Transitioning From GRIT to "It's Okay to QUIT"
Posted on February 22, 2023 by Erin Shean, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.
When is it time to close one door and open a new one?
“I quit.”
Those two words were such difficult words for me to allow myself to hear from the earliest moments of my life. The “q word” was certainly not part of my vocabulary. I was raised to persevere. To have grit. To NEVER quit. To get up when I was knocked down and stay in the game at all costs. Every. Single. Time.
Following what I would consider a successful athletic career, I held on to this mentality that I must always exhibit grit through any obstacle or difficult situation. It took me far too long to realize that I probably would have been better off closing a few doors at pivotal moments in my life, in order to open new, more fulfilling, doors. Please don’t misunderstand, I am not preaching the concept of quitting any time you feel that what you are up against is simply too challenging. Pushing through adversity is an excellent quality that we all must practice at times. I am asking those of you who are reading this to listen to your inner voices and more quickly identify if there is a door in your life that needs to be closed with the intention to give space for another one to open. Could this potential change in your life improve your overall well-being and happiness?
There are several reasons we continue to exhibit grit instead of quit in life. It could be a marriage, a job, an investment decision. You can feel this inner voice virtually screaming at you to cut your losses:
“The direction you’re going isn’t the right one. Get out now. Why are you suffering unnecessarily?”
But, instead of listening to that inner voice, you determine that throwing in the towel isn’t even an option, because the thought of not continuing forward with a commitment you have made brings a feeling of shame. Or, you feel tremendous fear that your plan B, if you have one, isn’t a path of guaranteed success. Your final decision? You avoid change altogether.
If you are experiencing unhappiness in a certain area of your life at the moment, I would like you to ask yourself the following:
On a scale of 1-10, what is your level of happiness in this particular area of your life? On a scale of 1-10, how happy do you anticipate you would be if you were to pivot from this area of your life into your plan B? Of course, it is likely far more complicated than answering these two questions, but at the very least, you have taken the first step towards proactively walking down the path of personal fulfillment.
What is your inner voice telling you? Is there a door in your life you need to explore closing?
In pursuit of happiness,
Erin
