How To Figure Out If It’s Worth Your Time
Good reasons to quit:
Because you don’t believe in the product.Because you have other priorities.Because your reasons for starting.
Bad reasons to quit:
Because you messed up and everyone will think you’re a fraud.Because you didn’t realize how much work it would be.Because no one on your team believes in the product anymore. These are are just a few reasons, but there are many more out there. It’s up to you to decide how to spend your time attention.Usually it’s not about whether it’s “worth your time,” but rather “would you regret not seeing this through?”
2 Minute Action:
What’s something you will regret not doing this year?Why’s that?Instead of expecting yourself to magically find the time or resources to do this, could you set aside the time on your calendar?Could you make the first step smaller?Could you forgive yourself a little more for messing up and starting again?Think big picture here. If you’ll regret not doing it, you need to uncover the true motivation for checking this off your list.
Is Quitting Good or Bad?
I was just standing in line today.It was taking forever.I started counting the people ahead of me and estimating the minutes until it was my turn.Then, when I was finally about 3 people away from the front, the guy in front me threw up his arms and left the line.We’d both been waiting for over 25 minutes but my estimate was that we only had 5 minutes left to go.It was so obvious:No one quits a marathon at mile 2 when everyone is cheering you on, they quit at mile 22 when it feels like they’ll never make it.Of course, this is the worst time to quit!Of he’d stayed in line another 5 minutes, he’d have gotten all the benefits of waiting.There was a sunk cost, sure he’s never getting that time back, but the cost of leaving the building and finding another line to stand in was so high compared to what was left.It would have cost him far less time to stay put than to switchJust a little quick math and he could have estimated the time he had left. He chose to react in frustration, instead.There are two lessons here: sticking it out and responding with a cool, calculated head. Either might have saved this guy.
2 Minute Action:
What’s something that’s really pressing on your patience right now?Is it a sunk cost? Should you bail?Or can you “do the math” to figure out if patience might be worth the price?If you’re going to quit, quit early. Somewhere, somehow, quitting got a bad name. It’s not bad, it’s useful—it’s just that most people don’t know when to quit.Tip: It’s almost always wasteful to quit late in the marathon, at mile 22.
The Secret Weapon Of Long Term Productivity
You know the wall?
The one you hit when you can't take another step.The one you hit when you can't talk, write, or work any longer.The one you hit when you just can't go on.The interesting thing about the wall is that once you've gone through it a few times, you realize that you're not made of glass.You get to the other side and you realize that there's more gas in the tank.This is called "the second wind," and it's the little secret that we forget about all the time.It's hard in the moment because it feels like you'll never make it--like you have no idea when this pain will end.But if you stick it out long enough, you get your second wind and you keep going.What's even weirder is that there are third, fourth, and even fifth winds.It's in this moment that we just can't go on that we're tested.It's here that we all quit.No one quits a marathon at mile 2. They all quit at mile 22.But if we had just pushed a little bit more, we'd have gotten all the benefits of finishing. Instead, we choose to quit at the most inopportune time possible, right when it was about to pay off.Next time you can't see the ending, try reminding yourself of the second wind. You may be surprised what happens when it shows up.If you charge the wall and get your second wind enough times, you just might start trusting yourself to take on bigger and longer-term goals.It's up to you to start. It's up to you to finish.It's up to you to build the trust with yourself to get through the wall.The second wind is a secret weapon that is completely under your control. It just costs a little pain to access it.
2 Minute Action
When was the last time you quit something?Was it 10 mins in? 3 days? 7 years?What would you have done if you didn't have a choice--if you just had to keep going--if your life depended on it?Would you have made it? Would you have died? What would be the consequences?Write them down in a list and evaluate the severity.Is the outcome worth these consequences?Choose today. Start today.