it's okay to quit

It’s okay to quit.

Whaaaaaat?!

You can’t say that!

That’s not what all the motivational memes say! They say to keep trying, keep chugging along, keep working until you’ve met your goal. Overcome the obstacles. “She believed she could, so she did.” You know what I’m talking about.

So why in the world would I encourage anyone to be a quitter?

First, I want to challenge you to stop thinking of quitting as always a bad thing. “Quit” is not a four-letter word, figuratively speaking.

Let me give you a personal example. Recently, I tried something new in my business. I was really excited about it when I started. I even invested a pretty penny in this new venture, so I had some serious skin in the game.

It was really fun at first and I daydreamed about the possibilities it could open up for my business; it was something new and totally different and I liked the challenge.

But, after a while, I slowly started to realize that it wasn’t what I thought it would be.

I denied my feelings at first, thinking I was just really busy with other things at the moment– kids, work, family, summer, etc. I stayed in this denial period for a while actually, and I was scared to tell my husband that the thing I had invested our hard-earned money and time in and he had been so supportive about, was no longer something I wanted.

I finally admitted it to him and thankfully, he understood. But, I still had some serious guilt and borderline embarrassment about quitting. I talked to a mentor of mine and she also encouraged me that it is okay to stop pouring myself into something that I’m not passionate about.

By investing my time and energy into something that was no longer bringing me joy and fulfillment, I was allowing my true passions to take a backseat. That was not okay with me.

Have you ever done anything like that? I would bet so.

What I’m saying to you is, if something in your life is more of a burden than a blessing, what would happen if you let it go?

For me, the moment I gave myself permission to stop this new business activity, I felt such a weight lifted off my shoulders. That spoke volumes that I had made the right decision.

What about you? Is there something you know you need to let go of? If so, I’m telling you right now, it’s okay to quit.