Knowing When to Walk Away: The Power of Quitting for Your Well-Being
I once listened to a podcast about quitting. Like how to quit.
I know your reaction is likely “but Katie quitting is bad” or “quitting is for losers” or some other cliché we’ve been told. When I listened to it, I was deciding when was the right time to leave my counseling practice due to burnout.
Interestingly enough, this podcast explained how a social study confirmed the earlier you quit, the better. Shocking, I know!
Recognizing When Something Isn’t Right
I recently quit a year-long dance team that meant the world to me. I loved everything about that team… EV-ER-Y-THING. I was sold out. About 6 months into the team, I noticed it was unbalanced for me, so I quit one dance out of three. I thought, “This is better”, and it was.
There was another part of me that also felt less connected to the dancing, and I cannot explain why. A subtle voice/inkling nudged me towards the idea that this isn’t what I want it to be anymore. It was subtle, and my friends, music, and choreography were louder. So I stayed.
The Challenges and Lessons of Quitting
The thing about quitting is that you’re going to miss something about it. You’ll confront grief and FOMO, and those are genuine feelings we like to avoid. You’ll also have the space and time to fill, which can also be daunting.
Before deciding to quit (if not done impulsively), we’ll likely find ourselves weighing the pros and cons. Despite the cons or the gut feeling it’s not right anymore, the social study showed people will often stay months to years in something they know isn’t right. Whether it was a job, a relationship, a city, a conversation… people tend to linger.
Now I do not judge any of the lingerers… well, because it’s human. But unfortunately, my quitting the dance team wasn’t just hard because of grief and space; it was hard because it ended with conflict, confusion, and disappointment. It took me off guard how it all ended, but I sit here wondering what if I had explored that voice instead of ignoring it. What if I had allowed that voice a microphone? Maybe it would’ve been loud enough to tell me how I was staying out of a mix of fear and joy instead of pure joy as it had been before.
Why Quitting Can Be Good for You
I can’t go back now, and I don’t shame myself for my decisions, but I see that I stayed out of fear of the emptiness, and this translated into my performance, my relationship with my coaches, and influenced an undesirable outcome.
Quitting isn’t about finding the right time to avoid conflict or bad endings. Quitting is about listening to the nudges inside that sometimes seem to know something the conscious brain doesn’t. Quitting is about listening to what’s right for you and not staying in something out of fear of the emptiness before you or FOMO.
Quitting is gooooooood. Oh man, it is really really really good for you.
So here I am giving my two cents that it’s quittin’ time!
These are my honest and raw thoughts.
With truth & love,
Katie
Feature Products & Resources
