less experienced the climber, the more likely they are to push on when the best option is to turn around and go back down. http://www.mounteverest.net/expguide/survivalrules.htm
I’ve certainly quit things in my life. I’ve quit careers, quit habits, quit business and personal relationships,
The trick has been defining what my vision and goals really were, and whether my actions and directions were moving me closer or further away from them.
As Seth Godin writes in his book __The Dip__, “Strategic quitting is the secret of successful organizations. Reactive and serial quitting are the bane of those that strive (and fail) to get what they want.”
The key here is to avoid serial quitting, and make a conscious effort to understand if you’re sticking with it simply because of conventional success dogma, or because it really is the best thing to do?
So how do you know when it’s time to push on, and when the best thing may be to call it quits?
1. Is there potential for growth
- Have you gotten everything you can out of the opportunity?
- Is there an untapped possibility, option, or avenue you haven’t tried yet?
2. What were the reasons we started this project
- Is this something you were passionate about?
- Did you intend to see it through to the end?
- Did you do adequate research about the possibility of success?
3. Is the finish line in sight
- Is the project or goal almost complete?
- Can you find a way to complete this with help, time, or additional resources?
4. Do you have a history of abandoned projects?
- Look at your track record and see if it’s littered with once great ideas that were left when things became overly challenging or complex.
I don’t like, or often use the word “Quit”, however, as Seth Godin points out, it can be a viable and strategic decision. Rather than quitting I prefer to encourage “redirecting ones efforts.”
Consistently taking two steps forward will occasionally require one step back, but it’s the speed and efficiency with which we return back to taking two steps forward that ultimately determines our ability to succeed.
If quitting means giving up on your hopes or dreams when things get tough, then quitting is never the answer.
If however, quitting means altering your course so you can reach your goals faster or more efficiently, then sometimes quitting may be just what you need to do.
