You may have heard the phrase ‘quitters never win, winners never quit’ when you were younger. This mantra has been so ingrained in our thoughts to the point where many of us start to feel a little guilty when we do not finish watching a movie that is boring us to tears. Although our elders were not totally incorrect, because it is necessary to be persistent in order to be successful, there are times when it is more effective to quit. It does not matter if it is a faltering relationship, a job with no thanks, or a project gone wrong; sometimes quitting is the best course of action.
As Nelson Mandela was once quoted as saying, “quitting is leading too”. The interesting thing is that some humans have the innate ability to know when it is time for them to jump ship, while others seem to have a much more difficult time letting go. In fact, researchers have shown that there are two kinds of people in the world, those who are motivated by avoidance and those who are motivated by approaching.
The ones who are in the approach group thrive on challenges and they never waste time working on solving problems that do not seem to have viable solutions. These are the people who know when to call it quits. Then, there are those who are motivated by avoidance. However, their greater fear is failing. They try to avoid failure at any cost, so they continue to work mundane jobs and stay in meaningless relationships. They continue to do so even after all signs of logic point to moving on.
Fortunately, knowing when it is time to quit is a learned skill. Here are several things many of us need to stop doing.
Stop Doubting Yourself.
Confidence is one trait that determines success. Research has shown that more often than not, women will only apply for an employment position when they believe they have met all of the requirements, while men generally will apply even if they only meet 60 percent of them. Researchers theorized that men can dominate higher positions in corporate America because they have the confidence to get to the next level. Faking confidence will never produce actual results.
Stop Procrastinating.
Self-improvement is difficult and change can be difficult and scary as well. Having the guts to go after what you want and work hard for it is never easy. It is much easier to say you will do it tomorrow instead. The problem with this way of thinking is tomorrow never arrives. Saying you will do something tomorrow is simply an excuse, and either you truly do not want to do it, or you are yet willing to put in the work necessary. In the digital world, there is often no need to procrastinate either, as we have lots of tools that can be used to make our jobs easier. Everything from a free online logo creator to dictation software can be found online.
Stop Doing the Same Things and Expecting a Different Result.
Albert Einstein defined this as insanity, and sadly, there are people who believe that if they keep adding two plus two, eventually the answer will equal six. This will never happen and it’s time to learn from it. You need to change things up if you want to see different results.
There are many ways that people can get in the way of their own success. In order to be successful, look at the things you need to quit doing instead of what you need to do.
