At some stage in our life it’s likely that each and every one of us has called it quits over something. We have decided that the energy we are expending fails to measure up to the real or expected return. We make the conscious decision to walk away from a job, a relationship, a responsibility.
But quitting has consequences. Forcing one door to close doesn’t guarantee that a fresh, new portal of opportunity will suddenly appear. Someone once wrote that when one door closes, another opens. That’s the hope anyway. It’s in finding our way through the dark corridors between those doors that many of us will face some of our greatest tests.
Some people are quick to quit and slow to commit. Others commit too early and too passionately only to find themselves inevitably forced to face the quit scenario. The catch is that no-one can decide for us. There are those in our immediate and extended circle who can advise and guide but we are responsible for the decisions – good and bad – that we make. And it’s a responsibility that we must accept no matter how empowered or inadequate we may feel.
That makes the question of quitting an important one. It takes emotional effort to back such an important decision. The individual has invested in the situation. There are few of us who can afford to waste such an investment.
Some things can be worth saving; others well beyond sensible salvage. It’s important that we take the time and make the effort before making a decision. That must involve self-examination including an honest assessment of our own ability to cope.
Have we tried hard enough, have we tried too hard? Is what we gain from quitting of greater value than what we lose by staying put?
There’s only one person who can honestly and properly answer such questions.
Gary Bentley Counselling 