Is it Okay to Quit?

 

“Quitters are losers”, “Quitting is equal to failure”, “You just don’t dare to continue”, these ‘words of wisdom’ might have shaken your self-esteem many times. And it’s the people around us who continue to gift us such terms.

Quitting at anything be it a career, relationship, or a habit is depicted as a lack of strength and commitment. But is it really the case? Is it always a bad decision to quit? How to know when holding on is necessary and when it’s time to let go? Read till the end to dive deeper into it. 

 

What Does Quitting Mean?

Quitting is a word stained by society by attaching different synonyms to it like cowardice, failing, losing, and disappointment. We are taught that our career is a plant that requires continuous watering of your blood, sweat, and tears. Even if you are watering the wrong plant, you shouldn’t stop because stopping means failure. 

We are conditioned to the fact that relationships require a hell lot of effort to sustain them. You should keep making efforts to revive a relationship even if you’re the only one bothered about the relationship reeking of toxicity.

Quitting doesn’t mean giving up without even trying. It means realizing that you’ve been trying for too long and it is now exhausting you, it is stealing away your mental peace. It means that you've been trying hard to walk on this path but the direction of your hard work seems to be wrong. And perhaps you need to quit on this road to find the right path meant for you.

When is it Okay to Quit a Relationship? 

We all know that creating bonds is easier but sustaining them is not. So if I tell you to cut all ties with your best friend over a trivial reason, you would slap me on my face (and of course, I’m not saying that so chill ;)). 

Relationships are what binds us together. They are the sugar and salt of our lives. But if a relationship starts shattering you, if it starts poisoning your life, it’s time to do something about these red flags.

Ups and downs are a part of every relationship. So not every downfall you’re going through requires quitting. There may be times when you are making more efforts to sustain the relationship and at times the other person involved will have a larger role to play. But quitting comes into the picture when there’s no reciprocation at all in every aspect.

When you’re the only one always making efforts and the other person seems to be unbothered all the time; when the other person’s toxicity is taking over you and your relationship; when you wish to communicate your worries but the other person is not willing to understand; when you know that you are suffering, it’s time to stop right there. Relationships are a two-way street and a single person cannot always be responsible to keep it alive.

If I talk about myself, I had to let go of a close friendship too. I realized quite late that I was holding on for too long and it was bruising my self-respect and mental health. When communication didn’t work, I had to cut off that friendship.

When I did that, people called me unreasonable. I was told that relationships require effort and even if you’re the only one making efforts, you should continue doing that to save your friendship. I knew I had to turn a deaf ear to such comments because my mental peace was at stake.

No matter what others say, you must know that they are just spectators and are unaware of what goes inside. If pain is all you get out of a relationship, if your patience is tired of being tested again and again, and if there seems no way out then learn to let go. Does quitting a relationship mean you failed at it? No, it means that you dared to stand up for yourself!

Related Post: What Happened When I Started Saying NO?

When is it Okay to Quit on a Career Path? 

Just because “Abba nahi manege” doesn’t mean you tie the knots of your life with a career incompatible with you. Finding the right career path can seem as clear as water sometimes but at times it can be a mix of passion, struggle, failure, and experiments. 

Sometimes we are forced to make the wrong career choices and sometimes we unintentionally do it because we are unaware of our boundaries and what’s meant for us. But whatever the case is, quitting the wrong choice for the right reasons is a wise decision. It doesn’t make you a loser!

It might be your dream to crack that one exam, you might have poured every cell’s energy into it but still couldn’t make it even after numerous attempts. Does life stop there? No! But does that mean you should keep walking on the same path that's deteriorating your mental health? My answer would again be a NO. Yes, it was your dream and chasing dreams is what life is! But you are more than your dreams. 

It’s okay if it doesn’t work for you. There might be something else yearning to be chased by you. And until you’re too focused on forcing your feet into an ill-fitting shoe, how can you find the right fit for you? Quitting, thus, becomes a liberating step here.

It’s okay to quit that job as well which made you sacrifice your satisfaction (of course, not everyone has that privilege). Yes, moving ahead in a path requires strength but realizing that the chosen road is not yours and stepping back to find a new one requires a lot of courage too.

Life is not just about reaching that finishing line of everything, it’s more about finding happiness and contentment in the journey. And if a journey doesn’t align with your mental peace, it's okay to quit it. Quitting is a wise decision but only when made with the right intent and for the right reasons. Quitting certain things in life that are damaging your mental health is okay, but quitting life itself is not at all okay, remember that!

Did life ever made you quit something? How did it make you feel? Let me know in the comments below :)