Dr. Laura Blog

From youth sport leagues to movies and TV shows, we’re often told to never give up and to never quit. However, there are times in life when it’s not only acceptable to quit but actually necessary. Here are some of the instances when it’s OK to quit:

• You know that where you are in your life is a mismatch. From the time I was in high school, I was sure I wanted to be a scientist. In college, I majored in biology, minored in chemistry, and then went on to a six-year Ph.D. program in the physiology department at Columbia University. It was a huge commitment of my life. Yet, the day they shook my hand and said, “Congratulations, Dr. Schlessinger,” was the last day I set foot in a lab. I realized I couldn’t stand it and didn’t want to do it anymore. It was not my passion or my dream. When there’s a mismatch between your passion and your circumstances, you have to be wise and brave enough to quit. You have the power to make choices and it’s really sad when you throw that away to be a slave to your fears and insecurities.
• Your expectations are unrealistic. Thinking you can run the Boston Marathon four days after giving birth to twins is an unrealistic expectation (it’s a bit of an exaggerated example, but you get my point).
• You’re only continuing to avoid looking like a quitter. It’s stupid to not quit just because you don’t want to be called a quitter. If you don’t close a door, there’s no room for anything new and  potentially better to enter your life. Don’t let your ego stand in the way.
• Your life is being negatively impacted. Whether it’s a job or a relationship, if you consistently feel like it’s having a negative, draining impact on your life, you need to call it quits.
• You’re only doing it to please someone else. We all have responsibilities to people, and we’re morally obligated to follow through on those responsibilities. But if you’re doing something that breaks you and prevents you from living a full life, you’re not doing the right thing.