Everybody Loves a Quitter

Everybody loves a quitter.

There's something counter-intuitive about that sentence. It goes against everything we're taught and told in life, and all those corny American movies we go to see where lame ducks finally come good cos no matter the odds, they didn't quit.

But I'm not so sure. I have battled on against all odds in some things - studying for degrees, running marathons through a haze of pain, living in a foreign country despite being miserable as sin... And I have quit repeatedly in others - studying for degrees, living in a foreign country where I'm miserable as sin, certain jobs... Part of me has carried around a germ of guilt and shame for being a quitter. But the more I think about it, the less I think that's justified. It's important to choose the things worth quitting and the things worth sticking at. But if the choice is based on something more meaningful than sheer laziness, it's probably the right choice.

And at heart other people think so too. When it's come to quitting jobs, the most common responses I've encountered are... envy, admiration, and excitement. No matter that my quitting leaves those left behind with more work, higher caseloads, and increased aggravation until a replacement is found and trained up. It's important to stress that this is not the same as when you leave a job because you're moving up in the world - for a promotion or a better paid more important job. In those scenarios, you're not quitting. There's no risk, no 'giving it all up' to do something risky based on what your heart truly wants. So there's not the same heartfelt envy and excitement amongst colleagues.

It happened today. I went in with my letter of resignation and met with my line manager and my boss. Both were a little shocked and alarmed at the implications for them and the team, but for me... they were delighted. Both agreed, 'good on you.' They both said things like, 'We'd love to do the same - but we're trapped. We've based our lives on the levels of earnings we get here, we've got our mortgages and our cars and our commitments. We're fed up, scunnered, disillusioned and angry, but we can't do anything about it.'

There is something of a vicarious thrill in their responses. But hell, there is in mine too!

Am I quitting a sensible secure job for a risky future? Or am I quitting a career I don't want, for a life that I do? It's just a matter of re-framing the risks. I've never felt so sure as I did today that the risky things are the right things to do. Quitting is good.