When to Quit and When to Stick?
Lessons from Seth Godin’s Book: The Dip
Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time — Seth Godin
We might ever heard a popular advice, telling that “winner is not a quitter”, but it is not always true. Winner is the quitter who knows when to quit and why they quit. I learn it from The Dip book by Seth Godin. In this book, he shared the magic of thinking quit. Strategic quitting is a secret to success, but most of people do the opposite, they do reactive quitting.
Before telling you the summary, let me share you about the curve
Curve 1: The Dip
The dip is the long slog between starting and mastery. The dip is the long slog between beginners luck and being an expert. When we can survive
Curve 2: “Cul de sac”
It’s a dead end in French, a cul-de-sac is a situation where significant effort put in has limited impact. Feelings here are a general sense of “meh” and middling emotions; neither terrible nor good. Stagnation.
Curve 3: The Cliff
Situations on the verge of collapse, or a cul-de-sacs that ends badly. Maybe it’s from situations beyond your control e.g company introduces layoffs, a major client decides not to renew, a negotiation flatlines
We can identify the situation our life, in which curve we are experiencing right now. If it’s in the dip, even though the situation is hard, it will pays off in the end, hence we need to work our best to get through the dip and win. However, if we face cul-de-sac and the cliff, we need to quit as soon as possible.
When you should Quit or Stick?
You should quit if you’re doing work where you are not making progress at your work. If you feel like you are not doing your best because you don’t like what you are doing. If the payoff not worth the dip. If the process is too long, exhausted and stagnant. If you are not learning anything.
You should stick if you’re making progress. If the payoff is worth the struggle. If you feel like you are learning something that make you be better on what you’re doing and you believe that you will mastering some day.
What you should ask to yourself before quit
- Am I panicking? Quitting when you’re panicked is dangerous and expensive. The best quitters decide in advance when to quit. Wait until you’re done panicking to decide.
- Who am I trying to influence? If you have a well defined person you’re trying to influence and they’re not listening, it may be time to quit. But when it’s a whole market, there are plenty of other people you could try to influence. Influencing a market is a hill you have to climb.
- What sort of measurable progress am I making? If you’re trying to succeed in a job or a relationship or at a task, you’re either moving forward, falling behind, or standing still. There are only three choices.
