12 Signs You Should Quit

When I was younger I used to quit everything. I quit dance, gymnastics and the works. Now that I’ve gotten older I find myself sticking to things I know I shouldn’t and finding it so difficult to quit things even when I know they’re causing me more stress than they are benefits. Sometimes it’s okay to be a little bit selfish and it’s okay to quit.

Again, major disclaimer, don’t use a blog post as a sole factor in making any major life decisions. Use this as something to bounce your thoughts around. Consider some of the signs you should quit something but also take into account personal factors that I couldn’t possibly consider for you.

1. You find yourself thinking of the more productive things you could be doing instead.

It’s easy to think “Gee, I could be watching episodes of Game of Thrones” right now so ignore the thoughts like that. If you find yourself thinking of the productive (key word being productive) things you could be doing instead, obviously this task or job or whatever doesn’t seem too productive to you. That’s a bad sign.

{Related: 15 Productive Ways to Procrastinate}

2. You don’t see potential for growth.

This can be personally or for yourself within or with the company. If you don’t see the company going anywhere or truly evolving it might be time to ditch it and find something you could progress with. Staying somewhere where you have no potential to grow is like watering a dead plant and expecting it to bloom with roses. With this being said, if you’re doing something knowing there is no growth but you have other reasons for doing so (ie: financial), this isn’t always grounds to quit.

3. You dread anything involving it.

Phone calls, e-mails, assignments…the works. While it’s not always possible to love everything that’s good for you and to enjoy all types of work, dreading it isn’t exactly a good thing. If it’s something that’s causing you a lot of anxiety and stress without giving you plentiful benefits, whether they be financially or otherwise, it might be better for your mental health to quit. If this isn’t one of the most obvious signs you should quit, I’m not sure what else is.

4. You’ve thought about quitting multiple times and are not giving it your all.

If you keep thinking about quitting there’s clearly a part of you that wants to do so. If you keep debating on it and trying to make a decision on whether you should quit or not, maybe you should bite the bullet and quit. Additionally, if you’re not giving it your all, no one is really winning. The company or organization isn’t getting 100% of your efforts and you’re not giving whatever this is your all.

5. You’re not learning anything new or strengthening current skills.

If the main purpose for this is not to earn money, ask yourself what you’re trying to get out of this. If you want to learn new things, strengthen your skills, network, etc, is this helping you do so? If you’re finding that it’s not, it might be time to quit. If something has no benefit for you at all, it’s okay to be a little selfish.

6. It’s not adding value to your life.

This value can be added socially, financially, emotionally, academically and so on. If this is not adding any value to your life whatsoever, why bother? If it’s taking more energy than it’s giving back, it’s not a balanced equation and maybe it needs to be rewritten.

7. You’re not seeing any results.

I mean, if it’s a weight loss exercise regime you shouldn’t quit after a week, so be sure to be reasonable with this one. If, after six months you’re not seeing any weight loss results, maybe a different method could be better for you. If after three years you’ve still yet to be promoted, maybe you’re not going to grow with the company. If after eight months your blog has seen no growth with your current strategies it might be time to quit those and try a new strategy.

8. You know you can do better.

Is this something you took on just to fill up some free time? Is it something you settled for? If you feel undervalued that’s not a good sign. Yes, the “It’s not my job, I’m better than that” attitude is shitty…but sometimes that part of you has a point.

It’s okay to think you’re better than something even though it seems like a narcissistic mindset. With this being said, being an entry-level position and knowing you can do better isn’t a good situation in which this applies. Keep in mind sometimes you need to work your way up and sometimes you need to endure a bit so you can get to where you know you can excel. Don’t think you’re above climbing the ladder but do know when you’re in a spot where you feel like your abilities are being wasted.

9. You’re not passionate about it. 

I genuinely believe nothing can grow where there’s no passion. Metaphor: passion is sunlight and everything else is a seed. It’s not going to grow without sunshine. That was corny but if you don’t have passion for something you’re not going to suddenly grow a passion for something.

10. The cons of it outweigh the pros. 

While it may seem elementary, sometimes a pros and cons list is the best way to lay everything out. If your cons list is much longer than your pros list, it may very well be time to quit.

11. If you didn’t do it, nothing would really happen and what you’re doing could easily be done by someone else. 

While this isn’t something to consider for many situations, this is something I like to think about. If you don’t feel as though you’re adding something unique, valued and important to whichever job or project you’re involved in, it might be a reason to quit. Recently I was doing social media for a company but the guidelines were so strict and I was so heavily edited that it seemed like it’d be better off if someone else did the job. I ended up quitting and haven’t regretted it once.

12. You’re being treated disrespectfully. 

If you’re not being treated with respect that’s a really bad sign. Even if you’re a “lowly intern,” you should still be treated respectfully and if you’re not, that’s one of the signs you should quit.

With all of this being said, sometimes you’re in a position where you can’t really quit. In those cases, it’s best to ride it out and start to figure out the next plan of action. You don’t have to be stuck in one place forever–remember that even if you can’t quit something you’d like to quit at the moment.

Have you quit something before? What helped you decide to quit?