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How to Know When to Quit | Scott H Young
Quitting Points
They are pre-specified periods of time, effort or stress that you decide you’re willing to endure before you step back and re-evaluate.
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Key Ideas
Why you are afraid of quitting
The sunk cost fallacy is one of the primary reasons you are so afraid to quit anything. It occurs when you tell yourself that you can’t quit because of all the time or money you have already spent. The idea of all of that going to waste is what is keeping you at bay, paralyzed at the idea of quitting.
Overcome the fear of quitting
Sunk cost is about the past. Opportunity cost is about the future.
If you are scared to quit (which is absolutely natural), always think of the opportunity cost. Think of the brighter future, not the scary past, and often times that is enough to give you that extra push to make the right decision.
Long-term cost outweighs short-term benefits
When you finally succeed, but you don’t have the health or someone to share the success with, the project might prove not be be worth it.
Take 5 minutes at the end of the week and reflect on what you have achieved versus what you had to give up to achieve it so you don’t end up giving up too much without even realizing it. Make this a habit.
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Before You Call It Quits
- Make sure you've identified the real causes of your unhappiness. Keep a diary of events and problems.
- Give it a chance. Many things, like diets, require time to work out.
- Try many other solutions.
- Have a backup plan. Know what you're going to do if you quit and what you need to do to prepare for that.
Quit When...
- You're consistently experiencing more frustration than reward.
- You can't envision a possible solution or continuing this way.
- Spending time on this keeps you from more rewarding endeavors or seriously damages your well-being.
- You're staying for the wrong reasons.
- Your friends keep telling you to quit.
- Don't think of quitting as either good or bad in itself or a reflection of your self-worth.
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Analysis paralysis
It happens when you convince yourself you can't go forward with a decision, because you haven't given it enough thought, done enough research or figured things out to get started.
Why analysis paralysis happens
It has the same root cause as all forms of procrastination. It is caused by the desire to avoid something unpleasant: you don’t want to get started, so you start searching for excuses to justify avoiding the unpleasantness.
And there really are fears, uncertainties or doubts, which make doing more research an attractive excuse.
Dealing with analysis paralysis
You have to manage 2 realities:
- Rationalization: Deal with your rationalization that you need more time to think, plan and research by preventing this excuse from working.
- Underlying fear: Even if you convince yourself that you are engaging in procrastination and your paralysis is unhelpful, that may not stop you from doing it. Now you need to figure out how to get past it.