Should You Quit Your Job or Not?
Today, we're going to talk about whether or not you should quit your job.
For some people, this question is swirling around every single day. It causes so much confusion and doubt, and you end up feeling stuck.
A lot of times the way that people make this decision causes them to not actually solve their problems. They jump from job to job, but they still end up feeling the same.
And if you want to learn more about why that happens, you should go back and see my previous video: “Stop Looking For Your Passion.” That's where I break down the wrong way to look for your next job.
But today, we’re going to break this down through a hypothetical example of somebody who currently has a corporate job, but they're wondering if they should quit and get a job in freelance photography. Totally made-up example.
So if I asked the person, “Hey, what are all the problems with your corporate job?” here’s what they might say:
Well, the problem is that my boss is super annoying.
And I'm not passionate the product and mission of this company.
And I have a really inflexible schedule. I wish I had more control over my time.
And then I might ask them, “Well, what's the problem with being a freelance photographer? Why haven't you just quit and gotten started?” And they might say:
Well, I'm afraid I might not be good enough at photography to make a living.
And I don't know sales or marketing. I don't know how to get customers.
And I'm afraid the income is going to be really unstable, and that I'm won’t be able to meet my financial needs.
So we've pulled out what this hypothetical person thinks are the problems with staying in their job and the problems with quitting and starting a new career.
Now, here's the thing. Nothing they said is a FACT.
Your brain will give it to you as if they’re facts — as if this is just the news of the world.
But every single thing this person said is a thought.
Which means what we really have here is a list of the thought shifts that this person would have to make in order to be successful and happy on either path.
If they wanted to stay in their corporate job, they would need to figure out:
How do I find my boss less annoying? How do I work better with them?
How do I create passion for myself, about what we do here?
How do I either be okay with my inflexible schedule, or ask for what I need and make my schedule look like what I want?
And if they go into a photography career, the thought shifts they need to have are:
I AM good enough. And I can figure out how to get better. I can go make mistakes and become the kind of photographer I want to be.
I can learn how to do sales. I can get confident. I can figure that part of it out.
I can figure out how to deal with any instabilities in my cash flow, and I can figure out how to MAKE it into a stable income.
These are the thoughts shifts they need to make — the mindset mountains that they would have to climb — in order to be successful and happy on EITHER of these paths.
So the real thing that this person has to do is just pick one or the other.
They need to commit and say, “This is the set of thought problems that I am going to solve all the way till the end.”
Which one should they choose? It doesn't matter. That's the amazing secret.
Neither one of these is easier than the other. You'll be so surprised once you start shifting your thoughts and changing your mindset and figuring things out – it’s the same amount of work either way.
Neither of these is the “right choice.” There's only the choice that you commit to and you MAKE it right for yourself.
Now, the number one problem that I see is that people don't commit to solving one set of problems all the way through.
They waffle. They go back and forth.
They try to be okay with their annoying boss and then they're like, “No, that's too hard. Let me think about my photography career.”
And then they try to feel good about their photography skill and they're like, “No, that's too hard. Let me try to be okay with my job.”
That is how you get yourself into trouble.
Because when you waffle and you don't commit to the set of problems that you want to solve, you make both choices wrong for yourself.
And it's not because they ARE wrong. You are MAKING them wrong through your own problem-solving and decision-making process.
Now, here's the third question that you can ask yourself: What are the Me Problems? What thought habits so I have that are going to come with me? For this person, the answer might be:
I have a habit of procrastinating
I get annoyed at people who disagree with me
Now, your brain is going to be really sneaky about the Me Problems.
It's going to say: No, but if I change my job, I'm not going to have a procrastination problem anymore because I love photography. And I just find my BOSS annoying, so if I quit, I don't have to deal with him.
And this is where you have to be really honest with yourself.
Because yes, some problems are situational. If you quit your job, you no longer have to deal with that specific boss, of course.
But you still have to deal with your thought habit of getting annoyed at people who disagree with you. That part of it is coming with you.
So you have to think about:
What is the bag of personal Me Problems that is coming with me, no matter where I go?
And in what setting do I want to solve those Me Problems?
Do I want to work on my procrastination problem in a corporate job, where I have structure and a team and meetings and deadlines? Or do I want to work on it in a freelance career where I have to create the structure for myself?
Again, either choice is fine.
There's no right answer. There’s just what you choose and you make it right for you.
These problems are coming with you, and you have to solve them either way.
But you can still decide: in what setting do I think it's going to be easiest for me to solve them?
Now, here's why it can be really helpful to bring in a coach to help you do this work.
(This is, in fact, one of the things I worked on with my one-on-one coach!)
When you are the one going through it and everything is personal, it’s really hard to have perspective.
It's hard to be objective. And it's hard to be honest with yourself about what is going on.
Can you figure this out on your own? Yes! Of course you can! You are super smart and capable!
But chances are, it will take more time and effort because you’ll be trying to see through the fog of your own biases, and it's hard to see yourself clearly.
So the question I would ask you is: Why do you want to solve it on your own?
Why wouldn't you stand on the shoulders of someone who has seen this problem a bunch of times before?
Who can be an objective third party?
Who can call you on your BS and tell you when you might be mis-categorizing things or mis-blaming or just not understanding what's really going on?
Why wouldn't you take advantage of the expertise so that you can solve this problem effectively and efficiently and get started actually building the life you want?
So if you're going through this problem right now, start making these lists. Don’t wait.
And if you want to get it done as effectively as possible and see it through to the end and create the life you want, come talk to me, and let’s get it done.
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