“Winners never quit and quitters never win.”

“Aspire to acquire the desire that you admire, but if in the process you perspire, don’t retire but ‘refire’.”

Motivational Speaking 101

The above quotes are a part of the starter pack for upcoming motivational speakers who try to preach that quitting simply means failure or accepting mediocrity. Our society extols perseverance and portrays quitting as a failure. The society is right in a way because success is not just there for the taking. It is a long arduous journey that demands consistency and tenacity.

Whether it is a paid employment, a relationship, a business venture, a project or a goal, we have been made to believe that quitting is tantamount to failure. Believing this to be true has become a second nature that we put ourselves down for even daring to think about giving up on a thing. Looking at it closely though, you begin to wonder if you are keeping up because you must or because of how you’d be seen if you gave up. Has this ever happened to you?

Again, you may find us coming at you from the room of unpopular opinions but this is not one of those times. why?

Quitting can be strategically important to success and, unless you live in a dark cave somewhere in nowhere, this is becoming popular.

Some dreams will kill you if you do not kill the obsession to achieve them.

Samuel Ola Akinpitansoye

Perseverant people tend to dig into worthless tasks but quitting can set you free from mundane busywork with minimal pay off.

The Havard Business Review

Quitting is never easy; it takes a lot of reflection, keeping your ego in check, accepting your fate and taking the risk of uncertainty to decide that things can not get better or that you have reached the apogee – then you close the door to the dream and walk away.

Most times you need to quit when you are involved with something that has been stagnant or is no longer profitable or progressive to you. You may need to quit that job if there is no career growth, no promotion, no personal development and it saps you mentally and physically.

If it costs you your happiness, it is too expensive

Unknown

The need to quit is not limited to jobs, ventures that have peaked or are no longer beneficial. In relationships, though it can be very hard, there comes a time when you just have to quit. If you are in an abusive relationship, dating a serial cheater or with someone who manipulates you, before you lose the entirety of your self-esteem, you need to walk away.

Leaving a toxic relationship or resigning from an unrewarding job can be very difficult, especially when there is no alternative in sight or when one can’t do without that job for financial reasons and it is quite understandable that that remains the reason why many still do the same thing everyday; not because they can become “winners”.

QUITTING RIGHT

Akin Alabi, founder of Nigeria’s foremost sports betting company; Nairabet, believes that quitting is the most underrated skill in life. Quitting can be seen in a different light from what has been made popular.

As regards that job that is not worth all you give in, quitting should not start from the day you give that boss the middle finger, throw some papers in the air and walk away. Life is not a Hollywood comedy after all. It can be a simple decision you make after you must have thought things through; tailoring the dreams of becoming that manager or the head of your department to the reality that you may give up your breath and not even get paid well enough in your current role.

If there is nothing in sight, you try to create a thing you can fall to while you are on the same job rather than just jumping straight to the other extreme. Quitting right can be good for you especially when the objective seems unachievable. It allows you to learn from the experience, broaden your vision and use the energy to try something new.

The problem with many motivational speakers remains extremity; they pick a topic and more often than not, they fail to offer a balance between two extremes. It is either black or white to them. The reality is this though; not quitting can be madness sometimes, reducing you to being a slave to an unattainable goal. You just have to do it right.

QUITTING RIGHT BRINGS WINS

Many who have made it will try to have you believe that they never gave up blah blah blah. What is not often clear to many is what they did not give up on. The dream to be a success or a big hit is what we don’t have to give up; not ridiculous jobs or parasitic friends and lovers. Leaving one’s shit job or a dumb dream may have significant gain than getting stuck in something that is lifeless.

The original idea behind creating YouTube was as a dating website; and Twitter, a podcast platform. If the founders persisted with the original ideas, they would likely never be enterprises worth billions of dollars today.

Another reason people find it very difficult to quit that job, relationship or dream, is because of their investments – time and efforts, pains and sleepless nights. They lose themselves to that illusion that one day it may still work. They think that sticking with something is enough for it to get better.

The sad truth is that some things (relationships, projects, dreams, and jobs) will never turn right no matter how long you persist or what you give in. You will save yourself stress, anxiety, more resources by quitting than getting sucked in. Quitting is the decision that something is no longer worth the effort. We should learn to cut our loses sometimes and head out the door.

If you quit the stuff you know isn’t working for you, you free up time for things that might.

Erik Baker

Quitting that unattainable goal comes with a lot of benefits. It allows you the time and opportunity to invest in another. When you quit after careful consideration, it shows you value your own time, health, purpose and resources.

Equally, numerous studies have found that people who let go of something they weren’t able to accomplish benefit from better health and wellbeing. Those who keep struggling with a goal that remained unreachable experience more anxiety, distress and depression.

Julian Nagelsman, the current manager of the Bundesliga football club RB Leipzig, ended his football career as a teenager due to recurring knee injuries but has gone on to become one of the most sought after football managers in Europe.

WHEN AND WHEN NOT TO QUIT

You will read and hear on many blogs, tabloids, and television stories about people who were persistent and it worked. Nobody mentions other people (probably more numerous than the former) who were tenacious and died lonely in a gutter because they held on for too long. One should not quit for flimsy excuses or minor issues that do not have much effect on the goal. You shouldn’t quit your job because your boss is not your friend – it’s a job, not a friend-making platform. If your workplace is toxic, stunts your growth and you can’t change the conditions, you should consider quitting. If you don’t strategically plan a project before you start and it fails, you should blame yourself for not having a plan and don’t say the goal is unattainable.

In a relationship, you shouldn’t leave your partner because their financial status nosedived or they are having health challenges. To quit, it should be obvious that the project is not good for your health (mental and physical). Also, you can quit if you have used viable avenues to reach your goal and it seems impossible. If your enthusiasm for something has waned, it’s right to turn to something else. When you quit, it is important to evaluate what went wrong and pick up valuable lessons for the next big thing.

Furthermore, the popular phrase “winners don’t quit” may be wrong because winners do quit. Instead of winners or achievers labelling quitting as a failure, they see it as an opportunity for learning and growth, they turn their energy and resources to the next project. It is a life skill everyone should learn and harness.

Obviously, quitting isn’t the solution to every problem but is also not quitting something heroic. The key thing is to understand when to keep going and when it’s time to let go.

Quitting when it is right takes courage, and unlike what people think, it may well be the hard way out. Sometimes, success is around the corner, other times, stress, depression and waste of resources are the only things around the corner. We must understand that certain changes never happen and certain things will never get better.

Quitting is not an act of cowardice, it is bravery. The secret to success sometimes is quitting.

About Post Author

Chijioke Onuchukwu

A humanist trying to find his purpose with a pen and a book

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