4 Steps to Awesome Quitting

 Quitting has gotten a really bad rap. The Internet (and life in general) are filled with rhetoric¹ about how bad it is to give up on something. Truth is, giving up on the wrong things is just as important as committing to the right ones. Being able to see the difference and cutting those bad pieces out of your life can help you recover a significant amount of time and energy to pour into the good parts.

The best part? Deciphering between the two is actually really easy. If something you’ve committed to is making you unhappy and you can’t objectively see it making you happy in the future, then it’s toxic² for you and you ought to quit. Your gut³ feeling is more valuable than most think.

Actually quitting, though, is hard and awkward. Luckily, when you decide to quit something that’s wrong for you, there are a few things you can do to be sure you actually go through with it and even get something valuable out of the process.

Here’s a four-step guide to being an awesome⁴ quitter:

1. Commit to quitting

This is the first and most important part of the whole process. We all know the danger of “half-assing it” when we’ve committed to something, but it’s an even bigger problem when you’re trying to quit something.

This usually happens because you feel bad about giving up on something you think is important to you, but only half-quitting will drag you even further down.

Make the decision to quit and stick to it. Do your thinking ahead of time and commit to it. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck in a self-made purgatory⁵ where something that was taking up your time and not getting you anywhere is still not getting you anywhere and still taking up your time.

The idea is to completely free yourself so that you can focus all your attention on starting something new.

2. Tie up loose ends

Of course, in order to be completely free of commitments, you’ll probably have to do a little bit of extra work to be rid of them. Don’t be afraid of that; you’ve made your decision and hopefully based it on sound reasoning. Now, you want to quickly take care of any loose ends that need to be addressed before shelving the whole project.

Look for the things that could come back to bite you if you set them aside half finished. This doesn’t mean you have to finish them. Instead, get creative about how to find an early ending point.

Remember, you’re performing triage here. If it’s not vital, stop doing it immediately. If it is vital and needs to be addressed, take care of it as quickly and efficiently⁶ as possible. No need to go for perfect anymore as done will do.

This is the stage where it’s easy to get sucked back into the project. Tread lightly and remember why you’re quitting.

3. Inform all affected⁷ parties

This is where things get a little uncomfortable and a little bit messy at times, but doing it right can be the difference between success and failure on the next thing.

Take the time to get in touch with everyone that’s impacted by your decision to quit. Be gracious and talk to people honestly and authentically⁸. This could be team members, superiors, customers, outside stakeholders, and anyone else that has to change something they’re doing as a result.

Be firm with your decision and don’t allow yourself to be sucked back in. Guilt⁹ can play a prime role in this stage, but remember that you’re making the best decision for yourself and everyone else.

If you do this right, you can actually build your reputation by showing your good judgment¹⁰ and ensure plenty of support the next time you commit to something.

4. Evaluate and reflect

Once you’ve finally broken free from a toxic commitment, the last thing you want to do is tie yourself to another one with the same fatal flaws.

Take enough time to really look at all the factors that went into your decision to quit and turn them into concrete warning signs that you can use in the future to evaluate new projects and commitments.

Before you jump into the next big thing, go down your list and look for those warning signs in all the nooks and crannies. Don’t be surprised if you find some. Anything you do that’s important will come with some unknowns, but make sure that you can address them objectively.

The point is to be able to say to yourself, “I saw this problem, and here’s the plan I have to deal with it.”

***

No matter what it is, quitting is never easy, but it’s a lot more important than it gets credit for. Everyone gets trapped by something they shouldn’t be doing once in awhile. If you stay levelheaded and quit strategically, you can quickly be on your way to doing things that really matter to you.

1 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

2 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

3 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

4 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

5 purgatory   

n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的

参考例句：

• Every step of the last three miles was purgatory.最后3英里时每一步都像是受罪。
• Marriage,with peace,is this world's paradise;with strife,this world's purgatory.和谐的婚姻是尘世的乐园，不和谐的婚姻则是人生的炼狱。

6 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 authentically   

ad.sincerely真诚地

参考例句：

• Gina: And we should give him something 2 authentically Taiwanese. 吉娜：而且我们应该送他有纯正台湾味的东西。
• A loser is one who fails to correspond authentically. 失败者则指那些未能做到诚实可靠的人。

9 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

10 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。