In fact, in the face of clear signals that quitting would be prudent, we escalate our commitment to these losing causes, doubling and tripling down rather than walking away. More than a half-century of research shows that, as a matter of human cognition, we regularly misinterpret, minimize, or ignore signals to quit. We all share the intuition that when there are clear signals that what we’re doing isn’t working out, we’ll pay attention and quit. We think that when the world tells us it’s time to quit, we’ll listen. And as long as that chance exists, it will feel too early to give up the cause. If we quit on time, however, it will feel like we quit too early because that will mean walking away when there is still some chance of turning things around. And so we usually get to the decision to quit too late. That is a moment we don’t want to face unless we know we have no other choice. That’s when you know for sure there is no recovering the cause. If you turn around on the mountain or leave your job or end your startup venture or shut down a business project, that’s when you go from the possibility of failure to having failed. That means we won’t walk away until it is a dead certainty that we can’t turn things around. When it comes to walking away, which means abandoning all the resources of time, energy, money, and attention we have put into something, we have a need to be sure there is no other choice. That means that if you quit when the time is right you won’t know for sure that it is the best choice. The problem is that just as the decision to start something is made under uncertainty, so is the decision to quit. ![]() It’s a decision we usually get to too late. Paradoxically, the very uncertainty that makes quitting so valuable usually keeps us from taking advantage of it. Quitting on time will usually feel like quitting too early. It gives you the ability to react to the changing landscape, improving and calibrating your decisions beyond what’s practical-or even possible-when making your original choice.Īnd that’s why quit shouldn’t be a dirty word. Quitting is the tool that allows you to make that different decision when you learn that new information. “Contrary to popular belief, quitting will get you to where you want to go faster.” We’ve all had that feeling of, “If I knew then what I know now I would have made a different choice.” That’s the uncertainty that comes from how little we know hitting us in the face. After you have started down a path, you’ll learn new information. When you make a choice, there is usually a whole bunch of stuff you don’t know. Having the option to quit and using that option well creates success because it makes it possible to combat the uncertainty you face whenever you make a decision to start something. Contrary to popular belief, quitting will get you to where you want to go faster. ![]() Anytime you stick to something when there are better opportunities out there, that is when you are slowing your progress. Anytime you stay mired in a losing endeavor, that is when you are slowing your progress. ![]() In fact, in those situations, there is everything right with quitting.Ī common misconception about quitting is that it slows or even stops your progress toward your long-term goals. If you stick to something that is no longer worth it, like a dead-end job, a toxic relationship, or a stock that’s a loser, there’s nothing wrong with quitting. The ones who stick with it are the heroes of the story.īut it shouldn’t be this way, where grit is good and quitting is bad. If someone called you a quitter, would you ever consider it a compliment? The answer is obvious. In the popular mind, quitting means failing, capitulating, losing. ![]() Quitting has a nearly universal negative connotation. Listen to the audio version-read by Annie herself-in the Next Big Idea App. She is the co-founder of The Alliance for Decision Education, a non-profit whose mission is to improve lives by empowering students through decision skills education.īelow, Annie shares 5 key insights from her new book, Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away. As a former professional poker player, Annie won more than $4 million in tournament poker before retiring from the game in 2012. She is also a corporate speaker and consultant in the decision-making space. Annie Duke is the bestselling author of Thinking in Bets, How to Decide, and Quit.
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