1. What makes you want to quit?
It’s important to figure out specifically why you’re giving
up. If you’re not sure of the reason, break the task down. Like you would if
you were preparing a to-do list, divide it into all of its components so that
you can go through the actions you need to take on a step-by-step basic.
Now identify what’s causing you the most stress, fear and/or
dread. This is similar to what’s known as negative visualization. Often the
step causing you the most difficulty is the one you’re currently working on. Or
it can be something fast approaching. Whatever it is, once you know the core
reason you want to quit, you’ll be able to discern the answers to the following
questions and make a more well-informed decision.
2. Would you be quitting for a good reason?
You have to uncover whether you’re quitting out of a place
of strength or out of a place of weakness.
There are plenty of good reasons to quit, like if the task
might cause you lasting emotional harm or you feel like your time could be better
spent elsewhere. There are even more bad reasons to quit, though, like
impatience, frustration or temporary hardship. Which category does your reason
belong in?
There are a few ways you can figure that out. You can go
with a classic list with two columns, one in favor of quitting and one with in
favor of sticking to it.
Or you can use a more complex, and therefore maybe more
precise, tool like the Decision Matrix Analysis. Whatever method of comparing
and contrasting the options that leads to an answer that makes sense to you is
an effective one.
3. Is the end result worth the hardship?
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless
it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being
who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives
and led them well.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
You have to put a lot of yourself (blood, sweat, tears,
etc.) into anything of value. That’s not up for debate. The question you need
to ask yourself when you’re thinking of quitting is if what you’re getting out
of the project is going to be greater than or at least equal to what you put
into it.
Do you believe that the hard work you’re pouring into the
project is going to pay off in the end? It’s near-impossible to know for sure,
but consider whether you stand a reasonable chance of recouping the time,
effort and possibly money you’ve already invested and what you will also have
to invest if you keep going.
If you don’t think the investment will be worth the reward,
it might be time to throw in the towel. But if you think you’ll be rewarded for
sticking with the project then it may be worth continuing, even if it’s
difficult. Just don’t fall into the Sunk Cost Fallacy.
4. What makes you want to keep going?
The flip side of asking why you want to give up is to
consider what you have to look forward to if you do decide to continue. What
aspects, aside from completing your goal, seem like fun?
You have to add the joy you’ll get out of those parts of the
project to the benefits of the end result when deciding whether or not you
truly want to quit. Consider the value of the journey as well as the value of
the destination.
5 . Will you regret giving up?
Regret isn’t always a bad thing, but if you obsess over your
decision and start to blame yourself, regret can negatively impact you
emotionally, mentally and even physically. That’s why you need to consider
whether or not quitting a project will lead to an excessive amount of
self-rumination. If it might, quitting suddenly becomes a more risky
proposition.
The best thing you can do to avoid an unhealthy level of
regret is reach a point in your project where you feel like you can stop
without endlessly wondering “what if?” For example, don’t close a new
restaurant before it even has chance to get off the ground. Leave it open for
long enough that you can feel comfortable that you gave it a fair shot.
6. Why did you start in the first place?
It all circles around. Identify what made you decide to
start your venture. Did your original motivations come from a healthy place? Do
those reasons continue to hold true now? If the answer to both of those
questions is yes, you’ll have more to think about before choosing to quit.
Don’t expect an answer key at the end of this article.
There’s no magical combination of your six answers to these questions that
tells you definitively whether or not you should keep going. The decision
ultimately comes down to you. Hopefully, though, these six questions give you a
good starting point on your road to making the right decision.
News source: keepinspiring.me
Photo: google
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