The Power of Quitting

Today I listened to the podcast Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett, episode: “The Quitting Expert: You’ll REGRET Not Quitting Before AI Takes The Choice Away!” with Seth Godin. I learned many lessons about life, goals, and purpose within just 2 hours. However, some takeaways were harder to digest than others.

Throughout life we were taught to never give up, even when it’s hard. That mindset had shaped my life and the way I perceive challenges and situations. However, when Seth Godin began to speak about the power of quitting, I was stunned. How can something so fundamentally wrong be the answer? But as Godin explains, when a situation or idea is creating more losses than gains, it’s time to throw in the towel.

To some it may be a sign of weakness, but as I sit with this truth, I begin to see the rationale. No matter how much money, time, and energy you put into a task, if there is consistent evidence that it is failing, it’s best to walk away. This ideology applies to many areas, whether that be a career, a project, an investments, or even a relationship.

However, this doesn’t mean to quit when it’s hard. If that was the case, then Apple wouldn’t be one of the biggest tech companies in Silicon Valley. Rather, it’s about knowing when to quit.

So if there is one thing to take away, it’s this: don’t quit when it’s hard; quit when there is EVIDENCE that losses outweigh the gains.

Here is the link to the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7AxxkywiFI&t=2s